> It is clear this 'Self Service Repair' model is designed to prevent independent repair shops from making money, therefore eliminating them.
That's not clear at all. See for yourself the actual user experience of using it: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/technology/personaltech/a...
From reading that a while ago, it seems to be designed so that Apple score some marketing points and plan ahead for regulations making that mandatory, while not actually delivering a credible service on that front. Virtually no one is going to use that service if it is indeed what's described in the article.