I would love to be able to pay Apple just for the battery and do it myself, but I don’t know many people that want to learn how (even though it’s very simple).
This is where I get torn about how angry I should be...
I feel like Right to Repair laws should (exist in the US in the first place...) require that wear items be made available on their own. Not as an expensive assembly, not requiring authorized repairs when out of warranty, and not being DRMed. I think that certain classes of items should always be considered wear items- batteries, for instance.
However, at a certain point regulation (in the US at least) tends to either be SO broad or specific as to become regulatory capture for the incumbents or basically toothless.
On the other hand here, Apple is giving users a viable, quality option at what could be deemed a reasonable price.
To be clear, I’m not patting them on the back- I’m sure lawsuits forced their hand, they’re still making money, and they’re protecting their brand.
I guess the point I’m trying to get across is that it sucks that my options are battery of unknown origin which can have literal catastrophic implications or paying a non-inconsequential amount of money to repair a piece of equipment that is likely important to one’s daily life.