Apple's Independent Repair Program Program Now Includes Macs

Originally, when the repair program began, Best Buy was partnered with Apple to provide authentic parts and repairs as one of the largest Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASP). After some legal and moral pressure, this official repair program was expanded to make it easier for independent shops to be AASP certified and acquire parts.

Now, Reuters is reporting that there has been a further change-in-heart, as Apple is expanding genuine parts access to independent shops for Mac computers. In a statement, Apple CIO Jeff Williams said, 

When a device needs repairs, we want people to have access to a safe and reliable solution — this latest expansion joins the thousands of repair locations we’ve added over the past year. We’re looking forward to bringing that convenient and trustworthy repair experience to our Mac users

Not all Mac users, as it turned out, had close access to Best Buy or an Apple repair center, so this comes as a saving grace for those people. Also, out-of-warranty users can get support for their Macs through independent service providers.

In any case, this is a step in the right direction for Apple. This is good for the right-to-repair folk and independent shops alike. No matter your thoughts on Apple overall, a small change to help the smaller guy cannot go unnoticed.