Conscience or black heart? Why doesn't Apple allow third parties to repair mobile phones?

Recently, a "right to repair" bill was proposed in Nebraska. Under tremendous pressure, Apple decided to fight the new iPhone repair bill and not allow third parties to repair. Now Apple's warranty policy in China has changed again and again. What is Apple thinking? Why not allow third parties to also obtain the corresponding original parts and provide services to consumers?

Ensure service quality and improve reputation

For Apple mobile phone repair, apart from the official direct stores, there is the "authorized repair" model. You can see signs for buying iPhones and repairing them everywhere on the streets and alleys, but there are very few stores that are truly officially authorized. There are also news reports of mobile phones being sent to repair shops for replacement of parts. Not only that, some people's mobile phones break again within a few days of being repaired. There are many "fake and shoddy" service personnel who use defective parts to deceive consumers.

Therefore, Apple's purpose of not allowing third-party repairs is to improve the reputation of iPhone phones. Consumers go to officially authorized stores to repair their phones, and the phones are as good as before after repair. In Apple's previous repair model, it can be seen that the repair personnel are trained professionals with guaranteed technical skills. This can improve Apple's service quality and further enhance Apple's position in the hearts of consumers.

Monopolize the market and obtain high profits

Anyone who has had experience repairing an Apple phone knows that in the case of man-made damage, the cost of repairing an iPhone is very expensive. For example, replacing a screen or motherboard can cost one-third or more of the price of the phone. And relevant people have also said that the cost of iPhone accessories is not that high at all. In addition to some labor service fees and costs, it can also generate huge profits. Some accessories are not completely damaged. For example, the touch is broken, but the display is not broken. In this way, Apple can recycle and reuse them, further increasing its profit margin.

If Apple delegates its repair business to a third party, it will certainly not make as much money. First, if it is a merchant, they will definitely charge wholesale prices, which will definitely be much lower than the retail price; second, the third party gets the accessories at a lower price, and then repairs it at a lower price than the official price, which will affect the number of Apple's official after-sales customers, further reducing the huge profits Apple earns from the middle.

Increase maintenance costs and boost new machine sales

In 2016, Apple also made new rules for the original after-sales standards and cancelled the replacement service. Many people took advantage of the loopholes and tried every possible way to replace their iPhones that were about to expire. According to statistics, the number of iPhones returned for repair in Apple China once exceeded the number of new phones sold. Basically, for every 10,000 new phones sold, there are 11,000 waiting to be replaced. The Chinese people are really "smart".

The high repair costs and the inability to exchange the phone, coupled with the inconvenience of after-sales service, have boosted the sales of new phones. Imagine that it would be better to spend a little more money to buy a new phone than to spend thousands of dollars to repair it, and the original phone is also worth some money if it is "disassembled and sold for parts". Consumers all have this mentality, and Apple has seized on this mentality of consumers to make secondary purchases.

Maintenance benefits reduce third-party refurbishment

When buying a mobile phone, especially an iPhone, the most fearful thing is to buy a refurbished phone. There are already some unscrupulous merchants who replace accessories under the pretext of repairing the phone, and the purpose of replacing accessories is to assemble a new phone. If Apple opens up to third parties, then "assembly" will definitely become more rampant. Moreover, the already mixed accessories market can finally sell fakes "openly".

This is definitely what Apple doesn't want to see. It's conceivable that users spend thousands of dollars to buy a mobile phone, but the one they buy is an assembled one, or a repaired one with poor quality. This is undoubtedly fatal to Apple. A big tree attracts the wind, and the bigger the company, the easier it is to become a target. At that time, Apple, which has always been proud of its quality, may fall into a crisis of trust.

As an international giant, Apple's strict requirements on quality are understandable, but it should also consider some practical issues for users. People's living conditions are significantly improved now, and buying an Apple phone is no longer a luxury. However, in some less developed areas, after-sales repairs are very inconvenient. While not opening to third parties, the official after-sales development should be strengthened, and after-sales management should be strengthened to avoid some "stealing" things from happening again.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.