Apple begins to offer replacement parts, manuals and repair kits for its newest iPhones and, eventually, for its latest Macs. If you are a bit of a handyman, you can therefore replace components of your device with original parts.
Apple’s Self Service Repair was announced late last year. It is now available in the United States and will extend to Europe again this year. In the Apple Self Service Repair Store, you can buy some two hundred parts, manuals and ad hoc tools. Apple will also let you rent a repair kit for $49 a week.
There won’t be a repair option for older devices, but if you have an iPhone 12, 13, or SE (Third Generation), which has a broken screen, poor battery, or other repairable defects, you can now repair it yourself. But if you don’t feel capable enough, you will still be able to go to an authorized repairer, even though Apple says consumers will now receive the same components and information as repairers. Currently, the offer is limited to recent iPhones, but eventually the new Macs (equipped with Apple Silicon) will be repairable in the same way.
From a historical point of view, iPhones often proved difficult to repair by DIYers, due to a lack of original parts or because Apple knowingly made the operation difficult. The fact that the company is now changing its tune, however, is not charitable. Both in the United States and in Europe, voices have been raised for years in favor of the ‘right to repair’, namely the right to be able to repair one’s own device. By offering it, Apple wants to free itself from (stricter) legislation in this area. Samsung, too, announced last month that for the US it will be easier to repair several popular (and more expensive) models yourself.
Apple’s Self Service Repair was announced late last year. It is now available in the United States and will extend to Europe again this year. In the Apple Self Service Repair Store, you can buy some two hundred parts, manuals and ad hoc tools. Apple will also let you rent a repair kit for $49 a week. There won’t be a repair option for older devices, but if you have an iPhone 12, 13, or SE (third generation), whose screen is broken, has a poor battery or has other repairable faults, you can now repair it yourself. But if you don’t feel capable enough, you will still be able to go to an authorized repairer, even though Apple says consumers will now receive the same components and information as repairers. Currently, the offer is limited to recent iPhones, but in the long term, the new Macs (equipped with Apple Silicon) will be repairable in the same way. do-it-yourselfers, for lack of original parts or because Apple knowingly made the operation difficult. The fact that the company is now changing its tune, however, is not charitable. Both in the United States and in Europe, voices have been raised for years in favor of the ‘right to repair’, namely the right to be able to repair one’s own device. By offering it, Apple wants to free itself from (stricter) legislation in this area. Samsung, too, announced last month that for the US it will be easier to repair several popular (and more expensive) models yourself.
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