France Investigating Apple Over Alleged 'Planned Obsolescence' Arising From Serialized Repair Parts
France has been investigating Apple since December after the organization Halte à l'Obsolescence Programmée (HOP) accused the company of "planned obsolescence" over serialized repair parts, according to French news agency AFP.
Apple's self-service repair program requires customers to enter a device's serial number when ordering parts for devices like iPhones and Macs, and any parts ordered need to be paired with the same device after installation. HOP said this policy gives Apple the potential to restrict repairs to approved technicians only, and limit the functionality of devices repaired with uncertified parts. The organization added that Apple's self-service repair program is bad for the environment given that Apple ships large and heavy tools to customers.
Do-it-yourself repair website iFixit also expressed disappointment about the serial number requirement when Apple's program launched last year.
"Integrating a serial number check into their checkout process is a dire omen and could allow Apple the power to block even more repairs in the future," said iFixit's Elizabeth Chamberlain. "Building the technology to provision individual repairs easily sets Apple up as the gateway to approve—or deny—any repairs in the future, with parts from any source."
The Paris Public Prosecutor's office is handling the investigation, and has yet to formally accuse Apple of any wrongdoing in relation to HOP's complaint. The organization previously filed a complaint about Apple throttling the maximum performance of some older iPhone models with aging batteries when necessary in order to prevent the devices from unexpectedly shutting down, leading to a €25 million fine in France.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Popular Stories
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself.
Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
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.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed.
Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles."
If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues.
We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!
iPhone 17 ...
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes.
The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps.
In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner.
In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
