Earlier this week, Apple announced its Self Service Repair program due to launch in the US for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series next year. Under the program, Apple will provide repair manuals and access to most commonly used components like display, battery, and camera to customers for self-repairing their iPhones. However, a new survey from CIRP indicates that the program may not be as helpful as assumed.

The survey was conducted among 2,000 US Apple customers who purchased an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch between October 2020-September 2021. It reveals that 65 percent of users have a “Perfect” display, with 17 percent having a “Scratched but usable” screen. Only a mere 6 percent of the surveyed users have a cracked display that’s unusable.

“Based on what consumers say about the condition of the old iPhones they are retiring, it seems that relatively few owners would use the Self Service Repair program to postpone their next iPhone purchase,” said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder.

As for battery condition, 26 percent of users reported that their phone lasts half a day without charging, while 14 percent need to charge it every couple of hours. Based on these findings, it is clear that Apple’s Self Service Repair program may not be as helpful as initially thought. Plus, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 are the latest iPhones, so very few users will have any battery-related issues with them. The program should be more beneficial for older iPhones, and while Apple will expand the program to include them, there’s no exact date on when that would happen.

Do you think Apple’s Self Service Repair program will be useful? Or by just including newer iPhones, the company has limited its reach and usefulness?