Apple controls extremely strictly the components that its partners produce and deliver to Apple Stores, and this strict control has kept device repair prices at a very high level. According to those from MarketWatch, in the USA replacing the screen of a terminal iPhone 5 it may cost more than purchasing a new terminal with a subscription. Replacing a screen for iPhone 5 it costs up to $229, $29 more than the price of one iPhone 5 newly bought with a subscription, the price being high considering that the new design simplifies the process of replacing the component.
The company 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. There is a tight control on iPhone 5 components in the market, [repair firm iCracked founder AJ] 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." "Apple controls everything from the manufacturing to the gear for the iPhone 5," says Jeff Haynes, editor at deal site TechBargains.com. As the iPhone 5 is larger than the 4, the cost for replacement parts rises, he says.
In the case of one iPhone 4S replacing a screen costs only $95, so half of the replacement price for the iPhone 5 and the difference is very big. It seems that the way Apple controls its components has determined an increase in these prices, some services are now managing to replace screens either because of their unavailability or because of the high prices. In the end, the way Apple controls everything has led to an increase in prices for these components and they are probably not the only ones affected.
