Apple’s New Independent Repair Provider Program ⇥ apple.com
Apple today announced a new repair program, offering customers additional options for the most common out-of-warranty iPhone repairs. Apple will provide more independent repair businesses — large or small — with the same genuine parts, tools, training, repair manuals and diagnostics as its Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs). The program is launching in the US with plans to expand to other countries.
“To better meet our customers’ needs, we’re making it easier for independent providers across the US to tap into the same resources as our Apple Authorized Service Provider network,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “When a repair is needed, a customer should have confidence the repair is done right. We believe the safest and most reliable repair is one handled by a trained technician using genuine parts that have been properly engineered and rigorously tested.”
This appears to be the program that the company has quietly been testing for about a year, and it sounds great. Joining the IRP program is free, though it is limited to commercial addresses. That should mean that mall kiosks and smaller repair shops can perform repairs to the same grade and with the same parts as an Apple Store or an Authorized Service Provider. I think this is an excellent change.