Apple makes iphone screen fixes easier

Hey Siri, where can I get my cracked iphone screen fixed?

Apple customers will soon have more choices as the company looks to reduce long wait times for iphone repairs at its retail stores.

By the end of 2017, Apple will put its proprietary machines for mending cracked iphone glass in about 400 authorised third-party repair centres in 25 countries, company executives said.

Apple was not able to say if any of the machines would end up in New Zealand. Fixing cracked screens may seem like small potatoes, but it’s a multi-billiondollar global business.

The move is also a major shift for Apple. The company had previously restricted use of its socalled Horizon Machine to its nearly 500 retail stores and mail-in repair centres; and it has guarded its design closely.

The change also comes as eight US states have launched ‘‘right to repair’’ bills aimed at prying open the tightly controlled repair networks of Apple and other hitech manufacturers.

Apple said legislative pressure was not a factor in its decision to share its technology. Until now, Apple had never formally acknowledged the Horizon Machine’s existence.

The initial rollout aims to put machines in 200, or about 4 per cent, of Apple’s 4800 authorised service providers worldwide over the next few months. The company plans to double that figure by the end of the year.

It’s true that any mall repair kiosk can replace a cracked iphone screen. Apple says its customers can get their devices fixed at non-authorised shops without voiding their warranties as long as the technician did not cause any damage.

But the Horizon Machine is needed to remedy the trickiest mishaps, such as when the fingerprint sensor attached to the back of the glass gets damaged when a phone is dropped.

For security, only Apple’s fix-it machine can tell the iphone’s processor, its silicon brain, to recognise a replacement sensor.

Without it, the iphone won’t unlock with the touch of a finger.

The increasing number of banking apps that require a fingerprint ‘‘password’’ won’t work either, and that includes the Apple Pay digital wallet.

Apple has sold more than one billion iphones worldwide, many to customers who don’t live near an Apple Store or an authorised third-party repair centre.

For fixes, many have turned to independent technicians that now dominate the trade.

Many of these entrepreneurs do good work. Some don’t. All use copycat parts because Apple, like other major manufacturers, doesn’t supply original parts or repair manuals to anyone but authorised service partners.

Big companies defend this arrangement as the only way they can guarantee high-quality repair work and keep hackers away from the proprietary software that makes their products tick.

Consumer advocates, however, say their aim is to wring outsized profits from repairs. Independent technicians often charge less than the cost of a factory fix.

Apple got into the screen-fixing business just three years ago with the introduction of the iphone 5. Up until then, customers whose phones were out of warranty paid a ‘‘repair’’ fee, but Apple simply replaced the entire phone.

Lanigan said customers have been requesting a repair service since shortly after the introduction of the iphone in 2007, but the company waited until it could perfect the process.

‘‘We view the service aspect of this as all part of the overall Apple experience,’’ Lanigan said.

Apple doesn’t break out repair revenue in its financial statements, but analysts estimate it at US$1 billion to US$2B annually for all products.

As Apple’s screen mending has matured, its prices have dropped to US$129 from US$229. That’s competitive with many independent shops for newer iphones. Still, some technicians charge as little as US$60 to fix older models. – Reuters