iOS 14.4 Update Is Bad News For Smartphone Repairers

Apple is at the forefront of making smartphones that are difficult to repair. Task as simple as replacing a back panel does require some serious skills, and the company won't sell any spare parts to third-party developers.

The company recently released iOS 14.4 update for select iPhones to fix some bugs and improve the overall user-experience. This update is a nightmare for smartphone repairers and here is why.

Repairing An iPhone 12 Series Just Got A Lot More Difficult

Most of the hardware components on the iPhone 12 series of smartphones are bound to the motherboard. This means you won't be able to replace a part like a motherboard or a display. With the iOS 14.4 update, you won't be able to replace a camera module as well.

Installing a first-party or a third-party camera on an iPhone 12 will give users a notification stating "unable to be verified as a new, genuine Apple camera". As of now, there is no information if this will make the camera non-functional or this will just sit in the settings menu.

Do note that, even if you take a camera from a new iPhone 12 smartphone, it cannot be used with another iPhone 12. If you have a bad camera, then, only Apple can replace it with a new camera and reprogram it to work without any issue. The same applies to the processor and display as well.

This clearly indicates that Apple is not interested in making iPhones that are repair-friendly. What will one do if she/he has a broken iPhone which cannot be fixed for a nominal fee? They just get a new one, which is going to get a lot of business for Apple. If you have an iPhone 12 series smartphone, then keep it safe. Else, you might have a pay a lot of money to fix it.