I'm on the fence about this. On one hand, I can agree with the folks that are unhappy about Apple locking out small retailers. On the other hand, I can see how Apple would want to protect its image. In my personal experience, I've had a few friends have their batteries replaced at kiosks in the mall and have experienced issues. Do they blame the random vendor in the mall? Nope, they blame Apple and have decided "the iPhone sucks."
Third party battery replacements aren't even that much of a savings over having Apple do it.
$49 for the "iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and all other eligible models." Those are the ones that now have batteries that are probably wearing down more.
You have to go to an Apple Authorized Service Provider to have the replacement done. But guess what? Best Buy locations are now AASPs as well and they can do it.
Third party battery replacements aren't even that much of a savings over having Apple do it.
https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power
$49 for the "iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and all other eligible models." Those are the ones that now have batteries that are probably wearing down more.
You have to go to an Apple Authorized Service Provider to have the replacement done. But guess what? Best Buy locations are now AASPs as well and they can do it.
I'm ok with that.