Apple debuts repair innovations, but will repair actually be easier?

As Apple takes pre-orders for the iPhone 16 (the device will be available physically on Sept. 20), multiple tech outlets are reporting that the smartphone features new innovations that could make repair easier:

• You can remove the glue which holds the battery in place by running 9 volts of electricity through it, making battery removal quicker and cleaner. 
• The new operating system that comes with the phone, iOS 18, now has a special “repair assistant” mode to calibrate spare parts. That was impossible outside of an authorized Apple repair center in years past. 
• With Oregon’s Right to Repair rules, which restrict Apple’s anti-repair uses of parts pairing, set to take effect soon, repair assistant will allow iPhone owners to replace existing parts with non-paired or third-party parts without the phone automatically disabling features. 
• Apple has teased other design improvements that provide “simplified access” to spare parts to make repairs easier. (We expect more details as repair experts such as iFixit take apart these phones and share their findings). 

As a Right to Repair campaigner who has gone toe-to-toe with Apple around the country, I see these announcements as signs of progress. I am glad that Apple is using its engineering prowess to make products more fixable. As electronic waste becomes a growing crisis, we don’t need more bells and whistles in our devices, we need things that last and we can fix to extend their lifespans. 

It is clear that the incredible efforts of the Right to Repair coalition in Oregon, which passed a strong, standard-setting consumer Right to Repair law this spring, are a huge factor in these updates. The new Oregon law will require devices to allow third-party parts, and disallow companies including Apple to use software to reduce their features’ efficacy. Also, the European Union will soon require phone manufacturers to use batteries that are removable with commonly available tools — and a 9-volt battery seems to fit that requirement. 

Despite this progress, repair advocates still have concerns — which hopefully will be alleviated when we learn more. Namely:

How hard will it be to get this glue? 

Will this new voltage-activated glue be available to third-party part makers? 

According to WIRED, Apple said this glue will not be exclusive to Apple, meaning repair shops should be able to buy the glue to put in a different battery. We aren’t sure about the details, but we will be monitoring how accessible this glue is for repair shops and battery makers. It would clearly be an issue if the only way to get the glue was to order a battery from Apple — as this would remove their incentive to keep repair costs competitive. 

Activation-locked parts could undermine all these gains

One of the most common complaints we hear from electronics recyclers is the large volume of devices they come across that are software-locked to the account of a previous owner. These locks mean you can’t use the device without the previous owner’s password. 

Account-locking a device is an effective way to reduce theft, since a phone that is password-locked to its true owner isn’t worth very much to a thief. However, people who donate, sell or recycle their old phone or tablet often forget to log out. When the manufacturer encounters these devices, they have the capacity to disconnect them from the previous owner, but do not allow recyclers to do the same without certain paperwork — which people donating or recycling phones do not produce.  

Apple has announced that it is extending these account locks to the individual parts in the phones, to discourage people from stealing phones and then selling the parts. 

We hope Apple also comes up with a way for reputable recyclers to work around these locks, so that we aren’t shredding usable spare parts. 

It is absurd to throw away usable parts, each which contains critical minerals and has a large ecological footprint to manufacture. Obviously, we want to protect consumers from theft, but the absence of a workaround for recyclers undermines the other potential gains from the newest iPhone.