This month, Apple made a remarkable change in its repair and standard warranty policies for iPhone and Apple Watch products. According to many sources, the company no longer considers “hair-thin cracks” on its smartphones and watches within the scope of its standard warranty. Instead, such damage will be treated as an “accidental damage” claim and users will have to pay for repairs.
A milestone in single-crack repairs on iPhones and Apple Watches
Until now, the company has been treating iPhone and Apple Watch users with cracks as thin as a single hair within the scope of the standard warranty, provided that no other damage is visible on the device or there is no obvious impact point causing the crack. However, the company renewed its policy with the updates it distributed to Apple Stores and Authorized Service Providers this week and stated that cracks as thin as a single hair are now exempt from warranty. For a customer reporting hairline crack damage from a single strand of hair, the service provider will need to process this as an accidental damage claim.
This means you'll have to pay for hairline crack repairs even if there's no other damage or impact points on your device. As of now, this change only applies to iPhone and Apple Watch. The company still offers such crack repairs for iPad and Mac under warranty.
Apple did not explain any specific reason for this change. Historically, this policy has always been somewhat inconsistent in implementation, with some shops and repair shops being more understanding than others. However, with this change, service providers will no longer have such flexibility.
There is detailed information about screen repair prices on the company's website.