The Apple Self Service Repair program for iPhone models is set to get a little more affordable and a little more sustainable with the news Apple will begin offering used parts.
Apple says that beginning this autumn genuine used parts will be available after efforts to maintain the privacy, security and safety of its users.
The idea is to give iPhone owners more flexibility in enhancing the longevity of their devices and gives Apple the opportunity to lessen its impact on the planet.
To achieve this Apple had to manage the need to pair genuine parts with the correct iPhone, as is currently the case.
Over the last couple of years Apple said it has been hard at work to enable “the reuse of parts such as biometric sensors used for Face ID or Touch ID, and beginning this fall, calibration for genuine Apple parts, new or used, will happen on device after the part is installed.”
Next-generation iPhones will support used biometric sensors, Apple says, without the need to pair serial numbers with the device.
Repairing an iPhone via the self-repair website is currently more expensive than perhaps it needs to be, and it’ll be hoped these reclaimed used parts may provide a cheaper alternative.
The program officially launched two years ago but is quite prohibitively priced, even compared with out of warranty repairs from Apple itself, with the need to rent a toolkit from the company too.
Apple is also expanding the Activation Lock feature, which it says will deter iPhones that have been stolen being disassembled for parts.
“If a device under repair detects that a supported part was obtained from another device with Activation Lock or Lost Mode enabled, calibration capabilities for that part will be restricted,” Apple explained.
