\u201cCreating greater access to Apple genuine parts gives our customers even more choice if a repair is needed,\u201d said Apple\u2019s chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only the newest iPhones \u2014 iPhone 12 and 13 \u2014 will be eligible for the program when it launches in early 2022. But Apple said it would eventually expand to cover Mac computers featuring the company\u2019s newer M1 chips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The move comes amid growing pressure from consumers, investors, and regulators to make electronics and mechanical equipment easier to fix. Apple is among many technology and machinery companies, including Microsoft and John Deere, that have been heavily criticized for intentionally making their products non-repairable \u2014 for example, by sealing devices with glue rather than screws, using non-removable batteries, or installing software that can disable a device if it detects knockoff replacement parts. Many companies have lobbied against bills<\/a> that would increase consumers\u2019 ability to repair their own devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Advocates point out that hard-to-repair products are bad for the environment. By limiting repairability, companies encourage users to buy new devices, leading to excess greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing. In the case of Apple\u2019s iPhone 13, 81 percent<\/a> of the product\u2019s life-cycle carbon emissions come from production, which means the best thing for the climate is to extend its lifetime for as long as possible. According to Nathan Proctor, senior director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group\u2019s campaign for the right to repair, if every American used their cell phone just one year longer, it would have the same climate benefit as taking 636,000 cars off the road<\/a> per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Janet Domenitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, said that repair restrictions also cause pollution at the end of products\u2019 lives, generating toxic e-waste that is often dumped in developing countries<\/a>, contaminating the air, soils, and waterways. Domenitz predicted Apple\u2019s move would help reduce the flow of electronics destined for the landfill. \u201cWe\u2019ve moved Apple to reduce what they make, what we buy, and what we dispose of,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shareholder activist groups have made gains in recent months in the fight for the right to repair. In October, for example, the investor advocacy nonprofit As You Sow successfully pushed Microsoft<\/a> to analyze the \u201cenvironmental and social benefits\u201d of right-to-repair rules, and got the company to commit to act on its findings by the end of 2022. And the environmentally oriented mutual fund company Green Century has targeted both Apple<\/a> and Deere & Co.<\/a>, maker of the John Deere tractor, with similar shareholder resolutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even the federal government has taken on the right-to-repair fight. In July, President Joe Biden signed an executive order<\/a> directing the Federal Trade Commission, the consumer protection agency, to require companies to allow independent repairs for their products. The agency soon voted unanimously<\/a> to enforce existing laws against practices that inhibit independent repair, with Lina Khan, the agency\u2019s chair, promising to \u201croot out\u201d illegal repair restrictions \u201cwith new vigor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regulators in Europe, where right-to-repair laws are overwhelmingly popular<\/a>, have also pushed for more repairable products. In March, the European Union introduced new rules requiring manufacturers of electrical goods<\/a> to make their products repairable for at least seven years<\/a> after they hit the market. France has also required electronics manufacturers to tell consumers how repairable their products<\/a> are by assigning them a score. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In both Europe and the United States, companies including Apple have argued that letting consumers fix their own devices could pose safety and reliability<\/a> issues. But advocates say that the company\u2019s about-face illustrates the flimsiness of those arguments. \u201cYou get told no a thousand times: \u2018It can\u2019t be done,\u2019\u201d Domenitz said. \u201cBut then Apple says, \u2018Actually, it can.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She and other advocates welcomed the company\u2019s announcement but wished it had gone further to cover older Apple products. Proctor also criticized Apple for not doing more to accommodate independent repair shops with its Self Service Program. Although many people will jump at the opportunity to repair their own devices, he said, most will prefer to have their electronics fixed by a knowledgeable technician. But because parts must be custom-ordered to match each user\u2019s faulty device, they won\u2019t be orderable in advance, making the replacement process time-consuming and inconvenient even for Apple-approved service providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even still, environmental advocates said that Apple\u2019s announcement carried symbolic weight, and could represent a breakthrough for the right-to-repair movement. Kelly McBee, waste program coordinator for As You Sow, said she expected other manufacturers to follow in Apple and Microsoft\u2019s footsteps. \u201cI absolutely think we will see more of a domino effect,\u201d she said. \u201cThese are two of the greatest players in this space, and they have set a new bar for their competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published by Grist<\/a> with the headline Fixing your iPhone is about to get a lot easier<\/a> on Nov 19, 2021.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/grist.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/apple-iphone-repair.jpg\")