Apple “charges as much as $229 to replace an iPhone 5 with a broken screen. That’s more than the $200 price of the device with a two-year contract, and more than a third of the $650 cost of the phone without a contract,” Quentin Fottrell reports for MarketWatch. “Select Apple stores offer the option of a $149 repair. And for those who paid $99 for AppleCare insurance, the replacement is just $49.”
“The replacement components for the iPhone 5 are much more expensive than similar parts for prior models — so expensive in fact that many independent repair services cannot compete,” Fottrell reports. “‘Due to the high cost of replacement parts, we are not yet offering iPhone 5 repairs,’ according to a statement on ComputerOverhauls.com, an online repair shop. ‘Currently, the Apple Store is the least expensive option for repairing damaged iPhone 5s.’ Other services charge as much as $250 for the repair.”
Fottrell reports, “Replacing an iPhone 5 screen takes 5 to 10 minutes and is easier to fix than the 4, says AJ Forsythe, founder of iCracked, a repair service for iGadgets… Despite this, iCracked — an independent firm that has technicians across the U.S. — charges twice as much to fix an iPhone 4S screen ($79 to $99) as to fix an iPhone 5 ($169 to $199). Why? There is a tight control on iPhone 5 components in the market, Forsythe says. ‘Market forces determine the price,’ he says. ‘Apple sells about 300,000 iPhones a day and, as the repair market grows, prices will get lower.'”
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MacDailyNews Take: If you’re prone to breaking your iPhone, it seems like AppleCare is a no-brainer.