CONTROVERSY! Apple is being investigated for reducing the lifespan of the iPhone

The Halte à l’Obsolescence Programmée (Hop) institution, which can be understood as Facing Planned Obsolescence, in France, accused Apple of reducing the lifespan of the iPhone. The company’s investigation has been ongoing since December 2022.

More specifically, the complaint is based on the fact that Apple’s repair program, iFixit, requires a product serial number before releasing replacement parts. This means that if the device is not one of those available for sale, there will be no parts available for it.

So, after a certain amount of time, the device will no longer be repairable in any way. This type of behavior by the industry is seen as planned obsolescence. But let’s understand what this is first so that we can understand the seriousness of the accusation.

What is planned obsolescence?

But what’s wrong with Apple shortening the lifespan of iPhones and other devices? You need to understand what Hop is advocating. In a first search, Google would give you the following definition:

“Planned obsolescence is the decision by a producer to purposefully develop, manufacture, distribute, and sell a consumer product in such a way that it becomes obsolete or non-functional specifically to force the consumer to purchase the new generation of the product.”

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like something necessarily malicious. The company does whatever it wants with the product it creates.

However, the problem with this practice is precisely that the useful lifespan is so short that the consumer, in order to have the same quality and access to services, needs to buy a newer device with very short frequency and time intervals.

Even if the simplest device is sufficient, its operating capacity is reduced and the parts available for its repair cannot be found. The consumer has no choice but to purchase a new device.

How is the iPhone’s lifespan being reduced?

According to Hop’s indictment, by requiring the customer to provide the product’s serial number when ordering the repair, iFixit could use this approach in the future to restrict or even eliminate the use of non-original parts, as they would not be compatible with the device.

For example, a part from a newer device might not work with an older device, even if the parts are genuine Apple parts. This would limit the repair of certain parts of the devices to Apple’s authorized network.

In addition to being inconvenient for consumers, this practice is harmful to the environment. According to Hop, Apple sends “large, heavy tools” to its customers to replace parts, which would not happen if repairs for newer products could be carried out by a large network of repair shops.

Apple has not yet received notification of the alleged irregularities. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating all of the allegations made by the institution.