(credit: Getty Images)

Apple has always had a strong preference that only its own parts be used in repairs, but only if they're brand-new. Now, soon after Oregon passed a repair bill forbidding devices from rejecting parts with software locks, or " parts pairing ," Apple says it will allow for used Apple parts in future iPhone repairs.

While noting that "pairing" is "critical to preserving the privacy, security, and safety of an iPhone," Apple states that it has worked for two years to allow for reusing Face ID and Touch ID sensors (i.e., biometric sensors) as well as moving part calibration from its remote repair certification tools onto the iPhone itself. As a result, "select iPhone models" this fall will allow for reusing biometric sensors and other parts, and anyone ordering parts from Apple can skip sending a device's serial number, so long as the repair doesn't involve a new main logic board.

The new policy "is designed to maintain an iPhone user's privacy, security, and safety, while offering consumers more options, increasing product longevity, and minimizing the environmental impact of a repair," according to Apple's release.

Enlarge / The Pixel Tablet on the magnetic dock. (credit: Google)

Google and iFixit keep trucking along with their official parts store partnership. The latest device to get a parts selection is the Pixel Tablet , along with a whole bunch of repair guides with the usual lovingly detailed teardown photos. The Pixel Tablet did not draw a whole lot of attention when it launched in June, so this also counts as the Pixel Tablet teardown we've seen out there on the Internet, and, wow, is it interesting.

It's hard to know how tough of a process a repair is going to be, since iFixit never gave the Pixel Tablet a repairability score. It looks like breaking through the adhesive is a lot of work, with iFixit recommending an "anti-clamp" screen-pulling tool, a hair dryer, iFixit's "iOpener" heat pad, a suction cup, and a pick—they're emptying the whole toolbox to get this thing open. The first 18 steps of every guide go like this: Step 1, turn off the tablet. Step 2: put tape on the display if it's cracked. Steps 3 through 19: fighting the adhesive. iFixit's photos after this step all feature shredded adhesive leftovers stuck to the separated screen and body halves, too.

You have a much better shot of winning that battle with this guide, though, thanks to detailed information about where the adhesive is the strongest and what cables you could possibly break while doing this. On the plus side, once you get it open, replacing parts looks really easy, because the inside of this tablet looks like it was made in someone's garage with a 3D printer.

Enlarge / The McDonald's ice cream machine is a relatively simple machine. It has a compressor, a motor, churning and agitating elements, and a series of circuit boards that keep service contracts flowing. (credit: iFixit / YouTube)

McDonald’s soft-serve ice cream machines are regularly broken, and it’s not just your perception. When repair vendor and advocate iFixit was filming a video about the topic, it checked tracking map McBroken and found that 34 percent of the machines in the state of New York were reported inoperable. As I write this, the nationwide number of broken machines is just above 14 percent.

To improve the nation’s semi-frozen milk fat infrastructure, iFixit has done two things. One, as first reported by 404 Media , is to join with interest group Public Knowledge to petition the Copyright Office for an exemption allowing people to fix commercial equipment, such as McDonald’s ice cream machines and other industrial kitchen equipment, without fear of reprisal under Section 1201 of the DMCA .

The other is to obtain one of the Taylor ice cream machines used by McDonald’s franchises, tear it down, and marvel at how it could be so unreliable.

Enlarge / An iPhone undergoes repairs. (credit: Apple )

Apple launched its Self Service Repair program in the spring of 2022, giving owners of some iPhones and Macs access to the same parts and repair manuals used by Apple-certified technicians. Since the program's launch, most changes have focused on adding new devices—most recently, support for M1-series desktops in December 2022 . But in a new update today, Apple also announced that it is making the self-repair process slightly less onerous.

The company will now provide a "postrepair software tool" called System Configuration that will handle the process of verifying that repairs were done properly, calibrating and updating the firmware of any replaced components and pairing TouchID and FaceID sensors with the device's Secure Enclave.

Previously, these steps required a call to Apple's Self Service Repair support team, which would run users through finishing the repair process. Apple says its team will still be on standby if home repairers need help.

Enlarge / Minnesota's right-to-repair bill is the first to pass in the US that demands broad access to most electronics' repair manuals, tools, and diagnostic software. Game consoles, medical devices, and other specific gear, however, are exempted. (credit: Getty Images)

It doesn't cover video game consoles, medical gear, farm or construction equipment, digital security tools, or cars. But in demanding that manuals, tools, and parts be made available for most electronics and appliances, Minnesota's recently passed right-to-repair bill covers the most ground of any US state yet.

The Digital Right to Repair bill , passed as part of an omnibus legislation and signed by Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday, "fills in many of the loopholes that watered down the New York Right to Repair legislation," said Nathan Proctor, senior director for the Public Interest Research Group's right-to-repair campaign, in a post .

New York's bill, beset by lobbyists , was signed in modified form by Gov. Kathy Hochul . It also exempted motor vehicles and medical devices, as well as devices sold before July 1, 2023, and all "business-to-business" and "business-to-government" devices. The modified bill also allowed manufacturers to sell "assemblies" of parts—like a whole motherboard instead of an individual component, or the entire top case Apple typically provides instead of a replacement battery or keyboard—if an improper individual part installation "heightens the risk of injury."