17th November 2021 will go down in history when Apple allowed customers the right to repair their iPhones. The introduction of ‘Self Service Repair’ will allow customers access to genuine Apple spare parts and tools from a dedicated Apple online store. Welcome right to repair, the harbinger of Apple Self Service Repair.
What is ‘right to repair’?
Right to repair is a concept of allowing the consumers access to spare parts to aid in repair in case of hardware malfunction. Its goal is simple, repair instead of replacing. This is not only economical to the consumers but also sustainable for the environment.
Did you know 50 million tonnes of e-waste were generated in 2018? This is constantly growing each year. It is believed that if we can reuse and repair our old electronic devices the problem could be solved. There are other concepts such as Phoneblocks, maybe a topic for another discussion.
This movement started with the Automobile industry and slowly moved to the electronic goods industry. Manufacturers often demand high repair costs in their authorized service centers in absence of competition. Sometimes the cost runs close to 60-70% of the cost of the device leaving no alternatives to the consumer. This has been the main reason to drive this movement.
‘Right to repair’ is changing the way we service our iPhones
Starting in the US and later for other countries in 2022, customers will have access to original spare parts, tools, and manuals. It will be available for iPhone 12 and 13 and then will be extended to other models, iPad, and Macs. In the first phase, you will be able to get a replacement of the display, battery, and camera. The rest of the parts will be allowed from next year.
The most exciting part is, individuals can receive the manuals and training allowing customers and standalone technicians the same training and tools as Authorized service partners. Joining the 5000 Apple authorized service providers and more than 2800 independent repair providers for Apple.
For the majority of consumers, it means more options to repair your smartphone. Even your friendly neighborhood technician will have access to genuine spare parts. This will create more competition and should benefit the customers who will be able to get their device repaired cheaper. The cost of repair will be more transparent as customers would know how much they are paying for the genuine parts and how much for the repair service.
If you are an average consumer do not try to repair yourself, trust someone with training and experience. You may end up damaging your phone and spending more which we at Technofrugal do not want.
Did you know?
Apple is about to introduce a new feature in the upcoming iOS 15.2 release where users will know which part has been replaced and if the parts replaced is genuine? The “Parts and Services History” app would be able to identify whether the battery, camera, or display has been replaced.
Conclusion
Apple Self Service is the direct result of the Right to Repair movement. You will now be able to repair your iPhone yourself or locally and get access to genuine Apple spare parts, manuals, and training. Starting with iPhone and limited to just a few parts now, it will be open to other Apple products and more spares will be included.
Do let me know your views on the comments section.