Apple launched its self-service store this week. Consumers and independent stores can now order spare parts and hire company-authorized tools to repair certain iPhones.
This comes after President Joe Biden issued an executive order in July promoting the “right of consumers to repair” their own electronics, and Congress is also considering it.
This is the topic of our recurring Quality Assurance segment, where we will look again at a great technological history.
Nathan Proctor is leading the campaign for the right to repair the US research group in the public interest. The following is an edited transcript of our conversation.
Nathan Proctor: Right now, starting with just a few repairs for the three latest iPhones, you can get all the necessary materials that Apple will use in their authorized repair settings, and an independent store can also order them. There are some limitations that are important. But this is the first time they have managed to get these official Apple parts and tools.
Kimberly Adams: Let’s just say I want to use this new Apple kit. How does this process work?
Procter: It feels a little complicated even for a dedicated DIYER. You need to order a specific part, which is delivered mainly pre-coded on your phone. So you have to order it through this special process. They will also send you, for example, 70 and more pounds of tools in the mail that you hire to complete the repair. And then you have instructions and you can go through the repair. And I’m not sure how many people would do that. But I’m on a lot of message boards with repair shops across the country, given the campaign, and I know that repair shops across the country have already placed orders because they have a range of phones to fix.
Nathan Proctor (courtesy of Kimball Nelson)
Adams: How well does this actually address the concerns about the right to repair around these phones?
Proctor: Honestly, other companies just don’t have that much in the way between you and your repair. Both Samsung and Google have announced that they will partner with iFixit, which is something like the DIY headquarters on the Internet, to sell spare parts directly to consumers, along with official documentation and instructions and all the necessary special tools. And there are very few restrictions on who can buy them and how they can make these repairs. I think the most significant drawback of Apple’s system is the pairing of digital parts, which they do where the phone is paired with a certain part. And I think that makes this program proof that more can be done, but also proof that more needs to be done.
Adams: Apple, Google and Samsung, they are moving towards distributing information that was considered their own, and they guarded these things quite strictly. Why is this happening now?
Proctor: I mean, I think that’s a sign that the kind of collective action that is going on around the right to repair is breaking, isn’t it? So in the last few years, there have been 27 states that have had legislation that allows consumers to have access to parts and tools and information to fix things. The Biden administration issued an enforcement order in July, which was followed shortly after by the Federal Trade Commission issued new guidelines against restrictions on repairs. And then Google and Apple shareholders came up with solutions to get companies to make those changes, so I think it’s coming from all sides.
Adams: Some states have passed their own laws on the right to repair, and both the House of Representatives and the Senate have enacted legislation. As you mentioned, there is a regulatory boost. What do you expect next for federal action on the right to repair?
Proctor: We really hope that the Federal Trade Commission can start taking public action to make it really clear that certain types of fundamentally monopoly restrictions on repairs will not be allowed under current law. And I’m really excited to see that part of this application comes from big companies like Apple and, you know, potentially other dominant manufacturers and other industries, whether it’s medical technology or agricultural equipment at John Deere. I think there are many opportunities for the FTC to force these companies to open their markets for repairs.
Adams: Why is it time for the right to repair?
Procter: I think so many people have had this experience when they take a broken device to Apple’s store, to the manufacturer’s official service, and tell them, “No, it’s impossible to fix. Here, let me show you the latest models. ” Meanwhile, e-waste is the fastest growing part of our waste stream. And it’s really expensive to keep buying new things all the time, especially when you know that the supply chain is facing all sorts of significant barriers and the economy is tightening. People need to make the best use of what they already have, and companies need to stop blocking us from fixing what we already have.
We asked Apple to comment on criticism that the phone repair system is impractical. An Apple spokesman directed us to the company’s online explanation of the maintenance and repair program, adding that there is no requirement for consumers to rely on Apple tools if they “prefer an alternative.”
Related Links: More information from Kimberly Adams
If you want to read more about the program, Apple has a FAQ page that contains more details about what’s in these 70-pound toolkits.
And if you’re wondering, like me, how cost-effective it is, The Verge has a story that shatters some of the cost of DIY repairs, which are said to be probably not much cheaper than Apple doing. fix it.
Incentives, right?
Finally, if you want to hear more about the right to repair, we have some episodes that we released last year, including complications in repairing something bigger – say your John Deere tractors. And one for the laws on the right to repair, which make their way through the state legislature.
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