Taipei, June 13 (CNA) Taiwan's first iPhone screen repair center authorized by Apple Inc. opened on Tuesday to provide an easier way to fix broken displays of Apple smartphones.
Apple has authorized Senao International, a 3C distribution subsidiary of Chunghwa Telecom Co., as a third-party repair center for iPhone screens. The store is located in Taipei's Xinyi District.
Senao has installed Apple's proprietary iPhone-fixing Horizon Machine to handle customer services.
After a technician removes the cracked screen from an iPhone and replaces it with a new one, the iPhone will be put inside the Horizon Machine, whereupon Apple software will communicate with the hardware for about 10 minutes.
Then, the machine will use a "mechanical finger" to poke the new screen in various places so that touch input accuracy is verified by the machine to make sure the new display is working correctly.
According to Senao, the Horizon Machine will help with the maintenance process and eventually cut repair time. More importantly, Senao said, the machine can ensure repair quality.
Senao said the Horizon Machine will be available to users of iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Before the third-party-authorized iPhone screen repair center opened, the Horizon Machines were only provided by maintenance places directly owned by Apple.
Senao said that it has more than 280 branches islandwide, so that eventually, consumers can find a store close to them.
Senao said it is planning to expand the service to central and southern Taiwan in early July.
Over the weekend, Apple announced on its website in Taiwan that it will open its first official Taiwan retail store in Taipei, in the Taipei 101 tower.
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook wrote on his Twitter page: "Here comes Apple Taipei 101, our first store in Taiwan!"
The presence of the first official Apple store is expected to please many fans of iPhones and iPads in Taiwan.
While Apple did not disclose a fixed timetable about when it will open the store, local media said that it will open by the end of this month.
