If you’ve ever had to call upon Apple’s support services and found its website confusing and its in-store Genius Bar too busy (or too far away), help may soon be at hand in the form of an app the company’s believed to be prepping.
Screenshots of the support app were obtained by known Apple leaker Sonny Dickson and posted online by tech site uSwitch. An unnamed Apple insider told uSwitch the app has been designed in a way to make it easy for users to “boil down to the problem quickly,” enabling them to either sort the issue out immediately, chat with an advisor, or schedule an appointment with an in-store expert if they happen to live close to one of the company’s brick-and-mortar outlets.
Apple’s online help strategy currently consists of a website-based offering that combines its own support articles with user-generated posts on specific topics. However, with so many users accessing online information via their smartphones these days, it’d make obvious sense for Apple to have a specially designed app geared specifically toward helping its customers pinpoint and solve issues with their Apple gear.
Such an offering would also serve to ease the pressure on its Genius Bar specialists, with shorter wait times for customers a welcome added benefit.
The app reportedly links in to the devices registered to a user’s Apple ID, enabling it to offer up suggestions and solutions for common issues related to particular bits of Apple kit.
The grabbed screenshots show a list of categorized subjects such as “battery, power & charging,” and “setup & usage” allowing you to tap through and drill down to your specific inquiry. Alternatively, you can input a search term in the box at the top of the display. Also included are a number of “how-to” guides related to Apple devices.
It also offers “recommended actions” such as initiating there and then a chat with an advisor, scheduling an in-store visit, and other options.
There’s been no confirmation from Apple about any imminent launch of a support app, or whether any such offering will be integrated into its existing Apple Store app. We’ll keep you posted.
