Ever Trend Zone Last week, Apple announced that the iPad will be participating in a self-service repair program, allowing owners and independent repair shops to access manuals, tools and parts.
The company said it was excited to expand the program to the iPad, but if you look into the details, both good news and Bad will be revealed…
Apple’s self-service repair program was first launched for the iPhone in 2021, expanded to MacBooks in 2023, and now available for iPads. The company said it provides support for iPad Air (M2 or later), iPad Pro (M4), iPad Mini (A17 Pro) and iPad (A16).
Jonathan Strange, founder of repair company Xirepair, said it’s very good news that the iPad announcement is hidden.
Same day repairs on iPads are now available for the first time. This is because Apple never repaired any devices in the store, so it was always shipped for repairs and had to introduce delays. But larger independent repair shops can keep enough parts in stock to do the work on the spot.
Apple may even choose to ship your iPad to a local repair company. This means that Applecare warranty repairs will be completed faster.
“Apple’s new, authentic parts distributor program means repair shops can use pickup options that often take IRP members for days before getting their iPad parts overnight (next day) or, in some cases, to get the parts from Apple,” says Strange.
But there is also bad news. First of all, in theory, anyone can now provide iPad repairs, but the reality is that the tools they need are so expensive that small stores can’t afford them.
“The tools needed to repair a real iPad are over $3,000, so you’ll need to repair more than 100 iPads just to recover the costs,” Strange told me. He said that it means that mostly independent repair shops can buy them.
Secondly, many parts prices are very high and repairs are often economically insignificant.
“I have completed an analysis of the parts provided to determine which parts are feasible and which are not. Almost 40% of Apple’s real parts cost over 50% of retail costs to buy new devices from the same model.”
Here the display is the biggest criminal, and even after an Apple rebate for returning the old pieces, it costs up to $659.
You can watch the video below and see the cost spreadsheet for iPad parts here.
