I was completely blindsided by this. I do regular laptop and smartphone repairs for friends and family and getting original parts often is difficult or even impossible. There are many scammers around that will sell "original OEM" i.e. cheap knock-off trash.
Ebay is OK-ish for second hand parts but sometimes you are just out of luck.
I'm pretty excited about this, to say the least.
Will be interesting to see if they roll support backwards or only provide the ability to fix from current devices onwards.
They can even still use the mechanism for theft-deterrence by checking whether the original phone is iCloud-locked before allowing you to associate the part with the target device.
Each piece will probably come with a unique QR-encoded serial code that will require activation online before it can be paired with the phone. Not really a rocket science.
Via iFixIt:
> You’ll be able to buy parts and tools through the ‘Self Service Repair Online Store,’ where you’ll also have access to service manuals and some version of their repair-enabling software.
https://www.ifixit.com/News/55370/apple-diy-repair-program-p...
This is never going to happen as long as touchid/faceid exist.
There's a security guide that talks more about what the threat model is and where exactly the encryption and trusted communications happen. https://support.apple.com/guide/security/touch-id-and-face-i...
If you believe that you are the target of such a threat actor, you probably aren't keeping much on your phone. I would assume that if you are under that kind of threat, you don't keep secrets on a device that isn't airgapped.
Wait until you see the price of parts. I am betting iPhone battery will be $30 to $50. i.e You save ~$20 compared to doing it at Apple Store.
Generally speaking Apple charge their repair parts at cost + their normal margin. Not saying this is bad, but people may have different perspective once they see it.