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Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com)
Jason Koebler, writing for Motherboard: The news that Apple throttles iPhones that have old batteries will reinvigorate the right to repair debate as the movement enters a crucial year. Third party repair shops say they've already seen an uptick in customers asking for battery replacements to speed up their slow phones, and right to repair activists who are pushing for state legislation that will make third party and self repair more accessible say Apple's secrecy about this behavior will give them a powerful rallying message. "If Apple were serious about battery life, they'd market battery replacements," Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of Repair.org, told me in an email. "Apple clearly has a big financial benefit when people decide their phones are too slow and head to the Apple Store for a new phone." Repair.org is a right to repair advocacy group that is made up largely of small, third party repair shops, which is spearheading the effort to get states to consider legislation that will make it easier to repair electronic devices.
"If Apple were serious about battery life, they'd market battery replacements," Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of Repair.org, told me in an email. "Apple clearly has a big financial benefit when people decide their phones are too slow and head to the Apple Store for a new phone."
Apple offers battery replacement as part of their services. Cost is $79 which is not cheap but certainly much cheaper than a new phone.
The only reason I upgraded to iPhone 8 from 6s was the slowness. The 6s more than met my needs with both iOS 10 and 9. 11 killed it. Can I sue?
In other words, a corporate lobby group.
Just remember that the next time you see a lobby group you disagree with that happens to be funded by other corporations. Who funds the lobby group does not inherently change the value of the lobbying. Debate the issue on its merits.
In this case, as a right-winger, I agree with this lobby group, at least on the issue presented here in the way that it is presented. The right to purchase a good, and thereby own it, is a fundamental aspect of a fair, open and free market. If I cannot repair that which I own, then I don't really own it. Now, granted, as we shrink our circuits to the point of ICs, we may not be able to replace individual resistors or diodes or anything, but there does need to be some level of repair available, especially for parts that can wear out. Batteries, even rechargeables, definitely fall under that category. Screen glass probably as well, based on the number of cracked phone screens I've seen over the years.
Replacing the damned battery shouldn't be something considered a "repair". It's only the greed and asshole nature of phone manufacturers than make it that way.
"If Apple were serious about battery life, they'd market battery replacements," Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of Repair.org, told me in an email.
They do.
Do a little reading. They are doing it for three year old phones because even though it may be charged to 100% the old battery can't deliver enough current and has been observed causing the phone to glitch.
This all seems to be a bit of a made up issue to me. All of the high-end, WATER RESISTANT smartphones have internal batteries. Apple offers free battery replacement to those under warranty or having AppleCare+. They offer battery replacement to everyone for $79 otherwise. No is being forced to buy a new phone because of the battery. If you can afford a $700 phone you probably won't blink at $80 for a battery replacement.