Robotic Automations

When it launched last April, Self Service Repair marked a shift for Apple. The company’s longtime policy of deferring to in-house “Geniuses” softened, as right-to-repair momentum had been building among users and legislators alike.

The program — which includes online instructions, parts and rentable tools — arrived with support for the iPhone 12, 13 and third-gen SE. Over the following year, the company added the iPhone 14 and select M1 and M2 Macs into the mix.

Apple today added the iPhone 15 into the mix, along with the M2 versions of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 15-inch MacBook Air, Mac mini, Mac Pro and Mac Studio. The service now includes a total of 35 products, all told.

After its U.S. launch, Self Service Repair has also steadily added additional countries into the mix. Two-dozen European countries were recently added, including Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland, bringing the grand total up to 33.

Today’s announcement also finds Apple releasing a new diagnostics tool. “Intended for users with the knowledge and expertise to repair Apple devices,” it notes, “Apple Diagnostics troubleshooting sessions will give customers the same ability as Apple Authorized Service Providers and Independent Repair Providers to test devices for optimal part functionality and performance, as well as identify which parts may need repair.”

For the time being, repairs are limited to the iPhone and Mac lines. Apple hasn’t disclosed any plans to extend the offering to additional offerings, though smaller products like AirPods and the Apple Watch present an added level of difficulty for novice repairers. The company has, however, begun discussing efforts to make its devices easier to repair, including a bit of stage time at September’s iPhone launch.

Apple is also not alone in these expanding efforts. Both Google and Samsung have introduced similar programs, while companies like Framework have made user-repairability the central feature of their offerings.