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After initially showing resistance, Apple now supports California’s Right to Repair Act, “SB 244.” According to the repair website iFixit, the Cupertino giant officially endorsed California Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman’s bill, indicating its full change of heart regarding the matter.
The bill is expected to affect different tech companies and manufacturers to provide “sufficient service literature and functional parts” to consumers and repair facilities to repair their products. It specifies that the repair materials for products with prices between $50 and $99.99 should be made available in California for three years after the products’ last manufacturing dates. Meanwhile, it says products beyond $99.99 should be given at least seven years for repair support.
It adds that unauthorized repair service providers or facilities would have “to disclose if it uses replacement parts that are used or from a supplier that is not the manufacturer.” In the end, it stresses that the city attorney, county counsel, district attorney, or Attorney General may bring an action in superior court to impose civil liability should the law be violated by any tech company. According to the bill, the penalties will cost $1,000 per day for the first violation, $2,000 per day for the second, and $5,000 per day for the third and subsequent violations.
The bill passed the Senate with a 38–0 vote and will be in its final hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee next week. With its stance, its implementation in California seems inevitable. Fortunately for the iPhone maker, the bill reflects its current Self Service Repair program, which provides customers with genuine Apple parts, tools, and repair manuals for their own out-of-warranty repair. Moreover, the company provides product support for up to five or seven years (depending on the part availability), which means it complements the bill’s descriptions. With all this, the support for the bill seems logical for Apple, which is gradually embracing and injecting the concept of repairability into its current and future products, including iPhones and Macs.
