price hikes that hurt

Be careful if you soon need to change the battery of an iPhone, iPad or MacBook, because Apple is announcing significant price increases in 2023. We can’t wait for the return of easily replaceable removable batteries!

With Apple and repairability, it’s one step forward and three steps back! If we can welcome the fact that the components are more removable on the most recent products or even the establishment of the Apple Self Service Repair service in Europe, which allows users of certain devices to repair them themselves by buying official spare parts – despite often delicate manipulations to be carried out –, the Cupertino company continues to amaze with its pricing policy since it has decided to increase the price of changing the batteries on its iPhone, iPad and MacBook.

Thereby, “from 1^er March 2023 out-of-warranty battery service fee will increase by €24 for all iPhone models” (except the new iPhone 14) announces the manufacturer on its page dedicated to battery repair, in a small discreetly inserted note. Same story for MacBooks and iPads. A decision that is all the more problematic given that its batteries are not known to be the most enduring on the market… Of course, Apple does not give the reason for this price increase, which will make users cringe, even if one suspects that it must be linked to inflation and the shortage of components – the reason why the prices of the latest iPhones would be so high. Nevertheless, this decision falls particularly badly in view of the climate crisis which requires us to reduce our electronic waste as much as possible…

Apple batteries: what are the new prices for a replacement?

The rise in battery repair prices relates to Apple’s repair service – it’s not yet clear what will happen to authorized repairers or direct purchase of replacement parts. Thus, the cost for the repair of the iPhone batteries will increase 24 €, while that of the MacBooks will cost 36 € more for the MacBook Air and 60 € more for the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Finally, some iPad models will see the price increase by €40 for the repair of their battery. Here is a recap:

To note that it is of course possible to go through repairers approved by Apple and, in this case, the prices are very variable. At WeFix (the repair service of Darty and Fnac), the prices are essentially the same. At Alloréparation, it is extremely variable from one model to another: for example, you will have to pay €109 for an iPhone 12 Pro, but only €45 for an iPhone 8 and €59 for an iPad Mini €59. Others are downright more expensive, like Save, where the battery repair for an iPhone 12 Pro is €89.90 and €69.90 for an iPhone 8.

Apple batteries: a problem that is not new

For several years, Apple has been under pressure on the issue of the repairability of its devices, whether by its customers, by environmentalists and even by some of its shareholders. The firm is regularly accused of doing nothing – or too little – to facilitate the repair of its devices. Thus, in France, where a repairability index graduated from 1 to 10 has been mandatory since the beginning of 2021, the scores collected by the American company go, as the newspaper Le Monde noted last spring, from 4.5 to 6.10 depending on the references – and again, the brand is saved by the accessibility of its documentation, which drives up the ratings. This is a real problem because it contributes to the production of electronic waste, and therefore to pollution…

To make devices more durable and fight planned obsolescence, Europe is trying to shake things up with a law that requires batteries to be removable for smartphones, tablets, laptops and more to end this ecological and technological aberration (see our article). However, the rise in prices for battery repair – hoping that this will not also increase for the other components – dissuades the user from repairing the device and pushes him to overconsumption, making the law useless…