The most important iPhone SE 4 feature might be repairability

I used to look forward to the shiny new features and tools announced with each iPhone launch. But as the years go by and each launch seems to come around quicker than the last (there have been 46 since 2007), there’s one thing I want to know more than anything: how long is this device likely to last?

That’s why I’m cautiously excited about the launch of the iPhone 16e this week. Because this might be the most repairable iPhone ever made.

It appears I’m not alone in wanting a device designed to last. Research suggests that Americans are holding on to their phones for longer than they were a few years ago, valuing devices that are “good enough” over the latest models with fancy new features.

Curiously, although Apple’s description of the iPhone 16e includes claims that it is “better for the environment”, increased repairability isn’t mentioned as part of that.

For the sake of both our wallets and the planet, we need devices that last longer. The average American family spends around $1,800 on new electronics per year. In other words, Americans could save a combined $49.6 billion if they were able to repair instead of replace electronics and appliances.

Unrepairable devices are a massive problem for the environment and fuel a growing deluge of electronic waste around the world. When not recycled properly, e-waste can release 1,000 different chemical substances into the environment, including toxins such as lead. The United Nations estimates that 62 million tons of electronic waste was generated globally in 2022, and that only 22 percent of it was recycled. That’s equal to 169 Empire State Buildings’ worth of electronics discarded annually. In the United States alone, we generate nearly 8 million tons of e-waste each year.

But something is starting to change. In the U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s latest Failing the Fix report, which gives a repairability grade to leading electronic brands and manufacturers, Apple improved the most among cellphone manufacturers (alongside Google), surpassing last year’s C to earn a B. Apple’s higher marks partially result from a significant increase in the ease of disassembly of its products.

It is clear that the incredible efforts of the Right to Repair coalition nationally are a huge factor in this progress. In October 2023, Apple announced it would comply with California’s new right to repair laws nationwide. On January 1st, 2025, an even stronger, standard-setting consumer repair law came into effect in Oregon, requiring devices to allow third-party parts, and disallowing companies to use software to reduce their features’ efficacy. As of February 2025, 20 states have active Right to Repair legislation.

In Europe, legally required repair scores are also incentivizing manufacturers to design more repairable products. Since January of 2021, France has required companies to provide detailed information about how fixable certain products are, and to post an overall repair score at the point of sale. Our Failing the Fix report reviews the detailed repair information now available from this requirement for 100 devices and tracks changes in grades since our last report.

There are signs that repair scores are gaining support in the U.S. Colorado passed a resolution calling for repair scores in 2024, Oregon introduced a similar resolution this year and California and New York could be next.

But despite this, there’s still more to do.

For example, although newer iPhone models have been designed with more accessible hardware, software locks still make them difficult to repair. Apple still uses software locks known as “parts pairing” that prevent repair by any independent or third-party technicians. For example, while the iPhone 16 Pro features an improved modular design and more accessible replacement parts, repairs still require specialized tools.

I 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, each which contains critical minerals and has a large ecological footprint to manufacture. Consumers must be protected from theft, but the absence of a workaround for recyclers undermines potential gains from the new iPhone models.

As a campaigner who has gone toe-to-toe with Apple and other tech giants for a few years now, I’m glad that Apple is using its engineering prowess to make products more fixable. This should be the beginning, not the end, of a process towards ever more repairable products.

Readers of this piece can help by urging their elected representatives to support state legislation in favor of the right to repair and repair scores, and by urging the Federal Trade Commission to use its rulemaking power to continue protecting our Right to Repair.

I like bells and whistles on my phone as much as the next person. But more than AI, faster chips and a 2-in-1 camera system, give me a device designed to last!