Apple will start replacing broken iPhone 5 screens instead of just giving you a new phone as before

The iPhone 4S and 4 have great looking glass body, but just drop that phone once and your heart will shiver expecting the worst. That glass breaks so easily, and so far with the iPhone 4S and 4 if you showed up at an Apple Store with a shattered display, Apple would simply replace that phone with a refurbished one and not even bother changing the screen in store.

The iPhone 5 changes all that. We’ve just learned from iFixit that it takes 5 to 10 minutes to replace a broken iPhone 5 screen with a new one, and on the back you no longer have glass, so the phone is much less likely to break. And now, iMore has learnt from sources within Apple Stores that broken iPhone 5 screens will be replaced with new displays right in the store, and not just exchanged for a new or refurbished phone.

Equipment for replacing screens has allegedly starting arriving at Apple Stores.

Apple has previously been replacing screens on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G, but since it changed the design in the iPhone 4 it stopped.

Apple’s philosophy on this has been quite clear - it only does repairs that can be done in minimal time. On the iPhone 4S and 4 these include rear panel replacement, camera replacement, and sometimes vibrator assembly replacement.

What’s not yet clear is how much replacing the iPhone 5 screen will cost. Right now, customers have to pay $99 for Apple Care+ and $50 for each incident.

source: iMore