(Reuters) – Apple Inc said on Monday that it has expanded a program that provides parts and training to independent repair shops to cover their Macs.
Apple initially launched the app last year, but it only handles iPhones, the company that sells the company’s biggest sales. Mac users previously had to use Apple as an authorized warranty service provider to obtain repair parts directly from Apple.
Apple reported last month an uptick of 21.6% in quarterly Mac sales to $ 7 billion, as many employees work at home. Its market share grew in the second quarter to 7.3% from 6.3% a year earlier, according to research firm IDC.
Apple’s shift in repair practices came after years of calls from right-to-repair groups that the company criticized for, among other things, only real parts and training manuals to companies like Best Buy Inc that would do warranty-related work. on their devices. Smaller retailers claimed that program was too expensive to participate due to volume commitments.
With the independent repair program, Apple began offering parts sales and providing free training courses to independent stores to perform work without warranty.
After launching in the United States, Apple expanded the program to 32 countries in Europe or Canada last month, saying 140 companies with a total of 700 locations had signed up.
(This story will be added later in the second paragraph.)
(Report by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; edited by Diane Craft)
