Consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL) has followed through on its plans to publicly release repair manuals for its latest iPhones.
The Silicon Valley-based company said the repair manuals will allow iPhone owners an alternative way to repair their devices without having to bring them to an Apple Store or smartphone repair shop.
The technology giant’s new program, called “Self Service Repair,” is starting out for U.S. customers only who own Apple’s iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and the newest iPhone SE.
Apple said it designed the program to offer customers access to the same parts, tools and instructions it gives to its own certified technicians and partner repair shops, hopefully making it easier for people to repair devices instead of resorting to buying a new one.
Apple’s do-it-yourself repair program comes at a time when it and the larger technology sector are under pressure to allow people the choice to repair their devices at home for lower costs, an idea that’s often called “Right to Repair” and has been discussed by lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and at the state level.
The larger Right to Repair movement has been gaining steam in the past couple years. Lawmakers and voters in states across America are increasingly debating and passing laws forcing companies to change their approach, particularly by publishing repair manuals and giving customers access to diagnostic tools for the products they buy.
Other technology companies already offer repair programs of their own. Companies including Google (GOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) announced partnerships with the popular online repair site iFixit to sell parts or tools for some of their devices.
won’t offer all replacement parts for its devices, focusing instead of common problems like cracked screens and malfunctioning batteries or cameras. It’s also building diagnostic tools into its purchasing program to help calibrate and authenticate new parts if they’re needed. Those diagnostic tools won’t be made available unless people buy the parts from Apple, the company said.
Apple plans to expand its program to Europe and to offer M1-based Mac computer parts for repair by the end of the year. Apple doesn’t plan to offer do-it-yourself repairs for products made before the iPhone 12, which first launched in 2020.
However, the cost to buy a self-repair kit from Apple may itself be prohibitive for consumers. An iPhone 12 display and screw replacement bundle, for example, costs as much as $269.95 U.S., which included the display, screws and replacement adhesives.
Other repair tools cost hundreds of dollars, though Apple said that it will offer rentals as well. For the iPhone 12, a tool rental kit costs $49 U.S. including shipping.
Apple said its parts and tools are “designed to meet the same high safety and quality standards as parts used in new products.”
