Apple To Soon Offer Support For Third-Party Displays And Batteries

Apple seems to be focusing on its repairability efforts, as the company has extended its self-service diagnostics tool to Europe, allowing customers in 32 countries an easier way to test products for potential issues.

What’s more interesting is the fact that the company also published a new whitepaper — “Longevity, by Design” — that explains “the company’s principles for designing for longevity.” Within the paper, Apple says that later this year, it will extend more software features to third-party iPhone components.

True Tone, the feature that adjusts an iPhone display’s white balance to better match the user’s environment, has typically been disabled whenever a third-party replacement screen is detected by iOS. However, the company will soon enable True Tone “to the best performance that can be provided.”

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Will True Tone Be Similar For Third-Party Displays?

Apple notes that the result might not be the same as its usual standards since True Tone depends on a server-side calibration that varies by each individual device and “accurate communication between a product’s display and light sensors,” which cannot be guaranteed with a non-OEM component. Buyers “will be able to deactivate True Tone in Settings if the display does not perform to their satisfaction.”

Battery metrics are also coming to third-party batteries. The whitepaper reads:

“Currently, battery health metrics such as maximum capacity and cycle count are not presented to consumers whose devices have third-party batteries. This is because the accuracy of these metrics cannot be verified by Apple. In fact, an Apple internal analysis has found that some third-party batteries sold as new are actually secondhand, with battery health metrics manipulated to appear as new. In an effort to improve support for third-party batteries, starting later in 2024, Apple will display battery health metrics with a notification stating that Apple cannot verify the information presented.” 

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Apple Will Still Be Wary Of Third-Party Batteries

The whitepaper underlines how the company is wary of third-party batteries. It includes data on many tests that led to failures -- sometimes resulting in fire or explosions. “We encourage all consumers to confirm that the product meets stringent safety requirements,” the document reads.

“Later in 2024” could mean that iOS 18 will be required to get this expanded software support for third-party replacement parts. The next iteration of the software is due to enter public beta testing soon before a full release in September.

Beyond iPhones, Apple is addressing some other long-running criticism of its self-service repair program. With this, the company will make it easier to obtain parts. The whitepaper says that “customers and service providers will no longer need to input a device’s serial number to the Self Service Repair store to purchase a new part for most repairs.”