The iPhone Gets a D- for Repairability

The iPhone is the slightest fixable telephone connected the market, according to repairability experts. Phones from Samsung and Google are not acold behind.

The latest repairability ratings are from an yearly study called “Failing the Fix” enactment retired contiguous by the user advocacy radical US Pirg. The groups says this is the archetypal study since a 2021 French instrumentality that requires products to beryllium labeled with reparability scores could beryllium wide relied connected to amusement however companies are—or are not—making products much repairable. The reply is that repairability is progressing overmuch much rapidly successful immoderate places than others.

The results were bully for phones made by Motorola, which got a B+. Google’s phones got a C-. The verdict was worse for Samsung phones, which got a D. Last connected the database was Apple with a D-. Apple and Samsung did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

Scores were amended for laptops than smartphones, with Asus astatine the apical with a B+ and Apple connected bottommost with its MacBooks astatine a C-.

The authors of the study are hoping that publishing these debased scores volition promote manufacturers to bash better.

“Putting these close incentives successful spot could propulsion these companies to marque innovations that are really beneficial,” says Nathan Proctor, the elder manager of the US Pirg run for the close to repair. “Instead of coming up with caller ways to jam AI down our throats, you tin marque worldly that lasts and that we tin fix.”

Despite galore right-to-repair concessions companies person made—like making their tools, parts, and repair instructions publically available—those rankings are little than years past, mostly due to the fact that of the caller accusation that has been gleaned from European Laws which necessitate repair scores to beryllium printed connected merchandise packaging.

The French instrumentality grades products based connected however easy they tin beryllium disassembled, whether documentation and tools are provided, and the availability and terms of spare parts. In 2023, the European Union passed a instrumentality establishing the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling, a process that grades devices connected cardinal repairability factors similar whether products person casual entree and disassembly, artillery endurance, ingress extortion similar waterproofing, and the durability to grip repeated falls. The rankings spell from A to F.

To get astatine its ain ratings, US Pirg collates the EPREL and France’s repair indexes with different US-specific factors, similar whether companies are actively lobbying against the close to repair oregon are members of commercialized associations that bash so.

“If you're buying your instrumentality from a institution that's spending their wealth to lobby against your close to repair that thing, that doesn't talk good for their support, for your quality to hole that,” Proctor says. “So we besides dock points for immoderate of those legislative activities.”

Apple’s phones are getting amended scores than successful years past, similar erstwhile iPhones were assigned an F standing successful 2022. (iPhones got a C- successful 2025.) The debased standing for Apple’s phones comes down to bundle support, and however the EU laws way the accusation astir what companies alteration successful their products. Based connected the EU laws, companies person to self-report however their devices conscionable repair requirements. And those rankings thin to people beauteous low.

“When we’ve been grading connected a curve, Apple has not been a standout successful the atrocious column,” Proctor says. “But wherefore are we grading connected a curve? We should conscionable person longer lasting products.”

The eventual extremity of these rankings, Proctor says, is to bring attraction to the value of repairability, accessibility, and discarded reductions.

“This is an emerging, vitally important contented that we request amended enactment connected from companies and from different nationalist argumentation officials,” Proctor says. “We should not beryllium trashing each of our net connected worldly each mates of years due to the fact that it's intolerable to usage it with the software. It's wholly unsustainable. It's crazy. Let's not physique that world. That satellite is simply a dystopia.”

“I'm really beauteous assured that immoderate of that stuff's going to get addressed,” Proctor adds. “Apple engineers are bully astatine making stuff. They're bully astatine solving problems.”