Apple has plans to repair more iPhones in store rather than exchange a broken iPhone for a refurbished one. This could see customers paying for a part rather than a flat-fee for a complete replacement.

The revelation was made at a Town Hall session on the Apple campus last Thursday, reports Apple Insider. Apple also told staff that changes would be made to the AppleCare service programmes beginning in the US the autumn, and then rolling out around the world.

Along with the suggestion that they won't need to pay a fixed fee for a complete replacement, customers are more likely to get their phone back with their data intact. Since iPhones are currently replaced with a refurbished model customers lose their data (unless they had a back up).

Currently Apple Store staff are only able to carry out replacements of batteries, vibrator motors, speakers, receivers and home buttons in store. Under the new plans the staff will be able to replace the display, cameras, sleep/wake button, and logic board. Apple Store employees will also get a new tool to diagnose specific hardware problems. If the fault can't be rectified in store the phone will still be sent off site.