Since Tuesday 20 October, owners of an iPhone 18 Pro, an iPhone 18 Pro Max, a Mac Studio with M5 Max or M5 Ultra, or a Mac mini with M6 or M5 Pro can buy genuine parts directly from Apple. The Self Service Repair Store, which has been running since 2022, has added the new models to its catalogue, along with the official repair manuals.
It is a sign that Apple is keeping the door to home repair open even for brand-new products, just weeks after they reached the shops. It remains a service aimed at people who already have some experience with screwdrivers and adhesives.
What you can replace
For the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, the catalogue includes the rear glass, battery, bottom and top speakers, display, housing, rear camera, front camera, logic board, main microphone, SIM tray and Taptic Engine.
The Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra has the longest list: Thunderbolt and USB-C ports, fans, speakers, SSD modules, logic boards and power supplies.
For the Mac mini with M6 or M5 Pro the list is shorter: fans, speakers, logic boards, batteries and power supplies.
How it works
You choose the product and the repair, and the store shows the parts, tools and consumables you need. Each item can be bought separately. The tools include adhesive cutters, suction cups, nylon spudgers, glue-removal tools, torque screwdrivers and spare screws. If you would rather not buy everything, you can rent the kit: the outlets that covered the story put the cost at around $49 for seven days.
Some orders require the device’s serial number or IMEI, and certain repairs then have to be completed with Apple’s software tools, such as Repair Assistant or system configuration.
Prices
The most concrete figure concerns the rear camera of the new iPhone 18 Pro: $249, the same price as the previous generation, even though the new models introduce a variable-aperture system. If you send back the original module, Apple gives a credit of $59.76, bringing the effective cost down to $189.24.
Full prices for the other parts were not yet available when the first reports were published. There are also no confirmed euro prices for now.
And in Italy?
Caution is needed here. The sources speak of availability for eligible customers in the United States, Canada and “some parts of Europe”. In these reports Apple has not said whether Italy is among the countries served for the new models, or at what prices. Before ordering, it is worth checking the programme’s official page and making sure your delivery address is eligible.
Who it makes sense for
The service is mainly of interest to three kinds of user: people who repair devices for work or as a hobby, people with an out-of-warranty iPhone and a specific fault (a worn-out battery, a broken rear glass, a speaker), and people who look after several Macs and want to replace a fan or a power supply without taking a machine out of action for days.
For everyone else, official support remains the simplest route. An iPhone 18 Pro that is opened badly can lose its water resistance or end up needing a far more expensive repair. The usual rule also applies: used parts, where allowed for certain components, come with no warranty and no AppleCare coverage.
What we think
The move matters more than it might seem. Offering parts for a recently released phone forces Apple to honour a commitment that, four years ago, many saw as a concession to pressure over the right to repair. Keeping the camera price at $249 while the module becomes more complex is a good sign: it suggests the company is not using its parts price list to discourage repairs.
The limit is still the gap between announcement and real-world usefulness. Until we know euro prices and the countries served, the programme remains partly a promise for an Italian reader. And the software procedure that has to be completed after some repairs is one more step for anyone who wants to do it themselves.
Written by the SpazioiTech newsroom with the help of AI tools, from facts verified across at least two independent outlets, and checked before publication. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Translated from the Italian original. Read in Italian
