The iPhone 15 Pro features a number of significant upgrades over the iPhone 14 Pro, but Apple’s latest flagship also inherits a key feature from the standard iPhone 14 that makes repairs easier and cheaper.
At its September 2023 launch event, Apple confirmed that both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a “new internal chassis architecture” that will allow their respective rear glass panels to be “easily replaced” (read: removed).
This ‘new’ chassis architecture was actually a feature of last year’s iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models, but the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max were instead stuck with an integrated rear frame that – if damaged – had to be replaced. entirely (at a cost of $499 / £519 / AU$879 for the former phone, and $549 / £559 / AU$899 for the latter).
In contrast, the cost to replace the iPhone 15 Pro’s rear glass panel is just $169 / £169 / AU$275 on Apple’s official repair site (as noted by Ian Zelbo of 9to5Mac), with the same iPhone 15 Pro Max repairs costing just $199 / £199 / AU$319.
Thanks to a new internal structure, iPhone 15 Pro now costs just $170 to replace the back glass, compared to $500 for the 14 Pro pic.twitter.com/257R01WzAaSeptember 17, 2023
In other words, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are much, much cheaper to repair than previous Pro-level iPhones; a seriously welcome upgrade that shouldn’t go under the radar when it comes to discussing the key iPhone 15 features.
It’s worth clarifying that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus – like the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus – also have removable, easier-to-replace glass back panels. And if you have an Apple Care subscription, the cost to replace the rear window panel on any iPhone 15 model is just $29 / £25 / AU$45 – the same as ever.
Is the tide turning for expensive technical repairs?
The news of these lower iPhone repair costs comes after Apple publicly expressed support for California’s Right to Repair law, which could soon open up a much more competitive Apple repair market and ultimately make iPhone and MacBook repairs even cheaper for consumers.
Once the bill passes – at least in California – the Right to Repair Act will require manufacturers of products costing more than $99.99 (meaning all iPhones) to make parts, tools and repair diagnostics readily available for seven years after the point of manufacture . . This should ensure that consumers are not left in the dark when an expensive technical product reaches the end of its warranty period.
“It feels like the Berlin Wall of tech repair monopolies is starting to crumble brick by brick,” iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens said in a statement after Apple expressed support for the Right to Repair law. And Apple’s commitment to lowering the cost of in-house iPhone repairs only bodes well for the future of third-party iPhone repair costs.