The Rise of Right to Repair: A New Era for Apple?

As an individual with confidence and competence, it's exciting to think that manual gets are available to obtain individual parts straight from Apple, allowing for self-repair and potentially removing electronic waste. This initiative is a huge step forward for the industry, offering individuals a real choice and unlocking potential repairs. The potential ripples this sends throughout the industry are great, and the removal of e-waste is a significant positive.

However, despite the surface-level appeal of this program, it's essential to consider its limitations. Currently, the list of supported repairs is still relatively short, with only battery, screen, and camera repairs available. This lack of comprehensive coverage means that many repairs will still require independent repair shops or external documentation, which may not be officially recognized by Apple.

The simplicity of this initial program also raises questions about its long-term viability. Devices like iPhones and laptops are becoming increasingly complex and integrated, making them more difficult to repair. Even with official parts and instructions from Apple, some repairs may still be out of reach for individuals without specialized knowledge or equipment.

That being said, there are some promising signs within this program. The inclusion of pull tabs under battery cells in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro suggests a more repair-friendly design, with only a few screws required to access the bottom. This is a step in the right direction, and it will be interesting to see how Apple continues to improve its repair process.

Despite these positives, there are still many unanswered questions about this program. For example, what will be the cost of these parts for individuals? Will all necessary tools and documentation be available, or will some repairs require specialized equipment or external expertise? The lack of comprehensive coverage and unclear long-term plans mean that it's essential to approach this initiative with caution.

So, why did Apple decide to implement this program? According to experts, the impending legislation and regulatory pressure from governments like the FTC and European law have likely played a significant role. By getting out ahead of these changes, Apple is attempting to maintain control over its products while still appearing proactive and forward-thinking.

The implications of this move are far-reaching, with potential ripples throughout the industry. As a major player in the tech world, Apple's actions will undoubtedly influence the way other companies approach repair and sustainability. By embracing right-to-repair initiatives, Apple may be signaling a shift towards greater consumer empowerment and environmental responsibility.

Ultimately, this program is a great first step for Apple, but it's essential to recognize its limitations and potential pitfalls. As the movement continues to evolve, it will be crucial to monitor progress and push for more comprehensive coverage and long-term commitment from companies like Apple.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso today apple announced their self-service repair program and a pretty major flip on their stance on right to repair and yes there is still a bit of a catch but my first reaction one seeing this was well i ain't never ever seen you act like this before it does seem kind of crazy we're seeing them like add ports back to the macbook pro going back on that stuff and now flipping a stance on the right to repair but my second reaction was why so i made a video a little while back this year all about right to repair that i highly suggest watching talks about the concept a bunch of companies with various stances around the issue and why it's important the concept of being able to repair the thing that you bought should be very simple but in 2021 it's not now apple isn't the only company guilty of various bad practices like this but they are one of the most influential consumer facing companies ever right so any step they make in favor of right to repair is a pretty major deal so here's the announcement they've made and i'll link it below apple announced the self-service repair program which allows customers who are comfortable with completing their own repairs access to apple's genuine parts and tools this is starting with the iphone 12 and 13 lineups starting early next year and soon we'll add m1 max after that and the initial phase of this program will focus on the most commonly serviced modules such as iphone's display battery and camera so basically independent certified repair shops have had access to some tools and parts for some very basic repairs to stuff like the iphone and now individuals like you and me will be added to the list of people who can get access to those tools and parts that's the pretty big deal so let's say you drop your iphone or something on the ground the screen cracks okay you've already always had the option to go to the apple store and have them do it for that price or you could take it to an independent repair shop and pay for them to do it but now you have the extra option if you're a confident and competent enough person to get that manual get those individual parts straight from apple and do the repair yourself and then you can actually send back the old or broken parts to apple so they can recycle them and then you'll get a credit back on your account for some of that value that's not bad so i on the surface i think this is great i think it's huge the the potential e-waste being removed the potential repairs that have been unlocked the real choice that's being offered to us and the potential ripples this sends throughout the industry are all great but it's definitely it's definitely still a first step and here's why i say that so number one it's still the pretty simple fairly short list so this goes back to the point i made in the original right to repair video which is that devices like these phones and laptops are more complex than ever and are built way more tightly integrated than ever which makes them much more difficult to repair so even if an individual like you or me now has the instructions and the parts officially from apple uh some of the deeper repairs like parts of the motherboard like i could do a battery or a screen no problem but you know some of the memory might be going wrong and you want to replace some of that it's all still soldered together and it's integrated so much that you'd probably have to replace the whole thing so that hasn't really changed now i will say i have seen some tear downs of the new 14 and 16 inch macbook pros and the battery looks noticeably more repair friendly there's pull tabs under some of the cells now only a few screws to get inside the bottom so this does appear to be premeditated at least a little bit but i still don't see people like you and i taking parts of the motherboard off but then number two this is also something that a lot of independent repair shops and people like lewis rossman have already aired their grievances about which is that the list of those repairs that are being supported by apple is still so short it's like battery screen cameras that's it and if it's anything outside of that there still will not be official apple documentation or ports parts made available that also has not changed now the fact is most iphone repairs will be under those like three most common ones i mean screens and batteries got to be number one and number two apparently that's over 200 parts and tools already being made available just for those big three macs being added to the list will add a lot more and those are probably the only types of repairs i would personally at this moment be trying to do myself but for repairs beyond that ports buttons speakers and mics and things like that i would like independent repair shops to be able to fix those things with official apple parts and documentation as well apple says the program will be expanding later next year but as of right now that has also not changed so why did apple do this i mean they've been they've been notoriously against pretty much any right to repair stance for forever and this is so unlike them well number one i think a lot of the impending legislation caused by the right to repair movement has put pressure on them like there's you know ftc regulation coming down there's also things in europe in law that have sort of pressured apple and they're sort of getting out ahead of it even a presidential order has gone through in the u.s i think it needs a lot more work to be stronger but apple's seeing all this stuff and is getting out ahead of it a little bit but also number two this is fantastic pr like this is a this is a great headline especially for apple now again a lot of the stuff still unchanged we have a lot of questions we don't know prices yet how much these parts are going to cost for individuals we don't know the qualifications if everyone's going to be able to get these parts or not and there's still a bunch more details of the program that have yet to be unveiled when it does start next year but it's a great first step i will absolutely give them that it's a great first step and since it's a great first step for apple one of the biggest companies out there it's a great first step for the industry as a whole so i like it but yeah this is great i almost want to like take a broken iphone and just repair it just for the hell of it uh but i'm curious what you guys think i don't know it feels like a new look apple whether it's just them getting out in front of legislation and potential problems in the future or maybe a little bit of them is also listening to what people are saying i don't know either way it got us here so it's a good day for the beginning of the movement either way that's been it thanks for watching catch you guys in the next one peaceso today apple announced their self-service repair program and a pretty major flip on their stance on right to repair and yes there is still a bit of a catch but my first reaction one seeing this was well i ain't never ever seen you act like this before it does seem kind of crazy we're seeing them like add ports back to the macbook pro going back on that stuff and now flipping a stance on the right to repair but my second reaction was why so i made a video a little while back this year all about right to repair that i highly suggest watching talks about the concept a bunch of companies with various stances around the issue and why it's important the concept of being able to repair the thing that you bought should be very simple but in 2021 it's not now apple isn't the only company guilty of various bad practices like this but they are one of the most influential consumer facing companies ever right so any step they make in favor of right to repair is a pretty major deal so here's the announcement they've made and i'll link it below apple announced the self-service repair program which allows customers who are comfortable with completing their own repairs access to apple's genuine parts and tools this is starting with the iphone 12 and 13 lineups starting early next year and soon we'll add m1 max after that and the initial phase of this program will focus on the most commonly serviced modules such as iphone's display battery and camera so basically independent certified repair shops have had access to some tools and parts for some very basic repairs to stuff like the iphone and now individuals like you and me will be added to the list of people who can get access to those tools and parts that's the pretty big deal so let's say you drop your iphone or something on the ground the screen cracks okay you've already always had the option to go to the apple store and have them do it for that price or you could take it to an independent repair shop and pay for them to do it but now you have the extra option if you're a confident and competent enough person to get that manual get those individual parts straight from apple and do the repair yourself and then you can actually send back the old or broken parts to apple so they can recycle them and then you'll get a credit back on your account for some of that value that's not bad so i on the surface i think this is great i think it's huge the the potential e-waste being removed the potential repairs that have been unlocked the real choice that's being offered to us and the potential ripples this sends throughout the industry are all great but it's definitely it's definitely still a first step and here's why i say that so number one it's still the pretty simple fairly short list so this goes back to the point i made in the original right to repair video which is that devices like these phones and laptops are more complex than ever and are built way more tightly integrated than ever which makes them much more difficult to repair so even if an individual like you or me now has the instructions and the parts officially from apple uh some of the deeper repairs like parts of the motherboard like i could do a battery or a screen no problem but you know some of the memory might be going wrong and you want to replace some of that it's all still soldered together and it's integrated so much that you'd probably have to replace the whole thing so that hasn't really changed now i will say i have seen some tear downs of the new 14 and 16 inch macbook pros and the battery looks noticeably more repair friendly there's pull tabs under some of the cells now only a few screws to get inside the bottom so this does appear to be premeditated at least a little bit but i still don't see people like you and i taking parts of the motherboard off but then number two this is also something that a lot of independent repair shops and people like lewis rossman have already aired their grievances about which is that the list of those repairs that are being supported by apple is still so short it's like battery screen cameras that's it and if it's anything outside of that there still will not be official apple documentation or ports parts made available that also has not changed now the fact is most iphone repairs will be under those like three most common ones i mean screens and batteries got to be number one and number two apparently that's over 200 parts and tools already being made available just for those big three macs being added to the list will add a lot more and those are probably the only types of repairs i would personally at this moment be trying to do myself but for repairs beyond that ports buttons speakers and mics and things like that i would like independent repair shops to be able to fix those things with official apple parts and documentation as well apple says the program will be expanding later next year but as of right now that has also not changed so why did apple do this i mean they've been they've been notoriously against pretty much any right to repair stance for forever and this is so unlike them well number one i think a lot of the impending legislation caused by the right to repair movement has put pressure on them like there's you know ftc regulation coming down there's also things in europe in law that have sort of pressured apple and they're sort of getting out ahead of it even a presidential order has gone through in the u.s i think it needs a lot more work to be stronger but apple's seeing all this stuff and is getting out ahead of it a little bit but also number two this is fantastic pr like this is a this is a great headline especially for apple now again a lot of the stuff still unchanged we have a lot of questions we don't know prices yet how much these parts are going to cost for individuals we don't know the qualifications if everyone's going to be able to get these parts or not and there's still a bunch more details of the program that have yet to be unveiled when it does start next year but it's a great first step i will absolutely give them that it's a great first step and since it's a great first step for apple one of the biggest companies out there it's a great first step for the industry as a whole so i like it but yeah this is great i almost want to like take a broken iphone and just repair it just for the hell of it uh but i'm curious what you guys think i don't know it feels like a new look apple whether it's just them getting out in front of legislation and potential problems in the future or maybe a little bit of them is also listening to what people are saying i don't know either way it got us here so it's a good day for the beginning of the movement either way that's been it thanks for watching catch you guys in the next one peace\n"