Apple today launched the Self Service Repair Store, allowing iPhone customers in the United States access to parts and manual that they can use to repair their own devices.
The new store enables repairs of iPhone SE, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 components, including display, battery and camera replacements. Apple also said it will launch Mac self-service repairs later this year.
A good start.
My cynicism makes me believe Apple Apparatchiks will now be gouged on spares as well as their annual hardware upgrade! Gadgets can probably be delivered with components that have a lower MTBF, or lower performance level, and users will end up paying in the short term for something that was previously seen as new or a warranty issue.
“Buy our new iGadget Mk.II, and get compatibility with the new Mk.II widget performance boost¹ upgrade!”
¹ (Not available for Mk.I)
good
Hi Thom.
When writing such news please always include or mention at least one prominent name from the “right to repair movement”. Otherwise general public might thank Apple for it. Or something crazy like that.
That’s not a bad idea. In fact everyone should post a right to repair article 🙂
https://newyork.repair.org/
Especially watch Louis Rossmann’s in depth reviews of these programs like https://odysee.com/@rossmanngroup:a/apple's-self-service-repair-program-got
You might as well include a link to Louis Rossmann’s response video to any Apple repair program. Last time it pointed out how worthless the program was by being only about phones, and forcing anyone who’s not Apple to wait weeks for replacement parts like batteries while forbidding shops to have any spare parts on hand. At the the end of the day it seems they’re still doing everything possible to block others from doing component level board repairs as they’d rather do this work for $200 and then resell it as refurbished for $1000. It’s an even bigger problem now that companies like Lenovo are starting to imitate this.
It’s a start. It could be better, but it’s a place to start.
Ideally, there would be laws which require comprehensive programs.
This seems like a bit of a consumer/slave mindset from people who forgot Apple took it away in the first place when they could have just as easily have done nothing about it.
typical Apple:
1. create the problem (Sealing the devices and killing FRUs)
2. Create the solution (Create a store for FRUs)
3. monetize the created solution (Sell FRUs in generated store)
Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc. sell FRUs, and it’s kind of hard to find the correct parts. It would be nice if they had a page this nice.
Maybe a good start, if it’s not just part of a lobbying gambit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agG108sxkyo