In the coming weeks, Apple will be making significant enhancements and changes to its AppleCare support service, according to sources. Planned to go live as soon as Monday, August 12th is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week AppleCare support via online chat. Sources did warn that August 12th is a “target date” that could be pushed back.

Users who have support questions and issues at anytime of the day will now be able to have their concerns answered. Apple tested such a service over eight years ago, but next week’s scheduled rollout appears to be a major event for AppleCare that will go beyond just a pilot phase.

The 24/7 chat support will likely be applicable for both Mac and iOS Device users. As Apple’s iPad and iPhone hardware competition increases from companies such as Samsung, Apple will need to utilize its unique customer support prowess as a differentiating factor in the marketplace. 24/7 chat support via an easy-to-understand medium could assist in this.

If the 24/7 web chat support offering is successful, a similar program for phone support could be considered for the future.

To complement the new 24/7 chat support, Apple is putting the finishing touches on a redesigned AppleCare website that the company tells employees is designed to gel with Apple’s new iOS Device customers:

The interface has been retooled with large, easy-to-understand controls that are more in line with the colorful icons in iOS. The new design makes it simpler for users to drill-down and provide Apple with information about the issue. The image above and the two below were sent in by a source.

The new interface is critical for Apple’s new customers that are familiar with the way that iPads and iPhones work, but not Mac computers. The new web experience is said to also be more focused on quickly connecting a customer to AppleCare. The current and previous versions of the AppleCare web support tool have put a focus on providing customers with support articles before connecting to an employee.

The new interface will begin rolling out in the coming weeks. In addition to user-facing experiences, revamped versions of internal tools for AppleCare employees are also said to be in the works. These updates, in-turn, will allow for improved support experiences for the customer as the employees will now have improved access to support information. (Top AppleCare box image via)

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