iFixit

iFixit extends its discounted DIY $30 iPhone battery replacement service through 2019

Apple's iPhone battery replacements are no longer available at a deep discount so repair site iFixit has decided to extend its own DIY iPhone battery discount through 2019.

iFixit wrote:

When Apple first announced their $29 battery replacement program in December 2017, we lowered the price of our DIY iPhone battery kits to match. Last month, Apple’s discounted battery replacement program ended, and they raised the price of their battery service from $29 to $49 (or $69, depending on your model).

In the wake of last year's iPhone throttling drama, the repair site lowered the price on all of its DIY iPhone battery fix kits to $29 or less. According to Barclay’s, 519 million iPhones were eligible for Apple's discounted program but the company replaced only eleven million batteries.

That means there are still hundreds of millions of affected iPhone owners who didn’t get a battery replacement—or didn’t know they needed one. So in a fit of righteous solidarity, we’re guaranteeing our iPhone battery prices will remain at $29.99 for at least the rest of the year.

The iFixit kits include everything you need to open up and swap your own battery. And unlike Apple's own program, iFixit's battery kits are available for older iPhones like iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

iFixit notes that the eleven million batteries Apple replaced is ten times the company's average repair rate of about one to two million iPhone battery replacements a year.

A year ago, Apple was charging $79 for iPhone batteries.

Apple currently charges out of warranty battery replacements at $69 a pop for iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. Older models like iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus "and all other eligible models" are subject to a $49 battery replacement fee.

Of course, if you have AppleCare+ protection, battery replacements are free.

iFixit says 2018 MacBook Pro uses silicone to possibly protect the keyboard from dust

The folks over at iFixit have determined that the keys found on the recently released 2018 MacBook Pro are surrounded by a "thin, silicone barrier." This discovery suggests Apple's third-generation "butterfly switch" keyboard wasn't necessarily designed to be "quieter," like Apple has claimed. Instead, it could have been designed to make it less prone to exposure to dust and other small particles.Â