[bogwog]

My iPhone XS Max screen cracked a few weeks ago and I've been debating sending it in for repair. Apple charges $300 friggin dollars to "fix" the display (I think they just send you a new phone).

Looking online, displays only cost around $50-$90. So I've considered doing that instead, but if I go down that route, my phone will no longer support the "True Tone" feature. This is because Apple burned the serial number of the display onto the motherboard, so if you try to replace it, they'll know and will disable features even though they work perfectly fine.

So in addition to the cost of the screen, I'll also have to buy a screen reprogrammer, which is a device that can copy the serial number from my old display and write it into the new display, so that the phone doesn't realize I replaced the screen. The prices I've seen online for these are like $60+, so it's still cheaper than sending it to Apple.

I don't understand how this isn't 100% illegal. How the hell can Apple get away with doing something so obviously malicious and detrimental to consumers and the environment? Those are some Scrooge McDuck levels of ridiculousness.

[crimandnakatoya]

Apple is also getting away with the exact same behavior that caused the Microsoft v. United States antitrust case 20 years ago, by bundling WebKit with iOS and refusing to allow the installation of other browser engines.

But there are effectively no functioning regulatory institutions in the United States today, so who's going to stop them? Apparently companies like Epic have more judicial clout than the federal government these days...

[Google234]

Note that Those cheaper displays are probably worse in visual quality than what apple uses. They are probably the rejects.

[Too]

Not just worse in visual quality, I've heard many stories of friends replacing cracked screens with knockoffs who got their battery life decimated after the repair.

Many such cases probably don't connect the dots and instead just think iphone battery life sucks which is bad press for Apple.

[bogwog]

There are two variants I've seen: LCD and OLED. I don't think they're rejects, but are instead some Chinese reverse engineering since, AFAIK, Apple doesn't sell this iPhone model with LCD displays. Plus, Apple has an iron grip on their supply chain.

They probably are inferior to the official Apple ones though (not that I'd care enough to pay 3-6x the price)

[Google234]

They definitely don’t go through the same quality control, the 3rd party screens I’ve bought have always had some sort of minor visual defect.

[judge2020]

> I think they just send you a new phone

I doubt it, your secure enclave-protected secrets and data will still be there after the repair (unless they move the logic board from the old phone to a new one, which would be very interesting).

[simion314]

>I don't understand how this isn't 100% illegal.

It might be illegal but you would need to fight in court for ears so existing laws are applied.

[badkitty99]

Years of campaigning for the masses to be scared to open their devices has payed off big time, hardly anyone dares to void their warranty, let alone take a stance against daddy Apple