Apple has announced a “self-service repair” program so that “customers who feel comfortable” can repair their devices.

At launch in early 2022 in the United States, it will involve replacing the batteries, screens and cameras of recent iPhones.

But Apple’s new repair shop will sell more than 200 parts and tools.

It comes after months of growing pressure on Apple from the grassroots right to repair movement, which wants individuals and independent repair shops to be able to repair electronics.

“Self Service Repair is intended for individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices,” Apple said.

But “for the vast majority of customers” visiting a certified professional repair shop would be a better option.

“Creating greater access to genuine Apple parts gives our customers even more choice if a repair is needed,” Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer She said.

“By designing products for durability, longevity and increased repairability, customers enjoy a long-lasting product that holds its value for years,” the company said.

Apple has often been singled out as one of the staunchest opponents of the right to repair, arguing for security concerns.

The independent repair instruction website iFixit, which recently accused Apple of making iPhone screen repairs much more difficult, tweeted: “We never thought we’d see the day.”

“Apple has long argued that allowing consumers to fix their own things would be dangerous,” iFixit said in a statement to the media.

“Now, with the government’s renewed interest in repair markets – and soon after considerable bad press … Apple has seen an unexpected interest in letting people repair things they own.”

And the Canadian computer hardware reviewers Hardware Canucks he wrote: “It may be a small step overall, but for Apple to do so is a huge win for the right to repair movement.”

Apple said the self-service repair program will allow individual customers to “join more than 5,000 Apple Authorized Service Providers and 2,800 independent repair providers who have access to these parts, tools and manuals.”

It was expanding its authorized repair network, so access to official parts “has almost doubled” in the past three years, he said.

But Apple’s authorized repair schemes have long been criticized for having extended terms and restrictions such as the provenance of replacement parts, making it unlikely that a random component of a broken phone could be easily picked up and “transplanted” for repair. .

And the company maintains tight pricing controls on those components.

The right to reparation movement has garnered a lot of attention in recent years, with several states in the United States considering “fair reparation” legislation.

And earlier this year, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak – who built the first Apple computers in a garage with Steve Jobs in the 1970s – came out in favor of the movement.

“We wouldn’t have had an Apple if I hadn’t grown up in a very open tech world,” he said in July.