Apple’s products haven’t typically been the easiest to repair, though the company is making progress on this front.
But being able to repair a product (or at least have a third party professional do it) is an important part of the experience of owning that product, and now Apple is at least forced to acknowledge it.
MacRumors (via MacGeneration) reports that Apple has started adding repairability scores to its products on its Apple Store website and app in France. The scores, ranging from 1 to 10, are based on criteria such as the availability of documentation, availability of parts, and ease of disassembly.
Image: apple
For example, the iPhone 12 has a score of 6.0; the iPhone 11 has a score of 4.6, and the M1 MacBook Air has a score of 6.5. The scores are similar to the ones given by gadget repair specialists at iFixit, though they’re determined by Apple itself, based on guidelines of France’s Ministry of Ecological Transition, and under the eye of the Fraud Prevention Directorate.
A complete repairability sheet for Apple products in France is available here.
Apple had to add the repairability scores under the new Right to Repair law in France. For now, these scores are only available in that country, but given that the European Parliament voted to support Right to Repair in the European Union last November, we might see the scores pop up in more European countries soon.
Other smartphone companies, such as Xiaomi and Samsung, have already complied with the new rules. A list of all the devices’ scores (sans Apple’s, which apparently haven’t been added yet) is available at this website.