What’s really behind Apple’s new ‘Self Service Repair’ program?
It’s not just about letting you repair your own iPhone or Mac.
This week, in something of a stunner, Apple announced that soon there will be an official program and process for letting you repair your own Apple products. From Apple’s press release:
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 reason this is so surprising is that Apple has never prioritized user-repairability in it’s products, or at least not in a very long time. This has long led to griping from a vocal minority online who would like the ability to perform their own repairs without having to go through Apple’s own stores or a third-party authorized repair center.
I’m personally not a fan of the so-called “right to repair” movement. I think it’s misguided, and if implemented would lead to companies making all sorts of trade-offs in the name of repairability that most users wouldn’t be satisfied with. It would also lead to further unnecessary State meddling in the market.
That said, I fully applaud Apple’s new program. I personally have no interest in performing my own Apple repairs, even as a veteran Apple-focused IT professional. (I’ve always been a software guy, not a hardware guy.) I’d rather leave the repair work to a member of Apple’s Genius Bar staff who’s done so many repairs that she can do them in her sleep.
I don’t think there’s every any single reason why Apple makes these decisions, but I think a big one behind Apple’s announcement of this program is that they’re increasingly under the scrutiny of regulators toying with the idea of wielding their power against Apple. Certainly many “right to repair” supporters have been celebrating that the threat of regulation has pushed Apple to doing this. Again, my caution is that even if you support the goals of “right to repair,” you really don’t want State bureaucrats designing your next iPhone for you, even if you want to cede them the best of intentions (and you shouldn’t).
The reality is also that relatively few people are going to take advantage of this program. Most consumers really don’t want to replace a camera module in their own iPhones, or swap out the battery in their MacBook Pro. But for those who do, I’m looking forward to seeing how this new program works our for you. It’s definitely a net positive development. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of Mac repairs will be possible under this program.