In a surprising move, Apple will offer access to the components and manuals necessary to repair its smartphones, enhancing the so-called ‘right to repair’.
The new service is called “self-service repairs,” and it marks a U-turn in recent Apple policy; Until now, the company has made all kinds of problems for those who wanted to repair their devices, recently blocking functions if we changed the screen of the iPhone 13 . In this way, the only way to repair the mobile is by taking it to the official Apple technical service, or to an authorized store.
Perhaps in response to the criticism generated by these decisions, today Apple has announced a new program that will allow users themselves to acquire everything they need to repair their devices on their own , and without having to depend on anyone. This will allow us to continue using Apple mobiles even if we do not have access to a technical service, or if the support for our device has ended.
The first models that will be part of the program are the new iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. Users will be able to purchase the necessary parts to fix them directly from Apple; During the first phase of the program, they will be limited to the ones that are most frequently changed, such as the screen, the battery and the camera . Later Apple will offer more components, and will support more devices such as the new Macs with an M1 processor.
Apple clarifies that this service is aimed at people who have the technical knowledge necessary to make the repair; and that for most people, it will still be better to go to service. But if we don’t mind ‘tinkering’ and we already have some experience, now we will have access to the same resources that authorized services have; That includes the manuals that explain the detailed steps to repair the devices. To curl the curl, Apple will also grant discounts to users who return old parts of their device.
Self-service repairs will arrive first in the United States, in early 2022; it is expected to reach other countries over the next year. It will be interesting to see how this movement affects future legislation on the “right to repair”, which was already gaining momentum in the US and the European Union and against which Apple has fought, on many occasions trying to influence legislators.
Apple even said in 2019 before the United States Congress that it did not allow the repair of its devices to protect users from a “dangerous” process. However, this position does not fit very well with their environmental policies, with decisions such as removing the charger from the iPhone case.
