macOS Tahoe 26 comes with a big money-saving upgrade for fixing Macs - and it's landing next week

• Repair Assistant is in the release candidate of macOS Tahoe
• This feature facilitates making fully calibrated repairs, as previously seen with the iPhone and iPad
• It means Mac owners and independent repair shops can implement hardware fixes and ensure they work correctly

In macOS Tahoe 26, Apple is expanding the potential for repairing its Macs along the same lines as previously seen with the iPhone and iPad.

Apple Insider reports that macOS Tahoe is going to arrive with the Repair Assistant, which was introduced with the iPhone last year. This allows the owner of the device - or an independent repair shop - to perform a repair and check that it's been correctly done, and that the new part is fully recognized and functional (going through a calibration process).

Code relating to the feature was uncovered in the macOS Tahoe release candidate, the final version of the OS that's just arrived before it's launched to the public next week.

The catch is that the feature will only work with Macs that have an Apple chip inside, so older PCs with an Intel CPU will not get the Repair Assistant.

macOS Tahoe is confirmed to arrive on September 15, packing a whole new look in the form of a Liquid Glass interface, which has been much talked about (and indeed joked about). We're also getting a pepped-up Spotlight, new Continuity features - specifically the Phone app on the Mac - a dedicated app for gamers, and more.

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Repair Assistant is important as it means you don't have to go to Apple for a fix should a component break in your MacBook or Mac running macOS Tahoe. Very technically confident Mac owners can theoretically repair their computer themselves, or an independent repair shop can do so.

Using the Repair Assistant, it's also possible to cannibalize a part from an old Mac and use it to repair another device.

As Apple Insider points out, this is going to be particularly handy for replacing fiddly components, like the Lid Angle sensor on newer MacBooks. This is a sophisticated sensor that needs to be accurately calibrated, which is exactly what the Repair Assistant will allow for, meaning the replaced sensor won't play up and cause screen-related glitches (which might be the case otherwise).

The arrival of Repair Assistant on Mac is a welcome one, giving users even more flexibility and control over their computers.

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