You spend hundreds on an iPhone or other Apple device. What is something goes wrong? But instead of running to the Apple Store, you fix it yourself. That’s awesome, isn’t it? But Apple doesn’t think so. The right to repair: techs love it, Apple hates it.
So New York mom Jessa Jones found herself in this situation. She fixed an iPhone with her bare hands. Then she became an independent technician in phone repair and screen replacement. ?However, Jones didn’t know about Apple’s strict laws against these kinds of repair. These laws forbid technicians using parts outside of Apple facilities and those Apple don’t approve. Also, these ‘renegade techs’ are messing up Apple’s dependence on Chinese parts. If you ask me, that’s a good thing.
Consequently, the state of New York has a bill in the works. They call it the Fair Repair Act. This gives people the right to repair. It also cuts down on people throwing away phones because of minor, but expensive repairs. The average smartphone life span is 18-24 months. But after that, most of them end up in landfills. If this bill gave techs the right to repair, more people would keep their phones longer. Furthermore, it would cut down on e-waste.
Even a third grader can figure this out. Apple doesn’t want this to interfere with their money. Also, Apple doesn’t want people to get hip to people fixing their own phones. Not only that, Jessa Jones is holding workshops, and teaching others how to fix their phones. The right to repair techs grow into a grassroots community. In the Boston computer repair community, we know of a few. ?It’s a threat. Come on, Apple! You’re a multi-billion dollar corporation. Surely you can, I hate to use the phrase, ‘share the wealth’. Also, maybe this get us off Chinese dependence. Hence, maybe this right to repair movement will open more American jobs. So I give props to these right to repair activists. Instead of stopping these guys, shouldn’t Apple learn something from them?