Apple makes a major change that makes it significantly cheaper and easier to repair broken iPhones

Release time：2024-05-22 01:28:54 Source：Global Gazette news portal

If you're always breaking your iPhone, a new Apple update will make it much cheaper and easier to fix your device. 

From autumn, 'select iPhone models' will be able to receive used components – such as a screen or a camera – from another iPhone, as long as they're 'genuine' Apple parts. 

Currently, when someone puts a used component in their iPhone, the device rejects it by limiting functionality and sending notifications about an 'unknown part'.

It marks a positive step forward for the 'right to repair' movement, which puts pressure on tech giants to make their phones easier to fix.

However, one expert said the multi-trillion-dollar company is only making the change due to pressure from lawmakers. 

Apple is making it easier for iPhone owners when it comes to making simple repairs by letting owners fit used components 

In a blog post  Apple said the update is coming to 'select iPhone models', although TechCrunch reports that this refers to the iPhone 15 and the upcoming iPhone 16, Pictured, the iPhone 15 released last year

READ MORE: The vast scale of Earth's e-waste laid bare in new report

The world produced 62 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022 

In a blog post, Apple said the update is coming to 'select iPhone models', although TechCrunch reports that this refers to the iPhone 15 and the upcoming iPhone 16. 

'Used genuine Apple parts will now benefit from the full functionality and security afforded by the original factory calibration, just like new genuine Apple parts,' Apple says. 

Currently, Apple requires customers to endure a controversial process called 'parts pairing' when they want to put new parts in their iPhone. 

When you buy an iPhone, the phone's software is coded to recognise the serial numbers for the different components, such as the screen and the battery. 

As a result, if the iPhone is fitted with components with serial numbers that the software doesn't recognise, several iPhone features won't function properly. 

What's more, users will get notifications telling them that the phone is unable to determine if the newly-fitted battery or screen 'is a genuine Apple part'. 

According to a test by iFixit, with current 'parts pairing' restrictions, if a broken iPhone 15 screen is replaced with an identical screen, key features such as the front-facing camera, face ID and auto-brightness stop working. 

Currently, Apple requires customers to endure a controversial process called 'parts pairing' when they want to put new parts in their iPhone 

What is right-to-repair? 

Right-to-repair is a global effort to make it easier for consumers to fix their smartphones, laptops and other devices. 

The movement - which includes a coalition of European organisations - has long pressurised tech giants to make devices easier to fix and help reduce e-waste. 

Major tech companies making devices hard to fix creates an electronic and electrical rubbish mountain - wasting resources and blighting the environment, say green campaigners. 

That's because the phone recognises each part 'paired' to it and restricts the ability to replace parts without a proprietary process to restore functionality. 

With the new update, it seems Apple is taking the first step away from parts pairing.

From autumn, calibration for genuine Apple parts, new or used, will happen on device after the part is installed, the company says in the blog post.

However, it's unclear whether a repaired iPhone with have full functionality from autumn; MailOnline has contacted Apple for more information. 

Apple has defended parts pairing by describing it as 'critical to preserving the privacy, security, and safety of iPhone'.

But right to repair advocates says it fuels the world's e-waste problem by making perfectly functional components expendable. 

Nathan Proctor, senior director of Public Interest Research Group's right to repair campaign, said Apple is facing increasing legislative pressure to end the practice.

The move coincides with a bill heard in the Colorado Senate that bans firms from throttling repairs using a crafty tactic known as 'parts pairing'. 

'Make no mistake – the reason Apple is doing this is because right to repair is moving forward, thanks to the efforts of state lawmakers and our coalition of tinkers, fixers, makers and environmental and consumer advocates,' Proctor said. 

'Electronic waste is the world's fastest growing waste stream and represents a global crisis. 

'Companies that use software to prevent compatible spare parts from working fully make this problem worse, while harming consumers and undermining local repair shops. 

'Lawmakers should ban these repair restrictions fully, not just a few devices from one manufacturer.'

Proctor stressed that this does not mean that parts pairing is coming to an end, adding that it 'will definitely continue' based on this announcement. 

Major tech companies making devices hard to fix creates an electronic and electrical rubbish mountain - wasting resources and blighting the environment, say green campaigners 

READ MORE iPhone users claim new iOS update makes devices 'unusable'

The latest update, iOS 17.4.1, is making some people's iPhones buggy and slow (file photo) 

'Apple does not outline the steps you need to take to restore functionality to used or swapped Apple parts, only that it will be permitted on select iPhones models starting in the fall,' he said. 

'Apple is still intently opposing legislative proposals to limit parts pairing.' 

Danielle Purkiss, material systems design expert at University College London, said parts pairing creates a 'digital lock on device components'. 

'In many cases this activity creates a type of manufacturer monopoly on product repair services and reduces the options available for replacement parts,' she told MailOnline. 

'This makes the cost of repair and parts less-competitive, and therefore generally more expensive for citizens. 

'This is bad for society and for the environment as it leads to unnecessary costs and puts people off repairing their products, and instead replacing them. 

'Overall the outcomes of activities like parts pairing that prevent repair and shorten the lifespan of products prematurely are increasing environmental impacts like greenhouse gas emissions and negative impacts from metals mining needed to manufacture replacement products, and the environmental harm caused by the growing mountains of waste electronics globally.' 

Apple has a Self Service Repair programme that ships replacement parts and tools to people's houses for a fee so they can fix their broken iPhones and Mac computers.

The tech giant's Self Service Repair programme ships replacement parts and tools to people's houses for a fee so they can fix their broken iPhones and Mac computers 

According to the Verge, the new change means users won't have to bother giving their phone's serial number when they make an order. 

Apple launched the service in the US in 2021 and the UK the following year, although it's been criticised for being too complex and having 'disastrous' results. 

However, Apple said the programme is only suited to 'customers who are experienced with the complexities of repairing electronic devices'. 

E-waste and its health risks

E-waste (electronic waste) includes anything with plugs, cords and electronic components. 

Common sources of e-waste include smartphones, TVs, computers and any type of home appliance, from air conditioners to children's toys. 

These electronics contain valuable non-renewable resources including gold, silver, copper, platinum, aluminium and cobalt. 

This means when we dispose of them without recycling, we are throwing away precious materials. 

Human health is jeopardized by the 'informal processing' - such as burning - of discarded e-waste, according to a 2021 report from the World Health Organization. 

E-waste-connected health risks can result from direct contact with harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, chromium, or brominated flame retardants.

They are also triggered by inhalation of toxic fumes, as well as from accumulation of chemicals in soil, water and food.

For an expectant mother, exposure to toxic e-waste can affect the health and development of her unborn child for the rest of its life. 

Source: WHO/Natural History Museum  

Related articles