Apple's Self Service Repair program will be run by another company

By Oliver Haslam
published

Ifixit Iphone 12 Pro Max Teardown
Ifixit Iphone 12 Pro Max Teardown (Image credit: iFixit)

What you need to know

  • Apple announced a new Self Service Repair program last week, but the program won't actually be run by Apple.
  • According to a new report, the handling of parts will be a job for an unnamed third party.

When Apple announced its new Self Service Repair program last week it said that people would be able to buy new parts and tools directly from Apple. Now, according to a new report, it seems Apple won't actually be the one handling all of that. Instead, an unnamed third-party outfit will be the one charged with sending out new parts and accepting returns of faulty ones.

That comes after MacRumors got hold of an internal memo that says all of the repair manuals for associated devices will be available via its Apple Support website — but it's the parts that are going to come from a third-party outfit.

Apple's memo also said that its online parts store will be operated by an unspecified third party. While no official reason was provided, it would certainly be logistically easier for Apple to outsource shipping and receiving of parts to and from customers. A similar system is already in place for Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Realistically, this all means very little so long as this unnamed company can keep up with the demand that may or may not be caused by Apple's announcement. It still isn't really clear just how popular the Self Service Repair program will be and we likely won't know for sure until it's been up and running for a while. The program will initially focus on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 devices when it begins next year.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.