Apple today announced that it has officially launched its Self Service Repair program, letting United States customers repair their iPhones from their homes. To do the repairs, Apple is offering a $49 rental kit that consists of all the tools needed to repair an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 lineup model and the third-generation iPhone SE, and possibly unexpectedly, the kit is rather large.
On its Self Service Repair website, Apple says that the rental kits include two cases, one weighing 43 pounds and the other weighing 36 pounds. Stacked on top of each other, the cases will measure 20 inches in width and 47 inches in height. Thankfully, both cases include wheels for easy transportation.
On the website, Apple details what comes inside of each case, including a battery and display press, protective covers, and screwdrivers. For repairs of the third-generation iPhone SE, customers will only receive one case with tools designed specifically for the smaller iPhone.
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall.
Design
There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site.
The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out.
That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook.
Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing.
Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1.
Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China.
Our original article follows below.
Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device.
According...
Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works.
iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week.
To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media.
According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June."
Gurman made the same comment ...
I said this before many many many times. When you go to the random dude down the local shop and get a "repair", he's not using proper tools or parts. Same as the guys on YT baking the glass and replacing it and showing you this shiny looking frankenphone which looks like the original but retains none of the quality or mechanical and resistive strength of the original.
When I worked in the defence sector years ago there were all sorts of jigs and things to make sure that gaskets were correctly fitted so the IP ratings of the devices could be maintained. This is the sort of stuff you need to use to actually correctly assemble stuff.
I'm glad they're being realistic about it and revealing exactly what is involved.
The local repairer here, my sister-in-law was sent to, didn't even know what a display calibration was when he replaced her display...
Apple hardware devs: Let's make our products so difficult to repair that the customer needs to rent a specific kit from us to even get in them. We can make even more money that way Tim: make it so.
I worked on a product that was designed to be field repaired. It was only 11Kg and man luggable.
The repair kit was shipped in via Hercules transport plane on two pallets.
YMMV but I think your assumptions here about how things are manufactured and repaired are completely wrong.
