Apple authorized service technicians could perform Face ID repairs on iPhone XS and newer phones without replacing the entire device, the company has reported on its social media profiles.
The tech giant may soon grant official Apple stores and authorized Apple service providers access to a new part of the TrueDepth Camera service consisting of Face ID and front-facing camera modules. As a result, authorized stores and vendors will be able to perform repairs on the same unit when a phone experiences Face ID issues rather than having to replace the entire device.
Behind there is an ecological measure
As described by Apple itself in an internal memo published a few weeks ago, the move will reduce the carbon footprint of its products by lowering the number of full unit repairs. If it happens, it also means owners of iPhone XS and newer models won’t need to set up a new iPhone and possibly lose data just because of Face ID issue.
It is not yet clear when this new repair process will be implemented. The company has only told technicians that they will receive training and documentation in the coming months. The news comes a few weeks after Apple announced the new “Self-Service Repair” program, another move that could also make repairs easier from an environmentally sustainable perspective.
Through the initiative, Apple will educate customers on how to repair their devices at home while selling them parts and tools. Customers will also receive recycling credit when they return their used parts after repairing their devices.
Apple has ensured that the “Self-Service Repair” program would launch earlier this year in the United States and then expand to other countries later. Specifically, Apple plans to give customers the ability to repair their own devices amid growing shortages of electronic components and pressure from lawmakers and consumers around the world, who are calling for electronics manufacturers to relax the requirements needed to that the technical support of the companies take care of the repairs without this cost directly affecting the consumer.
Apple plans to start with some components that tend to require replacement, such as screens, batteries, and camera modules. The company says it will have more than 200 parts and tools available at launch and plans to add more later next year. The repair program will initially be available only to iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 users, but will later expand to Mac computers using Apple’s new internal M1 chip.
Apple’s move comes as electronics makers, as well as makers of cars and heavy machinery, from tractors to hospital equipment, face mounting pressure to ease restrictions on independent device repair shops or repairs a movement known as “right to repair”.
