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Apple Increasing the Price of Out-of Warranty iPhone, Mac, and iPad Battery Replacements Starting in March

t0rqx said:
Seriously, this feels they are really really on checking out every possible way to squeeze out every penny in every way.

UPDATE: As the article has been updated. Told you so, they even probably considered this for the Airtags as well.
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But you can easily change the standard button cell battery an AirTag yourself?
 
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Didn’t they make it 69 dollars after the battery peak performance scandal way back when? What was it before they had lowered it? 160???? Anyone know?
 
MangoAvocado said:
In the EU (I've checked Italy, France and Germany) the current price is 75€, they'll increase it by 24€.

$106 to get a battery replaced :)
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That’s utterly ridiculous… €75 is already an high price, but still acceptable.
€99 is outrageous.
Think about an old but still usable iPhone XR. The battery replacement will cost more than the residual value of the phone itself.
 
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Spock said:
Accidental damage, worn part’s because of manufacturer defects. Not to mention it’s included with most carrier plans or the iPhone upgrade program.
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Most carrier plans include AC? In which country? That was news to me. I’d bet most batteries would be replaced after the short two year window anyway hence AC would not be applicable if not on monthly payment subscription.
 
contacos said:
Remember when Apple was all about great customer experience? It is more and more about "how can we milk our customers even more". Sad. I hope people start reacting with closed wallets soon. I did! Still rocking my "old" 12 Pro Max

This will just push people to those inauthentic "phone repair" stores again ...
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Apple is all about revenue since long time ago…
They care about shareholders, not customers
 
Mousse said:
Unless Apple manufactures the battery themselves, battery from the OEM supplier is the same battery without the :apple: sticker. I get a lot of Denso parts for my Tacoma and it's the exact same part as what I get from the stealership dealership. Denso supplies a lot of OEM parts for Toyota. I get NGK sparkplugs since it's OEM for my Honda.
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The trick is ensuring it is the real OEM. Car repair as an industry is fairly mature and there is enough of an aftermarket and brand names that makes it easier to ensure parts are of the right quality. The problem with phone battery replacement is it’s a lowest cost race to the bottom so parts quality loses out over cheapest price.
 
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I wish phone makers would bring back replaceable batteries. It seems like such a waste of time, energy, and materials which is very bad for the environment and people's budgets, when we could just snap in a new battery and even have a battery recycling exchange program instead. The primary driver doesn't seem to be quality as much as coercion to drive people to replace the entire device. All that leads me to wonder how many tons of waste have been created by the billions of devices that are engineered for rapid obsolescence.
 
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jtdx99 said:
Ridiculous pricing. Battery packs in bill of materials probably costs $15 at most.
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That’s only part of the costs There’s labor to diagnose, replace and recycle, storage and carrying costs to name a few.
 
Hmmm

What if Apple is forecasting something happening in China soon? COVID-19 Omicron infection in China is absolutely insane right now. Sources are saying it's going to take several long months for things to get back to 'normal' over there. Maybe they're expecting drastic slowdown in parts and goods from China so they're proactively increasing the prices.
 
MrMojo1 said:
Contact your local town hall and ask if your town has a recycling center.
Many towns do and it generally has a place to bring in dead batteries, amongst many things, for recycling.
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In England the refuse centres where you take wood, concrete etc, rubbish that can’t be thrown in the home bin, take all batteries, even light bulbs have to be taken to them. It’s a pain bit also it’s away to know things are being recycled as much as possible.
The only thing with replacing batteries in an iPhone or iPad yourself is unsticking the glass screens, and then sticking them back on will be tricky.
 
ponzicoinbro said:
That would mean every country in the EU having to deal with a very large amount of toxic waste at tax payer's expense and it would be impossible not to make waste and recycling systems more toxic.

People throw batteries in the general garbage. No matter how many times we tell the public to send to a recycling center they don't do it. They throw every kind of item in the same garbage.

It's much cleaner to just give your device to Apple (or whoever made your phone) and tell them to handle battery swap and recycling. Then they send all the old batteries to one place, instead of old batteries strewn all over the EU in desperate places mixed with food and other refuse.

You must think of the scale of a problem when talking about these things.
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That’s true, but the service price must be reasonable. €75 was still reasonable, €99 is not, for a 3 years old iPhone (that’s when you usually need a battery replacement).
 
gecko579 said:
In other forums I have seen reports that Apple refuses to replace batteries it says are “within normal operating limits” (>80%) even at the owners’ cost. In particular I have a 2yo iPad Air4 with clearly reduced battery “use” capacity which i would very much like to keep but have as of yet avoided the reported hassle of bringing to genius/mailing in only to be told “all is well/we don’t want your money. Any recent experiences with self pay?
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Not an issue with iPhones, but yes - iPads they will do that, because they don't actually replace the battery. They exchange the iPad.
 
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michaelprescott said:
I wish phone makers would bring back replaceable batteries. It seems like such a waste of time, energy, and materials which is very bad for the environment and people's budgets, when we could just snap in a new battery and even have a battery recycling exchange program instead.
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I would love this as well. Right to repair...and it's easier to power off/reset a device caught in an infinite loop. Sometimes I'd wish they'd standardized on a single battery format. Most phone batteries are 3.6v, but everyone is a different shape/size.😒 Lemme plug in the battery from my kid's RC car and have 3 day battery life.😁
michaelprescott said:
The primary driver doesn't seem to be quality as much as coercion to drive people to replace the entire device.
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IMO, the reason is people want slimmer, lighter and water proof. Replace able battery would make the phone thicker and heavier--which I don't mind--and a lot harder to make water proof. I like water proof. Gawd, I've lost count of the number of phones my kids have dunked in the pool/tub/sink/puddle.😬
 
Matsamoto said:
I like how you think, and I also agree with you🙂
The problem for me is that my iphone, and the earlier ones, will never hit 80% battery health or under before two year.
My current 12 PM is exactly 2 years old this month, and I have 88% battery health left.
As I have understand it, so wouldn't Apple change battery before 80% for free with AC+?
Or maybe they will? I'm not sure🙂
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AC+ won't replace an 88% battery... but an 88% battery is not anything to be worried about. Batteries tend to be pretty good, actually, which is WHY Apple guarantees them under AC+ regardless of usage - the few people who use the !#$% out of their device and get a battery replaced that died under "Normal conditions" due to use, aren't enough to worry about.

The OOW battery cost is MOSTLY used for people who keep their iPhones for 3-4+ years, and eventually yeah - they need a new battery. It's seldom used on phones under 2 years old... but not impossible. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ya rolls the dice, ya takes yer chances.
 
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dashinstine said:
Whats wrong with buying a new $2000 phone every year ? I mean the old days you pushed a slider off the back and changed the battery POOF easy ! Why can't apple do this.
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Two reasons:
  • A replaceable battery would need to be put into a housing, so that it's safe to remove/insert. And the battery compartment would need to be (somewhat) segregated from the rest of the phone, so that you don't cause damage replacing it. The volume of the battery is a significant portion of the phone itself, so adding in the housing - the segregated compartment - and the lid, could easily double the size of the iPhone
  • iPhones are largely water protected, unlike "the old days." Say goodbye to that.
 
jlc1978 said:
Just because something is manadatory doesn’t mean most people do it.



Which of course would mean no more water resistance in exchange for a feature few would use. I remember when replaceable batteries were needed because they would not last very long so a spare battery was needed to be able to make calls; now phone batteries last days between charges so a spare is not needed. Even if one is MagSafe makes it easy to slap on a battery in an emergency.

Given the replacement cycle of phones and the general longevity of batteries, mandating as solution as you propose would be a step back overall. I have several iPhones over 3 years old whose batteries still work just fine, and I suspect that is the case for most iPhones of that vintage. It seems 4 years of so is the typical point a battery gets to 80%, based on use and lithium battery chemistry. My 12 is still at 87%; after probably 400 or so charge cycles.

Even if they only last 50 - 70% as long on a charge, that is still well within the usability envelope. My guess is lack of OS updates and a desire for new features is as much a driver of new phone sales as poor battery life. Even so, a replacement battery is a good option for those who don’t need a new phone. I’ll probably replace my battery before the price increase since I have no need for a new phone. YMMV
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4 out of the top 5 countries that recycle the most are in the EU and the 5th, while not in the EU, is in Europe. All of those countries recycle over half of their produced waste.
Just because your experience of people you know in your country do not recycle does not mean it applies everywhere.
 
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