The shareholder fight that forced Apple's hand on repair rights
Wednesday morning, Apple announced that the company will soon make parts and repair manuals available to the general public, reversing years of restrictive repair policies. The new policy represents a seismic shift for a company that has fought independent repair for years by restricting access to parts, manuals, and diagnostic tools, designing products that are difficult to fix, and lobbying against laws that would enshrine the right to repair.
But Apple didn't change its policy out of the goodness of its heart. The announcement follows months of growing pressure from repair activists and regulators — and its timing seems deliberate, considering a shareholder resolution environmental advocates filed with the company in September asking Apple to re-evaluate its stance on independent repair. Wednesday is a key deadline in the fight over the resolution, with advocates poised to bring the issue to the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve.
Apple spokesperson Nick Leahy told The Verge that the program "has been in development for well over a year," describing it as "the next step in increasing customer access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals." Leahy declined to say whether the timing of the announcement was influenced by shareholder pressure.
Apple makes parts and manuals available to all (15m35s Louis Rossmann video)
See also: Apple makes a concession to 'right to repair' movement, will let you repair your own iPhone
Opinion: Another Apple PR fail as company waits until forced to act over Right to Repair
Apple gives in on right-to-repair
Apple Folds to Right to Repair Movement – Will Allow Customers to Perform iPhone, Mac Repairs From 2022
Previously: Apple Sued an Independent iPhone Repair Shop Owner and Lost
Apple Exports Independent Repair Provider Program to Europe and Canada
Apple, Microsoft, and Google Team Up to Block Right to Repair Laws
Apple and John Deere Shareholder Resolutions Demand They Explain Their Bad Repair Policies
Leaked Apple Training Videos Show How it Undermines Third-Party Repair
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Last year, Apple’s lawyers sent Henrik Huseby, the owner of a small electronics repair shop in Norway, a letter demanding that he immediately stop using aftermarket iPhone screens at his repair business and that he pay the company a settlement.
Norway’s customs officials had seized a shipment of 63 iPhone 6 and 6S replacement screens on their way to Henrik’s shop from Asia and alerted Apple; the company said they were counterfeit.
In order to avoid being sued, Apple asked Huseby for “copies of invoices, product lists, order forms, payment information, prints from the internet and other relevant material regarding the purchase [of screens], including copies of any correspondence with the supplier … we reserve the right to request further documentation at a later date.”
The letter, sent by Frank Jorgensen, an attorney at the Njord law firm on behalf of Apple, included a settlement agreement that also notified him the screens would be destroyed. The settlement agreement said that Huseby agrees “not to manufacture, import, sell, market, or otherwise deal with any products that infringe Apple’s trademarks,” and asked required him to pay 27,700 Norwegian Krone ($3,566) to make the problem go away without a trial.
“Intellectual Property Law is a specialized area of law, and seeking legal advice is in many instances recommended,” Jorgensen wrote in the letter accompanying the settlement agreement. “However, we can inform you that further proceedings and costs can be avoided by settling the case.”
Huseby decided to fight the case.
Europeans and Canadians with busted iPhones will soon be able to swerve the Genius Bar and associated lengthy waiting lists, as Apple expands its Independent Repair Provider (IRP) program to third party technicians.
The IRP scheme authorised independent businesses to perform out-of-warranty repairs on iPhones using genuine Apple components — such as displays and batteries.
Repair facilities will be able to use third-party components and set their own prices, but must inform customers when they're using genuine Apple parts - which would hit anyone trying to use aftermarket TouchID sensor replacements and the like. Any salvaged parts must be returned to Apple, where they'll either be refurbished or recycled.
Apple said it will also provide training, service guides, and other resources — although repair providers will be compelled to keep these confidential.
This comes a month after Norway's Supreme Court upheld a ruling that a local repair shop violated Apple's trademark by using an unauthorised screen to fit a customer's iPhone.
Apple, Google & Microsoft Have Teamed up to Block the Right-to-Repair Law
Apple, Google & Microsoft Have Teamed up to Block the Right-to-Repair Law:
Bloomberg today released a report on how companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are working together to put a stop to laws that would make it necessary for companies to provide device schematics, genuine repair parts, and repair manuals to independent repair technicians.
Almost 27 states have considered the laws in 2021 alone, but in more than half of them, the laws have been voted down or dismissed. Many lobbyists and trade groups representing tech companies have fought hard against this law with Apple pointing out that such measures could lead to device damage or consumers harming themselves when attempting to repair their devices.
In Washington, for example, Washington House of Representatives Democrat Mia Gregerson sponsored a Right to Repair measure that was fought by Microsoft, Google, Amazon, along with lobbyists representing Apple. Lobbyists later said that Apple would endorse repair programs at local colleges if the bill was dropped.
Also at Bloomberg and MacRumors.
See also: Leaked Apple Documents Inadvertently Helped the Right-to-Repair Movement
Louis Rossmann Starts a GoFundMe to Get "Right to Repair" Legistation Passed Through a Direct Ballot
Apple and John Deere Shareholder Resolutions Demand They Explain Their Bad Repair Policies - iFixit:
Apple and John Deere, primary antagonists of the Right to Repair movement, may soon have to explain their domineering repair programs to one of their most demanding audiences: their shareholders.
U.S. PIRG, working with its affiliated socially responsible mutual fund company, Green Century Funds, has filed shareholder resolutions with both Apple and John Deere, asking them to account for “anti-competitive repair policies." Both resolutions admonish the companies for fighting independent repair and ignoring the broad political shift toward Right to Repair laws.
Touch ID stops working if you replace the fingerprint sensor on your iPhone. This used to brick iPhones; now it’s just the sad reality of iPhone repair.
Green Century’s Apple resolution says that the company “risks losing its reputation as a climate leader if it does not cease its anti-repair practices.” Noting that internet-connected devices will account for 14% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, Green Century’s resolution demands the company reverse course to “mitigate regulatory and reputational risks and bolster the company's ambitious climate commitments.”
[...] The John Deere resolution calls out the company’s broken promise to make crucial repair software available to farmers. "Company representatives are quick to point out that less than 2% of all repairs require a software update," Green Capital Funds notes. "However, Deere does not disclose what percentage of the repair sales the 2% represents."
Leaked Apple Training Videos Show How It Undermines Third-Party Repair:
Leaked training videos Apple made for its authorized repair partners show how the company trains repair technicians to undermine third party companies and talk customers into buying more expensive first party repairs.
[...] The training videos are meant to help Apple’s certified repair stores navigate a world where customers can get replacement parts far cheaper than what Apple charges for basic repairs. For years, Apple has made it harder for independent repair stores to fix phones, nudging customers to go to Apple stores instead. In response, there's been a rising right-to-repair movement that wants to make it easier for people to repair their own stuff.
Andrey Shumeyko, a member of a community of Apple enthusiasts that seek, publicize, and trade any kind of information that Apple would like to keep under wraps, sent the eight videos with Motherboard. The videos are not public, as they are only intended for Apple store employees and authorized independent repair technicians (these are called Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASP). Shumeyko said the videos were stored on an Apple platform, where a bug allowed him to access them without having to provide a login.
AASP launched in 2016 as a way for some independent stores to make basic repairs to Apple devices. AASP stores must open their stores to unannounced audits by Apple, and face a mountain of restrictions on what they can and can’t fix.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by canopic jug on Thursday November 18 2021, @07:46PM (5 children)
Hold the celebrations for a while. Wait until a few months have gone by and we can verify what Apple is really offering to do. The alleged gains only count for anything if independent shops are able to get any and all components and surface schematics. Even then, for that to do any good, the prices must not be unreasonable. Otherwise it is just a public relations maneuver to get people to let their guard down.
Until then, don't let up for one second on Apple. Keep holding their feet to the fire, because you know given past history they will regress the moment that attention lessens or pressure lets up.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 18 2021, @08:08PM
Indeed, Apple thinks it owns the equipment after the sale. Pretty much always has since the Macintosh first came into being, trying to ensure there could be no upgrade ports of any kind on the motherboard even then.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Thursday November 18 2021, @08:55PM (2 children)
I think they'll do it. But it's not going to be all sunshine and unicorns. Best guess is that the replacement parts are going to be so expensive to buy from Apple it probably won't be worth it. Best case then there is a market for buying old devices to just grab components from them, if they are the same or similar.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 19 2021, @02:47PM (1 child)
Then they will just do the Elsevier thing and change the design just enough every couple years to tank the used market.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Friday November 19 2021, @03:10PM
That is always an option. That said a reason they keep cranking them out at the speed they do is probably that they keep reusing common designs and parts. It could be detrimental to themselves to keep doing to many changes just for the sake of changes. Better to just jack up the prices for the parts they resell. After all it's not like there is an infinite market for old usable devices, which they could also just kill if they have some kind of replacement program, as where you hand in your old device when you get a new device.
As I said I don't believe it will be sunshine and unicorns. I think they'll do all the annoying things they can. The order process will be annoying, the prices will be high, they'll do the special screwdriver (and other tools things) trick to make it even more annoying, they might add things to the devices that are just there to be as annoying as possible and you'll have to be some kind of tetris-robot-god to assemble it again if you manage to open it up etc. If it wasn't for the added weight they would probably just pot the entire device, I'm sure they could come up with some excuse for why they needed to do it.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 18 2021, @09:52PM
I don't know what a "reasonable" price is, with Apple. People routinely go to Apple's sales pages or shops, and start with a basic computer, for a slightly exorbitant price. Looking at MacBook Pro 16" right now - $2499 for the basic, 10 core Apple CPU, 16 G memory, 512 G storage, no software installed. Upgrade to the M1 CPU 10/32/16 costs another $400, upgrade to 32G RAM is another $400, 1 TB storage adds $200, or 2 TB for $600. Maxing out with the best CPU, 64 gig of memory, and 8TB of storage will cost $6,099. Ridunculous - you can buy comparable hardware for roughly 2/3 the price any day of the week, and if you wait for a sale, such as Black Friday, you'll get down to about 1/2 the price. NOTE: I am not comparing prices with the cheapest low budget laptops found in WalMart and similar stores, I'm talking about top-of-the-line offerings from any major vendor.
So, given that their storefront prices are ridiculous, how do you determine what a reasonable price is for repair parts? Are they seriously going to charge $200+ per TB for storage? Drop by Newegg, and Samsung NVME PCIe storage is available, 2TB for $229. 1 TB is only $119. That's roughly half of what Apple charges.
I can see Apple selling their storage at $200/TB, through their own laptop storefront, but doubling up on that price when selling to repair shops and/or consumers. "But, we're using all available production in our own products, if you really want this item, you're setting our production back, so you'll have to pay a premium!" Which will undoubtably lead to more court cases.
(Score: 3, Offtopic) by looorg on Thursday November 18 2021, @09:27PM (1 child)
I wonder how far back parts and replacements will stretch. I have a couple of SE/30 machines that could use some replacements, such as a new CRT.
That said not holding my breath there, it's probably not stretching that far back.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 18 2021, @09:48PM
Obviously not. The manufacturer of the SE/30 tube probably does not exist anymore and even if they do, they are probably not making CRTs anymore and lack the production capability to do so.
That being said, there are still companies manufacturing CRTs to this day, such as Dotronix [dotronix.com] in the USA. They might be able to help you, although it's probably more cost effective to buy a parts mule on eBay to salvage the tube out of. The same tube was likely used in multiple products.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Snotnose on Thursday November 18 2021, @10:06PM (1 child)
You need to buy this special screwdriver, one time use (for this model, we'll change it RSN), for $200. You need to buy this screen cleaner for $400 (unlimited uses), on back order. Oh yeah, that thing you wanted to replace? $600.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 19 2021, @01:57AM
Absolutely, economics is a big part of right to repair.
If you paid the manufacturer (X) a bazillion dollars, X would likely fix your Y immediately. At an economically sensible price, they might get to it when they are able if the price suits their choosing. A competitive market could improve this, but is contrary to X's business plan.
For (X and Y), this week's poster children seem to be (Apple and Iphones) and (John Deere and harvesters). But other industries have seen this as well. (Think the car parts and repair markets.)
Just because Apple says some things are available under some price and conditions does not mean that this can enable a useful repair market. It is certainly in Apple's interest to prevent such a market from competing with their inhouse repair. If this is a good faith effort, or a smoke screen to delay competition and further their interests remains to be seen. History is not encouraging.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 18 2021, @10:13PM (4 children)
Forgive me if I don't take Apple at their word, but they've lied before, either outright, as with the "Apple II forever" proclamation, or with so many restrictions as to make their offering worthless, as with their supposed support for independent repair earlier this year. I'll believe they've accepted right to repair as a reality when it actually happens, not while they just talk about it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 19 2021, @02:52AM (3 children)
Referring to Apple II gs?
(Score: 2) by HammeredGlass on Friday November 19 2021, @04:03PM (2 children)
You could play some Macintosh games on that system. Really was the best Apple ever made.
(Score: 2) by drussell on Saturday November 20 2021, @03:53PM (1 child)
Citation, please?
You could run other, previous Apple II software on them with the processor in "emulation mode" where it looks like a 6502, but I'm not sure how you think you could run software compiled for the Motorola 68000 series CPUs on a WDC 65C816 system. Perhaps some games that were available for the Macintosh were ported to IIgs versions?
(Score: 2) by HammeredGlass on Saturday November 20 2021, @04:21PM
I can only tell you what I recall. This was a few years ago after all, circa 1988-90.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 18 2021, @10:27PM (1 child)
They used to be so easy to work on. For example here's the single step for accessing the insides of a g4 powermac: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Power+Mac+G4+Quicksilver+Teardown/1465#s7922 [ifixit.com]
(Score: 2) by HammeredGlass on Friday November 19 2021, @04:06PM
There is a downside to the ease of access when dealing with techidiots. Had a friend who bought one of those and after opening it up to show it all off to me, proceeded to petting the heatsink on the cpu. It's a miracle it survived as long as it did in his care.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 19 2021, @05:40PM
the seldom case when brainwashing your customers also happens to brainwash your shareholders into becoming better people ...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 20 2021, @02:38PM
to the lowest possible level they can get away with