Introduction

Apple held their September 2017 special event for the first time at the Steve Jobs Theater and there were some exciting announcements. These included the iPhone X, an iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, a series 3 Apple Watch, a new Apple TV (supporting 4K video) and, of course, iOS 11.

From a repair perspective- the focus of our business and what we’ll be concentrating on with this article- the models of most concern to us are the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus and the iPhone X, which we’ll take a look at here.

Repair of Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

There had been a lot of speculation that Apple would release a 7S and 7S Plus to keep in line with previous models. The 6 and 6 Plus progressed to the 6S and 6S Plus, so it’s only natural that one would expect there to be a 7S and 7S Plus. It seems that Apple has changed this trend and instead announced the 8 and 8 Plus. Both phones feature a new glass back for wireless charging and a more powerful A11 Bionic processor. The screen size is 4.7″ and 5.5″ which is the same as the 6/6S and 6 Plus/6S Plus and still uses the same IPS LCD technology. Like all iPhones since the 5S, Touch ID is still integrated into the home button.

Possible Home Button Issues

There are a few interesting points to note here. With Touch ID still being integrated into the home button, we suspect that- as with the 7 and 7 Plus- it won’t be possible to replace the home button and still retain its basic functionality. If the home button gets damaged when the phone is dropped- or worse, during a repair- this will likely mean a trip to Apple to get them to replace the whole screen. (You can read more information about the home button issues here).

We’ve already had a record number of inquiries from customers whose home button has cracked even though there was no physical damage to the phone. Looking at Apple’s support community there appear to be many people complaining about this, and we expect Apple will be forced to offer a repair extension programme for this issue. (We recommend keeping an eye on Apple’s “Exchange and Repair Extension Programs” page for updates).

iPhone 8 Sticks with IPS LCD- Good News for Repairs

It’s not all bad news though, because the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus retain the same IPS LCD technology as found in previous iPhones. As a result, we don’t think it will be too expensive to get the screen replaced. Often when the screen breaks on an iPhone it is only the glass that cracks, and the LCD and touch continue to work. This is because the LCD contains a backlight box that softens the blow when it’s dropped. The working but cracked glass LCD can then be recycled and refurbished, making its way back into the iPhone repair ecosystem. This helps to keep down the prices of replacement parts.

It has also been reported that the 8 and 8 Plus LCD fits the 7 and 7 Plus, and that when connected the LCD displays a picture but the touch doesn’t work due to the digitizer flex being made differently. For those companies whose business model revolves around fitting one of the many cheap, low-quality copy screens it means that China will have a copy LCD available within the first few weeks of launch. (However, we don’t recommend copy screens for several reasons you can read more about here).

Cost of Replacing Glass Back

We suspect the “all glass” back will probably become one our most popular repairs. Samsung uses this same design with their phones and it is easily broken, even more so than the LCD. It is not clear how Apple will handle this repair. They have published repair prices for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus on their website. At the time of writing, Apple’s listed repair prices state it will cost £156.44 and £176.44 (for the 8 and 8 Plus respectively) to get the screen replaced and £356.44 and £406.44 for all “other damage”- which by implication would include replacement of the glass back. It seems rather extreme if Apple is going to replace your handset and charge you this much solely because of a broken glass back!

iPhone 8 launch publicity photographs.

Apple’s iPhone 8 repair prices as of 13 September 2017.

Repair of Apple iPhone X

Apple’s First OLED Screen and No Home Button

Now onto the iPhone X (which Apple apparently confirms we’re to pronounce “iPhone ten”). This uses a completely different design with an edge-to-edge 5.8″ Super Retina display and no home button. This display- Apple’s first to be based on OLED technology rather than LCD- looks awfully like the one Samsung already use in their S8. The most important feature we are interested in is the missing home button. In its place, Apple is now using face ID to authenticate access to the iPhone and for Apple Pay. We have a few concerns on how this will be integrated into iOS.

Sensors, Cable and Repairability

The front of the iPhone X features an array of sensors. These include:-

• Infrared camera
• Flood illuminator
• Proximity sensor
• Ambient light sensor
• Speaker
• Microphone
• Front camera, and
• Dot projector

iPhone X features as shown at launch during Apple keynote on 12 September 2017.

All these components will probably feed back through a single flex cable. If Apple decides to marry this to the iPhone like they did with the home button this means it will be non-serviceable. This is bad news from a repair point-of-view as if this cable gets damaged then it means a trip to Apple to replace it.

However, throughout the keynote, they did mention that the A11 Bionic processor has a part dedicated to facial recognition data, so it is highly possible the processor will contain the secure enclave protection. If this is the case then it is great news for third party repair services, as it may mean the cable is replaceable if it gets damaged.

We’ve heard of many people getting their iPhone 7 screen replaced elsewhere where the technician has broken the home button and they’ve still accepted the repair. This is probably because the assistive touch was working on the screen, so they could still use it. Imagine if Apple were to marry the front camera flex to the phone and it got broken. How would they cope with no selfies?…!

Replacement Supply Concerns for OLED Screen

The Super Retina display is another concern for third party repair as it uses the same OLED technology Samsung use. Any Samsung owner we’ve spoken to who’s broken their screen has needed a seat after we’ve told them the price of a replacement screen. For the same reason, we expect the price of replacement screens for the iPhone X to be very high and stay high for a very long time.

This is exacerbated by the fact that the inner OLED itself seems to break a high percentage of the time when a Samsung phone is dropped meaning there are very few recyclable parts following a screen repair. This is going to have a knock on effect to the stores who rely on “copy” displays to survive. There simply won’t be any copy OLED screens available for a very long time. China is way behind in this respect and we don’t expect to see any well into the middle of next year. At the time of writing of this article, Apple has not published how much they are going to charge for screen replacement but we imagine it will be more cost efficient to go directly to Apple for this repair.

Conclusions

So, on the whole, there are good and bad things to be had in respect of repair of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. Even though technology is constantly changing, we’re always advancing our skills so we can repair the latest devices.

Having owned and repaired iPhones in our Dundee store since they originally launched over ten years ago, we’re confident- regardless of the fault- that we’ll still be able to repair the new range of iPhones even if Apple has included traps to catch us out!