Apple has notified its stores around the world as well as its authorized resellers that the inventory of 5-inch iMac 27k retina displays from late 2014 and 2015, may be in short supply until mid to late December.
Post-sale regulations differ from country to country. On average, Apple supports the products it offers for sale for at least 6 or 7 years, for repair by its specialized personnel or at an authorized reseller. Although it makes a forecast to have a spare part of each component, sometimes there are circumstances that a certain component is scarce.
Therefore, if a customer with such equipment goes to find a screen repair, Apple offers free repair if you can wait until the end of December. Otherwise, Apple will replace the damaged equipment with the current model from 2017, with a discount of € 600. In the message sent by Apple, it is not clarified if the replacement equipment is new or is a refurbished product by Apple. In any case, reconditioned products are guaranteed by the brand for 24 months, in the same way as a new product.
To comply with the free repair plan, the screen damage must be mild or superficial. If on the contrary, it presents serious damages, caused by reckless use, Apple reserves the right not to apply the free repair. In this way, suspicions are avoided to renew the equipment with a relevant discount. For this very reason, the free repair program is limited to one unit. Thus avoiding a business of buying, restoring and selling second-hand Apple equipment.
These instructions apply to out-of-warranty products. In case of having Apple warranty or an AppleCare +, the repair must be carried out by standard means. That is, given the shortage of screens, Apple will be reserving screens for this customer profile.