‘Right to repair’ likely in Australia: iFixit

Iconic how-to website iFixit reveals which Apple devices you might be able to repair yourself.

Kyle Wiens, founder and CEO of iFixit

Australians may soon repair their iPhones and Macs following Apple’s decision to set-up a self-service repair program in the US.

However, some Apple devices will be easier to repair than others, according to iFixit, an e-commerce and how-to website that is famous for its teardowns of Apple and other technology products.

iFixit has built a business sourcing components and providing tools, instructions and videos for users to fix their own technology, particularly screens and battery replacements.

Founder Kyle Wiens has been a passionate advocate for the right to repair in the US and says it is a matter of time before Apple launches the program in Australia. Apple would be spurred on by an unreleased Productivity Commission report in the hands of government, but not yet public.

Mr Wiens said that in the US, Apple had “read the tea leaves” following President Joe Biden’s executive order this year requiring the Federal Trade Commission to enforce a right to repair on competition grounds.

He said in the past, Apple had “systematically done everything it could to drive local repair businesses out of the market”.

Mr Wiens said the right to repair was also about the environment – addressing the practice of throwing devices away rather than fixing them. “If every American used their devices for a year longer, it’s the equivalent to taking 600,000 cars off the road.”

But some Apple devices would prove easier to repair than others. “At a high level the iPhone is easier to repair than a Samsung device. Apple makes it much easier to change the screen,” he said.

Users could also replace the batteries on the iPhone – iFixit had instructions on how to do it and millions around the world repaired their devices every month.

In contrast the glass on an iPad was glued to the frame which made it “really hard to fix” and it was very thin glass. “It’s hard to remove the glass without breaking it,” Mr Wiens said. “We have our repairability scale from one to 10. The iPhone gets a six. The iPad, I think, gets a one or two.”

Mr Wiens described AirPods as “the worst product Apple sells from a repairability viewpoint”.

Kyle Wiens. Picture: The Tribune, San Luis, California

While they offered good audio quality and were a best selling product, “it is not possible for consumers or professionals to replace the batteries”. “With Samsung Galaxy buds you can replace the battery no problem.”

Battery life was typically just 18 months which is why earbud batteries were an issue.

He said Apple laptops did not have upgradeable RAM memory or storage. iFixit had given a one out of ten repairability score for almost every MacBook Pro since 2012. RAM and storage were soldered and keyboards were not repairable without replacing half the computer.

“They’ve just been awful, but the new MacBook Pro is slightly improved. It is a little easier to change the battery.”

Mr Wiens said iMacs used to be upgradeable but not anymore. RAM and storage would be upgradeable if the iMac was just a millimetre thicker.

“We have more sane people (designing) the current batch of products and things are going to get better,” he said.

iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens (left), The Australian technology journalist Chris Griffith and iFixit's Jeff Souvanen inspect the components that make up an iPhone X at a coffee shop in Newtown, Sydney

Mr Wiens hopes that consumer repairability catches on and other manufacturers start to offer it. Repairability may become a feature that manufacturers promote when they launch products in future.

Apple has said its self service repair program initially would cover iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 line-ups, followed by Mac computers running on Apple’s M1 chips. The program was “intended for individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices”.

In its earlier draft report the Productivity Commission said it was harder and more expensive to get devices repaired by anyone other than the manufacturer. There were also the problems associated with the voiding of guarantees when consumers do not use repairers and spare parts specified by manufacturers.

It also noted the impact that “premature and planned obsolescence of products” had on the environment and growing levels of e-waste and landfill.

Apple has not indicated yet which countries will get its self-service repair program beyond the US but it has said it will be rolled out to some other countries.

All this suggests that Australians might be getting their screwdrivers and spanners out sometime soon.