IS APPLES NEW INDEPENDENT REPAIR PROVIDER PROGRAM A BLESSING OR A CURSE? Spoiler Alert I've Seen This Movie Before!
I had to double check my calendar last week to make sure it wasn't April Fools Day. Apple, you see, stunned the tech repair industry with the announcement that they would do a complete 180-degree turn on allowing independent repair of their products by now offering select companies access to, "... Apple-genuine parts, tools, training, repair manuals and diagnostics...". Whhhaaaaat? This strange announcement stood out to me as more than a little bit odd since Apple has fought the independent tech repair industry tooth and nail ( or by pentalobe screw and tons of glue if you prefer ) for decades. Their early morning press release reminded me of the 2014 iFixit April Fools Day prank that had the repair community dazed and confused at the possibility of iFixit and Apple working together. Yah, right! Had someone started August Fools Day??? Truth is it was announced on August 29, 2019, the end of Summer , far from April and seemingly not a new "Fools Day