The iPhone X is finally here, but with Apple’s most expensive mobile ever hitting the market, how many people are taking the plunge and what will it cost to fix it, in the event of screen damage?
Sales success
Although there was some trepidation in the media when the iPhone X was announced back in September, its high asking price has not put off Apple purists, with the Guardian reporting that it took just 10 minutes for all pre-order models to sell out, once they were made available to purchase.
In the UK, the handset has a recommended retail price of £999 in its basic form, which comes with 64GB of storage space. To snap up the model with 256GB of storage, customers will have to shell out an additional £150 for the privilege.
Of course, this early sell-out is not that surprising, given that there have been multiple reports of production problems and claims that there may be only a few million iPhone X handsets available globally at launch. So for those hoping to get hold of one just by ordering online or strolling to their nearest tech outlet, disappointment could be just around the corner.
Over the next 12 months, Apple looks set to manufacture around 20 million iPhone X models, which sounds like a lot on paper, but is actually only 50 per cent of its originally planned output. This shows the extent to which demand is unlikely to be met.
Repair woes
With a bigger screen and more powerful hardware, the iPhone X is understandably desirable. But the additional cost of its move from LCD to OLED display tech means that if it is damaged for any reason, then people who have not got mobile phone insurance will be left with a hefty bill to pay.
Replacing the screen on its own will reportedly cost £286 in the UK – more than the upfront cost of most mid to high-end Android handsets that are available to buy at the moment. Meanwhile, if the repair work is more in-depth, then the costs of fixing it via Apple’s official channels rise to £556, according to a report from MacRumors.
There is a way to offset this cost, with the AppleCare+ service reducing display replacement costs to £25. However, this comes at an additional cost of £199, so even if you do decide to select this option, it will be a costly upfront payment, on top of the already incredibly high price of the handset itself.
Affordable iPhone insurance is therefore the best option for money cost-conscious iPhone X fans, who want to adopt this cutting edge device as soon as possible, while avoiding all of the future costs and complications which might come along with ownership.
It is worth remembering that although the iPhone X is more advanced than any of its predecessors and contemporaries, it is not necessarily any sturdier. With a larger size comes the higher likelihood that damage can be done, whether you are at home or on the move. Since there is likely to be a shortage of this phone, protecting it with gadget insurance rather than having to hang around and wait for a replacement to be made available makes even more sense.