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Apple's first foldable phone could cost over $1,000 just to repair

Repair specialist Ricky Panesar of iCorrect has told Forbes he expects replacing the inner screen on Apple’s first foldable to cost around £850, roughly $1,155, against $579 for the same repair on a Galaxy Z Fold 8. He also expects AppleCare+ per-incident fees to rise from the current £29 to nearer £100.

Apple is expected to introduce its first foldable phone this year at a starting price around $2,000, and a repair specialist is warning buyers that the purchase price is not where the spending ends.

Ricky Panesar, founder of the London repair firm iCorrect, told Forbes he expects replacing the inner folding display to cost in the region of £850, roughly $1,155, or more. The same repair on Samsung’s standard Galaxy Z Fold 8 is $579, a figure that already includes Samsung’s Flex Titanium construction, and the Z Fold 7 before it cost $449. Panesar’s estimate would put an Apple repair around 43% above Samsung’s in sterling and close to 58% of the phone’s rumored purchase price.

Apple is expected to source its foldable panels from Samsung Display, which means paying a supplier margin that Samsung itself does not pay. Panesar expects that to flow through to customers, telling Forbes he anticipates the most expensive repair prices Apple has charged on any handheld device to date.

AppleCare+ may not soften the blow as much as buyers expect. Apple has historically charged as little as £29, or $29 in the US, per screen repair incident on covered devices. Panesar does not expect that to hold here, predicting per-incident fees closer to £100, and suggests Apple may also revisit the unlimited repairs policy it introduced in recent years, given the cost of foldable display replacements. He still regards AppleCare+ as essential for anyone buying one.

The independent repair market will not be an escape route at launch either. Third-party shops have no experience with Apple’s hinge design, and Panesar says that learning curve will add expense rather than reduce it, leaving independents unable to undercut Apple in the early months. He also expects the Touch ID module to be harder to repair than Face ID has been.

The inner display and the hinge behave as a single integrated assembly, so reaching one component means dismantling much of what surrounds it, and that labor compounds quickly. iFixit rated the Galaxy Z Fold 8 at four out of ten for repairability, citing a fragile inner display and difficult hinge work.

$1,155 repair...According to a report from Apple World Today, Apple is getting ready to introduce its debut foldable smartphone (widely called the iPhone Ultra) next month, with a starting price that could top $2,000. The device hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but some people are already looking past the launch price and worrying about long-term ownership costs.

Ricky Panesar, founder of repair company iCorrect, estimates that replacing the inner screen alone could run about $1,155. That’s noticeably higher than the roughly $772 Samsung charges for a similar inner-screen fix on the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Panesar thinks Apple’s mix of Samsung Display panels and its own proprietary hinge design is what’s pushing the numbers up, potentially making foldable iPhone repairs some of the most expensive in the industry.

Apple’s fall product event is set for September 9 under the theme “Surprise and shine.” Some reports suggest the foldable might not actually go on sale until October, but most expect Apple to at least show it off during the September event alongside its other new products.

The projected repair cost highlights a bigger issue with foldables in general: the innovative design often comes with complicated (and pricey) displays and hinges. Apple hasn’t shared any official repair pricing or AppleCare details yet. Anyone thinking about buying the iPhone Ultra will probably want to factor in both the premium sticker price and the potential cost of keeping it running down the road.

And speaking of repair costs, it’ll be interesting to see how well the hinge and inner display hold up in the first place. We’ve already seen some less-than-ideal durability issues with earlier foldables, so now it’s Apple’s turn to prove that the wait was worth it.

AppleCare+ currently charges $29 for screen or back glass damage and $99 for other accidental damage. A foldable inner display would most likely fall into the higher category rather than the standard screen tier.

Apple holds its Surprise and Shine event on Wednesday 9 September at Apple Park in Cupertino, which will be streamed on its website and YouTube, and most observers expect the foldable to appear there, even though some reports suggest it may not ship until October. The device is expected to launch running iOS 27, the first version with foldable-specific software.

by: mundophone