In Russia, official Apple service centers authorized to repair devices under the brand have started to close, a development reported by the newspaper News. This trend has affected several key players in the market, including MacLabs ASC in Moscow and B2X in St. Petersburg, which have halted operations. In response, the Brobrolab service center launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund its ongoing activities, seeking raised capital of 6 million rubles.
The closures are tied to sanctions that blocked official deliveries of Apple devices into Russia and constrained the import of spare parts for computers and tablets. Dmitry Kiryanov, who heads Brobrolab, noted that in 2022 the service center saw its customer base shrink by half, a decline that has continued through the current year. The broader impact is visible across the market as fewer authorized outlets remain able to source genuine parts and provide formal repairs.
An Izvestia source indicated that other Apple service centers, not associated with large networks like Re: Store, are also preparing to shut down. This convergence suggests a wider shift in the landscape of authorized Apple support within the country and signals growing reliance on unofficial or secondary-market channels for repairs and parts.
Industry voices describe the ongoing process of shutting down authorized services as logical in the context of sanctions and supply constraints. They point out that a substantial portion of repair work and customer inquiries has migrated to the gray market. The situation with spare parts is described as unstable, complicating maintenance for Apple devices across Russia. These observations come from experts and editors familiar with the local repair ecosystem, including perspectives from iPhones.ru and related outlets [citation: Izvestia, citation: iPhones.ru].
Earlier discussions by socialbites.ca explored related challenges in the broader app and software ecosystem, highlighting how external pressures can ripple through hardware support networks and affect how users access legitimate repair services [citation: socialbites.ca].