Apple compelled to add iPhone and MacBook repairability scores to comply with French law

Apple has implemented the iPhone and MacBook Reability Score this year in its online store in France to comply with a new French law. MacGeneration Reports This rating takes into account how easily a device can be disabsorbed and the availability of repair manuals and spare parts. Details on how they were calculated, links to each product’s final score are available. This support page.

Ratings of Apple products vary between products and generations. Its iPhone 12 lineup, for example, has a score of six out of 10, while last year’s iPhone 11s is rated between 4.5 and 4.6. According to detailed scoring estimates, the new iPhones fall easily compared to previous year’s models due to the improvements, and spare parts are cheaper than the cost of the phones. The spread is low among the company’s various MacBook models, with scores ranging from 5.6 to 7.

Image: Apple.com

The repressive score is required by a new French law which came into force on 1 January with a new anti-waste law. a Website marking scores in various manufacturers Only 40 percent of France’s electrical equipment was repaired last year, repairing after it broke. The government aims to raise it to 60 percent within five years, using the score to educate consumers and pressure makers to make improvements.

It is not a complete system. Radio france international notes Those manufacturers calculate their own scores (based on strict guidelines), and they can get easy scores with simple measures such as giving more information about software tools.

At least one manufacturer has already changed the response to the law. a report form Le monde Compared to last year’s model, Samsung offered an online repair guide for its Galaxy S21 Plus, a clear effort to increase its repairable score. The European Union has used similar initiatives in the past to encourage energy efficiency, where the label Simple information about the energy consumption of household products is offered.

France’s new law is still in its initial stage, and it will not be until 2022 that companies begin to face fines for failing to comply. But there are already expectations that the initiative – which currently covers smartphones, laptops, televisions, washing machines and law and order – may expand into more product categories in the future. And the European Parliament last year voted in favor of the right to repair the rules, with hopes that similar initiatives could take place across the continent.