Apple Officially Enables Thrid-Party Repair Shops

Apple made a surprising announcement this week that it will begin to sell parts, tools, and repair guides to independent shops to fix broken iPhones. The change is a significant turn around for Apple in the face of lobbying for years in several states to force the company to do this.

Apple has said that the program will help ease heavy demand on Apple and authorized partners to fix cracked screens and damaged charging ports. The program will first launch in the US and will later launch in other countries reports Reuters.

The parts will be offered to independent repair shops for the same price that they are offered to authorized providers. Apple previously lobbied against right-to-repair bills that would have forced it to do what it has now done voluntarily. Analyst Ben Bajarin thinks that the move could create opportunities for Apple as it encourages iPhone owners to hand down used iPhone to friends and family.

“That helps them get the product more affordably into the hands of more customers and increases the base,” Bajarin said. “Every data point seems to say, if you get someone into the Apple ecosystem, they generally dont leave.”