“Hey Siri, where can I get my cracked iPhone screen fixed? Apple Inc customers will soon have more choices as the company looks to reduce long wait times for iPhone repairs at its retail stores,” Stephen Nellis reports for Reuters. “By the end of 2017, Apple will to put its proprietary machines for mending cracked iPhone glass in about 400 authorized third-party repair centers in 25 countries, company executives told Reuters.”
“Among the first recipients is Minneapolis-based Best Buy, which has long sold and serviced Apple products. The electronics retailer already has one of the screen-repair machines at a Miami-area store and one coming soon to an outlet in Sunnyvale, California,” Nellis reports. “Fixing cracked screens may seem like small potatoes, but it’s a multi-billion-dollar global business. The move is also a major shift for Apple. The company had previously restricted use of its so-called Horizon Machine to its nearly 500 retail stores and mail-in repair centers; and it has guarded its design closely.”
“The change also comes as eight U.S. states have launched ‘right to repair’ bills aimed at prying open the tightly controlled repair networks of Apple and other high-tech manufacturers,” Nellis reports. “Apple said legislative pressure was not a factor in its decision to share its technology. It allowed Reuters to view and photograph the machines in action at a lab near its Cupertino, California headquarters. Until now, Apple had never formally acknowledged the Horizon Machine’s existence.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, unlike the average fragmandroid settler, iPhone users do fix their displays if they get cracked. More options for professional repairs are welcome!
SEE ALSO:
Apple lobbying against ‘Right to Repair’ legislation, New York State records confirm – May 18, 2017
Apple fights against ‘right to repair’ – April 20, 2017
Apple fights ‘right to repair’ proposal; warns Nebraska could become a ‘Mecca for bad actors’ – March 10, 2017
Apple fights tooth and nail against ‘right to repair’ laws – March 8, 2017
Right to repair: Why Nebraska farmers are taking on John Deere and Apple – March 6, 2017
Right-to-Repair is ridiculous – February 16, 2017
Apple said to fight ‘Right to Repair’ legislation – February 15, 2017
I don’t believe them for a sec. I’m a Mac user and they have limited choice on user upgradeability for years. Gets worse every year. This years refreshes are perfect examples. Not even ability for user to ram upgrade.
Right to repair is a good concept. Fighting it is anti-consumer.
Burberry, Cook & Ive Limited want you to buy new shit every year or two and pay your rent like a good tenant for music and cloud services. They have no intention of selling you something you can keep for a long time. That new Gamer Edition (not Pro) iMac costs about as much as a year of University cost me back in the late 1970’s- early 1980’s and that degree was not intended to be thrown out a couple of years later.
Wonder if it’s got anything to do with this court case in Australia.
Apple taken to court by ACCC over alleged consumer warranty misrepresentations
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-06/apple-taken-to-court-by-accc-over-alleged-consumer-misrepresent/8421346