Enlarge / Apple is willing to actually replace the battery on its newest, smallest iPad, with potentially more to follow, according to a MacRumors report. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)
Replacing a battery can be fraught with peril, at least for the iPad. Repair shops and experienced DIY-ers know this, and Apple seems to acknowledge it, usually giving customers seeking battery swaps a new iPad instead. Starting soon, with at least one model, Apple and its repair techs could start actually replacing an iPad’s battery instead of sending it into the refurbishment ether.
A report at MacRumors claims that Apple is issuing a new policy for the iPad mini 6 (i.e., the 2021 iPad mini), allowing repair centers (where devices are shipped for more in-depth service) to replace just the battery, rather than provide a Whole Unit Replacement (WUR) from existing or refurbished stock. MacRumors states that “other iPads may follow in the coming weeks and months,” without specifics.
Replacing the battery on an iPad requires removing the screen, and that’s tricky on almost all of them. Apple’s proprietary repair tools, sized to each device, may be easier to use than using hand tools at home. But there’s an unavoidable physics issue of having to apply strong suction or prying force to a long, wide, and thin display. The sixth-generation mini iPad, being the smallest of them, likely represents a device with the highest success rate of screen removal.