How much do you think it will cost to have a broken iPhone 13 screen replaced by Apple? We tell you more about the future of Right to Repair and why Apple repairs are so expensive.
Why Apple repairs are pricey
We will no longer keep you in suspense. At Apple you pay 311.10 euros to have a broken iPhone 13 screen replaced. We assume that the repair is not covered by the warranty. If you are insured via AppleCare+, you pay 99 euros.
Even when you pass Apple, an iPhone repair is anything but cheap. A quick tour of well-known repair shops shows that replacing an iPhone 13 display costs between 260 and 340 euros.
These are considerable amounts, especially when you consider that a new iPhone 13 ‘already’ is available from 849 euros. How can repairs be so expensive? We list a few causes (and look ahead).
1. Expensive parts
What do you need for a repair anyway? That’s right: parts. Let there be something interesting going on with that in recent years. It is becoming increasingly difficult to replace individual parts. For example, if one part of a smartphone is broken, the entire module must be replaced immediately.
An example clarifies things. Does the vibration motor of your Apple phone suddenly stop working? Then they probably don’t bother to replace this specific part. Instead, you get a new device, or the entire screen is transferred.
And is the glass of your device broken? Then there is a chance that not only your glass will be replaced, but also the associated touchscreen and backlight.
Of course, this results in more expensive repairs: after all, much more is ‘repaired’ than just a separate part. There are also advantages, for example in terms of design. By combining all kinds of parts in modules, products are becoming thinner and thinner.
Precisely for this reason, Apple uses, among other things, adhesive strips to clamp the battery of an iPhone in the housing. Much to the chagrin of the European Parliament.
2. Hands are not free
In addition to parts, you need hands to actually carry out the repair. You probably have your iPhone repaired in the Netherlands and in general Dutch personnel are quite pricey. This naturally drives up costs.
It also blurs the trade-off between having a broken Apple gadget repaired and buying a new model. Take the Apple Watch Series 7 as an example. Having this watch repaired costs 327 euros (out of warranty). An entirely new copy is currently only seven tens more expensive.
The claim cannot be substantiated by evidence, but this relatively low suggested retail price may have to do with the original production costs. After all, in China, where the majority of Apple products are made, labor costs are considerably lower than in the Netherlands.
3. ‘An iPhone is not made for repair’
We secretly touched on this point before, but according to several critics, Apple products are not made for repairs at all. A well-known critic is Louis Rossmann†Rossmann owns an electronics repair shop in New York and also runs a successful YouTube channel.
In his videos, he not only explains how to perform MacBook repairs (his specialty), but he is also a leader of the Right to Repair movement. They try to make it much easier to repair electronic devices.
At the moment this is often not possible, for example because manufacturers do not supply original spare parts to (independent) repairers. And when they do, there are snags again. For example, they are not allowed to purchase parts from other suppliers, or are tied to a certain repair quota.
The right to repair movement wants to change this. How? By legally establishing that consumers are entitled to repair. For example, spare parts should be readily available. And, perhaps more importantly, it should become much easier to carry out a repair.
Is Self Service Repair the future?
A first step to address this criticism is the Self Service Repair program. It was rolled out by Apple in the United States at the end of April. The program allows iPhone users to repair their own broken device. You rent a toolbox from Apple containing the necessary parts and tools.
Then you can get started. At least, if you’re very handy. Critics point out that repairing an iPhone is anything but simple.
Moreover, repairing it yourself is relatively expensive. In a YouTube video, repairman iPad Rehab for example, that repairing an iPhone 13 screen yourself is more expensive than outsourcing the job to Apple.
Critics are also concerned about privacy. For example, when requesting a repair kit, Apple asks for the IMEI number of your iPhone, which is unique. As a result, the company knows exactly which parts you have used.
European pressure for Apple
It is still unclear whether the Self Service Repair program will also come to the Netherlands. It is clear, however, that the theme of reparability plays a role at European level. For example, the European Parliament wants iPhone users to be able to replace their batteries themselves. A proposal on this has already been adopted, but the details are still awaited. The new law should come into effect in 2024.
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