, it intends for the parts to go to “independent repair professionals and skilled consumers with the relevant technical experience.” As a tech writer, I’ve over-confidently tried my hand at more than my fair share of gadget repairs over the past few years, assuming that I do indeed have the relevant technical experience.
Don’t get me wrong, being able to buy genuine parts at a reasonable price from a legitimate store is a huge deal, and will go a long way towards prolonging the lifespan of older devices. But if you’ve sprung for insurance—or your phone is still covered by warranty—then getting it fixed through the official channels will still be the most sensible option for most people.
Also, the bigger deal for many people, I suspect, is that iFixit will be able to sell official parts for more devices to independent repair shops. This will allow them to offer repairs—or more affordable repairs—of older smartphones. However it all shakes out, though, this broad push towards more reparable devices is huge, and a nice return to the earlier days of computing. I look forward to keeping my current iPhone XS Max going for another few years—even if it’s only as a backup device.
I’ve replaced the battery on my iPhone 6 twice (myself). It was a huge pain in the butt. But the bigger problem is it can’t run the newest version of IOS, and apps like Amazon, LinkedIn, and Jimmy Johns won’t run on it anymore. I wish they’d fix that too.