Apple Announces Self-Repair Service Program →

Big news on the right to repair front:

Apple today announced Self Service Repair, which will allow customers who are comfortable with completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts and tools. Available first for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups, and soon to be followed by Mac computers featuring M1 chips, Self Service Repair will be available early next year in the US and expand to additional countries throughout 2022. Customers join more than 5,000 Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) and 2,800 Independent Repair Providers who have access to these parts, tools, and manuals.

The program will start with common iPhone repairs, including the display, battery and camera.

Apple Repair

It’s been over a decade since I repaired Macs for a living, but I’m pretty sure I never looked this cool doing it.

Apple hasn’t given a ton of detail about how the program will work, but we do have this:

To ensure a customer can safely perform a repair, it’s important they first review the Repair Manual. Then a customer will place an order for the Apple genuine parts and tools using the Apple Self Service Repair Online Store. Following the repair, customers who return their used parts for recycling will receive credit toward their purchase.

The new store will offer more than 200 individual parts and tools, enabling customers to complete the most common repairs on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.

Old parts can be returned to Apple for recycling in exchange for credit against future Apple purchases.

I find this all super interesting, and good news on the whole. People who have the skills to repair their own products should have an opportunity to use official, first-party components.

In terms of the cost of parts and tools (and what a self-service repair does to your warranty), we don’t know much, but I am hopeful this will be a viable option for the more savvy consumers out there.