Name: iFixit Highlights Apple's Uncertain Right to Repair Stance Through Emails Shared With Judiciary Committee
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iFixit Highlights Apple's Uncertain Right to Repair Stance Through Emails Shared With Judiciary Committee

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Thursday July 30, 2020 10:13 am PDT by Apple CEO in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee where he was questioned on Apple's policies, but Congress also released a series of emails that Apple had submitted as part of the ongoing antitrust investigation.Image via Those emails revealed Apple's thoughts and provided insight into its efforts to , but there were also emails on other topics, including the ongoing Right to Repair battle that Apple has been fighting against independent repair shops.Repair site iFixit is part of the Right to Repair fight and today and the context surrounding those discussions, which is an interesting read for those who support the Right to Repair movement.For those unfamiliar with , it's legislation that mandates that consumers should be able to repair their own devices, and that electronics companies like Apple should provide repair parts and repair manuals to all repair shops, rather than just Apple Authorized Service Providers.Apple has lobbied heavily against Right to Repair, but internally, emails suggest Apple has been uncertain about its position and how it wants to handle repairs in the future. As an example, Apple scrambled to figure out its narrative when in April 2019 wrote an op-ed in favor of the movement."The larger issue is that our strategy around all of this is unclear. Right now we're talking out of both sides of our mouth and no one is clear on where we're headed," reads the email.An internal Apple email on repair shared with the subcommitteeLater in 2019, iFixit discovered repair manuals online and questioned Apple about it. iFixit received no response, but according to the emails shared with Congress, it sparked internal discussion. From an email between Apple PR execs:Right now, it's pretty clear things are happening in a vacuum and there is not an overall strategy. Plus, with one hand we are making these changes and the other is actively fighting Right to Repair legislation moving in 20 states without real coordination for how updated policies could be used to leverage our position."As it turned out, Apple released the ‌iMac‌ manuals for the EPEAT green certification standard, and not all teams at Apple were aware those manuals were being uploaded nor was everyone in favor of it. Apple did not ultimately remove the manuals, but has not posted further repair instructions online.Multiple states have introduced Right to Repair legislation, but lobbying from Apple and other companies like John Deere has prevented it from passing. Apple continually as the reason why repairs need to be restricted.In fact, to persuade California lawmakers not to pass Right to Repair legislation, Apple's lobbyists took apart an and explained how customers could harm themselves if the lithium-ion battery is punctured. Apple has also said that it wants to that their products will be "repaired safely and correctly," as the reasoning behind not opening up repairs to all repair shops.Even as it fights Right to Repair legislation, Apple has been making some moves to attempt to appease those pushing for expanded repair access. Apple in August 2019 introduced an that provides independent repair businesses with genuine Apple parts, tools, training and repair manuals, but it does require repair shops to to get access.iFixit does, of course, heavily advocate for Right to Repair policies so the piece on Apple's uncertainty over how to handle the shifting demand for access to repairs is somewhat biased, but is worth a read for those who are interested in better access to repairs.Tags: , [ ]Right to repair is an obvious step. For the "what happens when..." crowd, one need to look no further than cars. OEMs authorize franchises to repair their vehicles, but any other number of unauthorized shops can also do the repairs. The OEMs make the parts and knowledge available to everyone to facilitate the free market.Would anyone like to revert to the model where only BMW authorized shops can touch a BMW?Score: 31 Votes ( | )Who will be responsible for a badly repaired phone or when something stops working after home repair? What if the device has been sold to a buyer that didn't know it was repaired by the owner?I like to have the right to repair, but what should incapable people have the right to do?What is the difference between a car? Should we make it illegal to repair our own car at home because we want to protect our customers? That sounds insane.Score: 27 Votes ( | )Does anyone honestly believe Apple should be in the hook for anything if a home repair does not work out?Look, I can fix my car at home and still take it to a dealership. Same thing. If I messed it up, Apple will charge me extra to fix my screw up. Simple. Stop trying to make it illegal to work on our own purchased items.Score: 27 Votes ( | )Competition has always been good, monopoly not so muchOnce we were able to open a computer and upgrade ram (some iMac lets you still do it), change internal HD etcGreat times!Score: 22 Votes ( | )It's not illegal to fix your phone, just as the car. It's not the legality that I am worried about. It's the people that think they can do this after one Youtube video.Apple was trying to pass a bill in California trying to make it illegal to fix your phone yourself. What are you talking about. Dude, Apple is hella shaddy for that. They are not on the customer side.The car manufacturer!Eh wrong. People buy second hand cars all the time. Check craiglist. Those cars have been worked on by regular people.Score: 18 Votes ( | )I do not buy the, " We do not want people to do the repair themselves for their own safety" line. I can buy the line of protecting customers by making sure only Apple parts are used in repairs. But the solution is then to make the parts available to repair shops. But then the issue becomes customers will always go for the cheapest solution. Repair shop, " You want OEM parts? That will be a $150 repair. We can do it for $80 if you want to use generic parts." The customer will then opt for the $80 charge then you have a suspect knockoff battery in the phone.Score: 17 Votes ( | )Friday September 9, 2022 9:20 am PDT by Garmin has reacted to Apple's new rugged Apple Watch Ultra, saying in a tweet following the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch event that it measures battery life in "months" and "not hours," promoting its latest Enduro 2 watch for athletes. While the Apple Watch Ultra has the longest battery life of any Apple Watch to date, with Apple promising up to 36 hours of normal use and up to 60 hours with... • Sunday September 11, 2022 7:53 am PDT by Apple is set to release iOS 16 this Monday, September 12, as a free update for the iPhone 8 and newer. iOS 16 includes plenty of new features, ranging from a customizable Lock Screen to the ability to temporarily edit or unsend iMessages. To install iOS 16 when the update is released, open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap General → Software Update. After you update your iPhone to... • Friday September 9, 2022 1:37 pm PDT by With pre-orders for the iPhone 14 lineup now open, many iPhone customers will be weighing up whether or not now is the time to upgrade their device. The iPhone 14 models offer some substantial upgrades with Emergency SOS via satellite, Crash Detection, camera improvements, and more, but some customers will now be casting their mind forward to next year, when it may be a more appropriate time ... • Monday September 12, 2022 4:27 am PDT by The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have seen "bad" pre-order results, indicating that Apple's positioning of the two new standard models may have failed, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In his -14-first-weekend-online-pre-order-survey-110411040b5d"&gt;latest post on Medium, Kuo explained that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have seen "neutral" and "good" pre-order results... • Sunday September 11, 2022 2:00 am PDT by There are usually multiple features that Apple is not able to finish before the first official release of a major new version of iOS, and this year looks to be no different, with a total of nine iOS 16 features now confirmed to not be present in the first public version of the new OS. Last year, SharePlay, Digital IDs in the Wallet app, and Universal Control were among a large number of... • Sunday September 11, 2022 3:58 pm PDT by Apple does not advertise battery capacities for its new iPhone 14 lineup, but MacRumors has obtained this information from a Chinese regulatory database. Three out of four iPhone 14 models feature larger battery capacities compared to the iPhone 13 lineup, with the exception being the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is equipped with a slightly smaller battery compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max.... • Sunday September 11, 2022 1:20 pm PDT by Following its September event focused on new iPhone and Apple Watch models, Apple often holds another event in October focused on new iPad and Mac models, and this year will likely be no exception. October is still three weeks away, but we already have a good idea of the products that would likely be announced at an event next month. For the October event, rumors suggest that Apple plans to... • Saturday September 10, 2022 2:31 pm PDT by As was the case with iPhone 13 Pro models released last year, 4K ProRes video recording on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max still requires a model with at least 256GB of storage, according to Apple's tech specs for the devices. ProRes video recording is limited to 1080p at 30 frames per second on iPhone 14 Pro models with a 128GB storage capacity. To record ProRes video in 4K at 30... • When will iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 be released? Here's everything we know. Apple on July 20 released iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6, bringing improvements to the live sports experience in the TV app and several bug fixes. How big of an upgrade are Apple's cheapest mainstream flagship phones? Apple's latest Pro phones replace the notch with an innovative "Dynamic Island," but what else is new compared to last year's models?• • • • • September 16Apple's new high-end iPhone models with Dynamic Island camera cutout, A16 chip, 48MP main camera, and more. Pre-orders available now. September 16Apple's latest mainstream iPhone models in two sizes with A15 chip, car crash detection, satellite connectivity, and more. Pre-order now ahead of iPhone 14 launch on September 16, iPhone 14 Plus on October 7. September 16New body temperature sensors, car crash detection, and more. Pre-order now. Mid–Late 2022?Updated AirPods Pro could see some design changes like elimination of the stem.• • • • • {other_blurb}

Thursday July 30, 2020 10:13 am PDT by Apple CEO in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee where he was questioned on Apple's policies, but Congress also released a series of emails that Apple had submitted as part of the ongoing antitrust investigation.Image via Those emails revealed Apple's thoughts and provided insight into its efforts to , but there were also emails on other topics, including the ongoing Right to Repair battle that Apple has been fighting against independent repair shops.Repair site iFixit is part of the Right to Repair fight and today and the context...

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iFixit Highlights Apple's Uncertain Right to Repair Stance Through Emails Shared With Judiciary Committee

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