Simply Mac is one of many third-party resellers that offer some kind of repair option for Apple’s devices. And, like many of those third-party options, most of those repairs aren’t authorized on Apple’s end.

But it sounds like that may be changing for Simply Mac. 9to5Mac is reporting on Wednesday that Apple has struck a deal with the third-party reseller, which has around 50 locations in the United States, to conduct authorized iPhone repairs in most of its stores. Apple is said to be paying for equipment that’s vital to those repairs in 30 of Simply Mac’s stores.

The publication states that iPhone models equipped with Touch ID features, along with the iPhone X, require special equipment to repair broken screens. Reason being, Apple wants to make sure that the fingerprint reader, and the TrueDepth camera system, are working properly after the panel has been replaced with a new unit. According to the report, Simply Mac only had that specific equipment at five of its locations in the United States.

Simply Mac charged the same price as Apple for its screen repairs, even in the stores were it was handling unofficial repairs without the aforementioned specialized equipment, and it stands to reason those prices won’t drop with the new equipment being installed in more stores. Apple currently charges up to $169 for a screen replacement on iPhone 8 Plus models. The iPhone X, meanwhile, will set owners back $279 for a screen replacement. Those prices are without AppleCare+, though.

With Apple’s own insurance policy in place, those screen repair prices drop down to $29. However, Apple only covers two accidental damage incidents. And Apple actually hiked the price of AppleCare+ for iPhone models dating back to the iPhone 6s just last year.

At the time of publication, Apple has not responded to the report.

Our Take

This is good news not just for Simply Mac, but also customers who come into the third-party reseller for a repair. With most of the stores outfitted with the proper equipment, that reduces the possibility of something going wrong after the repair process has finished.