The iPhone XS and XS Max are Potentially More Expensive Than You Realize

The new iPhones are a lot of things and one of those things is expensive. The iPhone XS Max with the biggest storage capacity could run you a whopping $1,500 when it’s all said and done, making it Apple’s most expensive phone to date. The cheapest version of these new phones, the 64GB iPhone XS, retails for $999.  We’ve established that the new iPhones aren’t cheap, and we haven’t even talked about service pricing yet.

The iPhone XS repair prices are the same as the iPhone X: $279 for screen repair and $549 for “other damage.” Those prices are already ridiculous, especially considering that according to the IHS Markit teardown, it costs $370.25 to build an iPhone from scratch. The iPhone XS Max is even worse, costing $329 and $599, respectively. $599 will get you a brand new iPhone 8.

The obvious answer is AppleCare+, but that doesn’t take much of the sting away. You’re still paying $269, and then if you need “other damage” repaired, you pay the first $99, bringing the cost to $368, almost the price of a brand new iPhone 7.

Why stop now? From the iPhone X to the new XS models, battery replacements have gone from $29 to $69, over twice as much. This is despite the fact that the iPhone XS is structurally identical to the iPhone X and the battery capacities are the same.

Will any of this matter? No, probably not, but it’s hard to deny that these prices seem a little hard to justify. Especially when Samsung lets you repair their high-end screens yourself, something that can be done for less than $100.