You Can't Be "Green" and Restrict Repair
Apple and others are being forced to be more sustainable through repair. Plus: Google and iFixit offer replacement parts for the Fold phone. The story’s different with Pixel Watches.
Apple announced it would be making all of its devices carbon neutral by 2030, with a line of carbon neutral watches for purchase, all announced at its highly anticipated 2023 launch event. An admirable goal no doubt, and one of the most significant pledges by a tech company to date. But when we dig beyond the savvy marketing we get a much more nuanced story.1
But while the company was making jokes about how it’s really doing its darnedest to make their products less damaging to our world, iFixit had some other news. The defacto judges of repairability would be retroactively reducing the iPhone’s repairability score due to its use of software to constrain repairs through part pairing. (Check out our podcast with Alexandre Isaac of the France-based The Repair Academy for a from the trenches view on how parts pairing frustrates repairs.)
Mounting public pressure supporting repairability
There is reason to praise companies for making progress on sustainability goals, but there is an equally important responsibility to create policy frameworks that demand - rather than politely ask - corporations to do the right thing.
Apple supported California’s state-wide repair bill after years of hard fought disagreements replete with lobbying of California lawmakers. Apple also announced that it would begrudgingly step in line by hanging up its proprietary (and highly profitable) Lightning cable and move to the standardized USB-C cable. That wasn’t because the company realized that the added costs to consumers and the environment outweighed its billions in licensing revenue. It as due to changes to laws and requirements in the EU. It has heeded EU calls for more repairable (and cheaper) designs.
Policies are never bulletproof, however. The same design requirement that forced Apple to adopt the standard the USB-C didn’t mandate minimum data transfer rates, meaning that Apple isn’t required to make fast-charging cables standard in its products. Nor has the Cupertino company taken steps to reform its deeply unrepairable product design for AirPods.
It will take public pressure to force corporations to change their ways. While well-made marketing can obscure the truth to convince us that carbon neutral watches will solve our consumption problems, having a device you can easily and cheaply repair is equally important. It might mean Apple can’t cut to beautiful landscape videos of solar panels and wind turbines for a marketing video, but repair has more of an impact than the company is letting on.
Read more coverage of iFixit’s demotion of the iPhone’s repairability rating:
Apple pairs well with profits, not repair shops (The Register)
iFixit says Apple's iPhone 14 is 'literally not repairable' due to strict parts validation rule (PC Gamer)
Other News
Google isn’t offering repair options for cracked Pixel Watch screens, leaving owners to rely on their warranty, which does not cover accidental damage, and making it difficult for users to repair their devices themselves despite the potential for future repairability noted by iFixit in its teardown.
Pixel Fold replacement parts and repair manuals are now available. The story is more sunny when it comes to the Pixel Fold smart phone, the Verge reports. Pixel Fold replacement parts and iFixit repair guides are now available, expanding Google's partnership with iFixit for easier self-repair. New repair kits include one to replace the Pixel Fold's flexible inner screen, including the OLED display, glass panel, batteries, and more, is available for $899.99 (or $909.99 with iFixit's Fix Kit toolset).
Individual components such as the "Flip" and "Base" batteries are sold separately for $49.99 each. Other replacement parts include the front camera for $42.99 and the OLED outer display for $159.99.
Maine added a right to repair question to their November ballot, known as Question 4. This which would allow motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities to have access to vehicle on-board diagnostic systems. (Check out this op-ed in favor of the measure: “Mainewhile, right to repair law would put power back in consumers’ hands.”
Two good reads on vehicle right to repair. The question of an automotive right to repair has long been at the forefront of the debate. Vehicle repair is a complex issue, so its always good to read takes on the right to repair tailored to an expert audience. There are two recent pieces that fit this bill.
The first is a right to repair explainer piece over at Fleet Maintenance that digs into the vehicle right to repair debate regarding access to telematics data.
The other is this piece over at Aftermarketnews.com that looks specifically at the (bogus) arguments automotive OEMs make with regard to telematics access and cyber risks and what it would really mean for automakers to comply with Massachusetts expanded vehicle repair law.
Thrift shopping is gentrifying as the second-hand apparel market expects to reach a projected $70 billion by 2027. Concerns over the rising prices of secondhand clothing, partly driven by resellers and thrift store price increases, might make it less accessible to price-conscious shoppers and gentrify thrift stores, making them less affordable for low-income consumers. Not to mention that fast fashion brands are entering the resale market, further complicating the landscape.
Bike tires that never go flat is a claim being made by The Smart Tire Company which is offering Metl bicycle tires made from nitinol, a shape-memory alloy made of nickel and titanium. These airless tires are being sold via a crowdfunded campaign on Kickstarter, with pledges starting at $500 for a pair, and come with some risks associated with a cutting-edge startup product.
Biodegradability and repairability in fashion is possible by avoiding plastic components and using natural materials like corozo nut and milk casein for buttons. British fashion designer Phoebe English describes her work as slow and sustainable clothing, using materials like discarded luxury hotel bed linen and textile waste to craft her collection. English also emphasizes the importance of clear legislation to curb the damaging practices of the fashion industry and reduce waste and overproduction.
What can we learn from the Luddites? Former tech enthusiast, Bryan Merchant, now embraces a Luddite perspective, recognizing the harm caused by certain technologies and advocating for resistance against tech monopolies and the negative impact of generative artificial intelligence. Merchant draws parallels between today's tech giants and the technology and industrial firms that sparked Luddism, a popular revolt against tech-driven changes like power looms that undermined livelihoods and communities in the early 19th century. Merchant emphasizes the importance of regulation, worker protections, and sharing the benefits of technology for all.
A Right to Repair/Electric Vehicle (EV) Forum to address key issues related to right-to-repair legislation is being organized by The Tire Industry Association (TIA). The conference will cover the impact of EV growth on the tire and automotive service business, aiming to engage industry stakeholders, including tire dealers, manufacturers, suppliers, and activists in open discussions on these topics, scheduled for October 30, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Caveat — companies doing work to reduce their carbon footprint is good, but climate collapse is much more than carbon neutrality. Carbon neutral watches do nothing for the e-waste produced by the consumption of electronics or the inhumane conditions workers face in extracting the raw materials for components.