Back in 2018, the State of California joined the Right to Repair Act bill, which aims to create laws that force tech companies to provide tools for both customers and independent stores to repair their products. Although Apple was initially against this bill, the company surprisingly decided to support the bill in California for the first time.
Apple now endorses Right to Repair bill
As noted by iFixit, Apple has decided to endorse the California Right to Repair bill for the first time, which came as a surprise.
The bill known as SB 244 will require manufacturers to provide parts, tools, and repair diagnostics necessary for both customers and third-party repair providers to fix products. The idea is to encourage a “competitive repair market” that is “cheaper for consumers and better for the planet.”
Once the bill is enacted, manufacturers will have to provide parts, tools, and repair documentation for products costing between $50 and $99.99 for three years after the end of the product’s manufacture. For products costing more than $100, these materials must be available for seven years after the end of manufacture.
“These terms will ensure that manufacturers can’t drop product repair support at the end of a product’s warranty period,” iFixit explains. Currently, Apple provides support for products for up to five years after the end of sales. In some cases, parts are available for up to seven years after the product is no longer sold, depending on the availability of the parts.
If a company violates the new law, it will have to pay $1,000 a day for the first violation, $2,000 a day for the second violation, and $5,000 a day for subsequent violations. New York was the first US state to pass the Right to Repair bill, and a lobbyist working for Apple, Google, and Samsung has been trying to dilute the impact of the new law ever since.
Apple’s Self Service Repair program
Amidst bills such as the Right to Repair Act in the US, Apple has launched the “Self Service Repair” program, which provides the tools, documentation, and parts so that consumers can repair their devices themselves. The program was launched in the US and recently expanded to some countries in Europe, including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.
The company has also been making its devices more repairable. For instance, the iPhone 14’s frame has been redesigned so that the back glass can be easily replaced – something that wasn’t possible before. As a result, repairs to cracked back glass are now cheaper, as they no longer require replacing the entire device.
You can find more details about Apple’s Self Service Repair program on the company’s website.
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