Apple has to mention iPhones repairability from now on
A new law in France forces companies like Apple to mention the repairability of, for example, its iPhones on the product pages.
The French government is now forcing Apple to show the repairability of iPhones and MacBooks. This is a new law that will be enforced from next year, TheVerge reports. The idea is that manufacturers themselves must indicate how easy electronics can be repaired, in order to avoid unnecessary waste.
Apple shows iPhones repairability
Apple must therefore indicate to what extent iPhones and MacBooks score in terms of repairability. In addition, they also publish the way in which they calculate the score. For example, current iPhone 12s score 6/10, which surprisingly matches the score that iFixit gives the smartphone. Older devices such as the iPhone 11 receive a significantly lower score of a maximum of 4.6 / 10.
The score, on the other hand, works slightly differently from the popular repair platform. Apple’s own figure includes things like ease of disassembly, availability and price of spare parts, and the outlook for software updates.
E-waste initiative
The idea behind the score is therefore to provide consumers with information about the sustainability of a product. Only 40% of all broken electronics would be repaired, according to the French government. That must be 60% within five years.
A low score therefore means that the product will usually produce more E-waste. Between the lines it is also a kind of extra price indication. The lower the score, the more money you will probably spend on a possible repair. Handy, therefore, for the environmentally and money-conscious Apple fanatics.
Incidentally, all electronics manufacturers must adhere to those rules, even if it is not a watertight system. After all, manufacturers determine the score themselves and small tricks (such as publishing repair manuals) can increase the score.
Nevertheless, such a score should be widely available; in the Netherlands too. After all, it is an incredibly useful tool for the consumer and it forces manufacturers to handle their products more carefully. After all, Chinese disposable electronics are outdated and the government should encourage that!
