I assume you consider this a bad solution because the free market would always converge on the right solution(s), including reparable machines.

However, if all participants (in this case manufacturers) in a market conclude that:

(1) product B has a lower profit margin than product A, and

(2) product B is superior enough to eventually become the dominant variant and

(3) the market size is fairly static and

(4) the first mover on product B is unlikely to maintain a lead for very long,

then all participants would choose to suppess product B, even without having to resort to collusion.

Not only that, if the manufacturers consider regulation to be a market in its own right, i.e. it is available for purchase (which it de facto is in countries where lobbying is legal), then market forces will also drive regulation away from product B.

To me, this explains why some products peak in build quality sometime after innovation plateaus, and the continue to diminish over time (usually measured in decades). Some household appliances have already reached this stage. For Apple products, this phenomenon may still be in the future.