It will start with replacing batteries, displays, and cameras in current iPhones in the early phase of 2022 in the US. The new Apple retail store will stock more than 200 parts and tools.
Apple has been under increased pressure from the grassroots right-to-repair movement for many months. It demands that consumers and independent repair businesses be able to repair gadgets.
According to Apple, self service repair is a great program for individual technicians who possess the expertise to repair electronic devices.
But for “the great majority of clients,” having their equipment fixed by a certified expert repair shop would be a superior alternative.
“Providing more access to genuine Apple parts enhances our customers’ options if a repair is required,” Apple COO Jeff Williams added.
Customers enjoy a long-lasting product that holds its value for years by making goods that are designed to endure, last, and be repairable.
Apple has long been criticized as one of the most tenacious opponents to the right to repair, owing to concerns about safety.
“We never thought we’d see the day,” tweeted iFixit, an Independent repair instructions website that recently criticized Apple for making it increasingly difficult to replace iPhone displays.
“Apple has long maintained that allowing consumers to repair their own gadgets would be dangerous,” according to iFixit.
With this new interest in repair markets – and especially after the recent bad publicity… Apple has discovered unexpected popularity in allowing individuals to fix the items they own.
“It may be a small step in the long run,” said Hardware Canucks, “but for Apple to do it is a huge victory for the right-to-repair movement.”
Individual customers will be able to utilize the Self Service Repair option to “join more than 5,000 Apple authorized service providers and 2,800 independent repair shops that have access to these parts, tools, and instructions,” according to Apple.
“Over the last three years, this firm has expanded its authorized repair network, so access to genuine parts has nearly doubled,” it added.
For a very long time, Apple’s authorized repair schemes have received criticism for imposing extensive terms and restrictions on obtaining the replacement parts from a given location.
Moreover, the company has tightly controlled the pricing of each repair component. The right-to-repair movement has gotten a lot of press in recent years, with several state governments considering “fair repair” legislation.
In the spirit of the movement, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak – who created the first Apple computers in a garage with Steve Jobs in the 1970s – endorsed it earlier this year.