iPhone XS, XS Max and XR Repair Issues

(Note; This article has been updated to include useful post-launch information and images. You can view the original version here.)

Introduction

As we’ve already mentioned elsewhere, Apple has announced the release of three new iPhone models- the iPhone XS (“Ten-S”), the iPhone XS Max (“Ten-S Max”) and the iPhone XR (“Ten-R”). At the time of writing the XS and XS Max are imminent, and the XR will be out towards the end of October.

In this article, we want to focus mainly on speculation regarding the iPhone XS, Max and XR screens as well as other potential repair issues.

The XS and the XS Max are the high-end models starting(!) at £999 and £1099 respectively; the XS is most obviously a direct replacement for the immediately-discontinued iPhone X at the same size and price. If you don’t have that much change down the back of your sofa, you’ll have to settle for the lower-end iPhone XR. From “just” £749, the XR is obviously intended as a cheaper marginally less expensive version.

Differing Screen Technologies and Cost Implications

From our point of view, the biggest difference between the models is that the XS and XS Max use an OLED screen (like the iPhone X), whereas- despite its “Liquid Retina” marketing- the iPhone XR’s display is based on traditional LCD technology. (Resolution is also lower- 326 vs. 458 ppi on the XS). From the point of view of screen refurbishment and recycling, this makes them almost completely different- the XS series will no doubt be similar to the X, with the XR being more like the pre-OLED iPhones.

iPhone XR LCD- Cheaper, But Avoid the Low-Quality Copies

The iPhone XR’s LCD no doubt costs less for Apple than the XS’s OLED, thus we expect replacements to be cheaper too. It’s also likely that unofficial third-party “copy” LCD displays will arrive in bulk just as soon as the developers figure out what’s needed. Although we’re generally not fans of the often dreadful quality of third-party LCD displays, many people will use them anyway. This will reduce demand for recycled/refurbished original screens, so the existence of copy screens will at least help keep down the cost of original screens for the people (like us) who do use them.

iPhone XS and XS Max- OLED Makes Replacement Expensive, But Wait…

Given that it uses the same technology (OLED) and has an identical ppi spec and diagonal size, we expect the XS’s OLED display to be similar- or identical- to the one in the iPhone X, with the XS Max being a larger version of that. In short, we’re not expecting big changes from the iPhone X.

(Update; it turns out that both the iPhone XS and XS Max screens are backwards-compatible with the iPhone X, albeit with the more than minor disadvantage that the larger XS Max screen won’t physically fit inside an iPhone X case!)

Although there were originally no compatible third-party replacement screens (“copy screens”) for the iPhone X, they did eventually arrive. Since the original displays on the X and XS are expected to be near-identical, it’s similarly likely that creating an XS-compatible copy screen will require no more than a minor redesign of any existing iPhone X copy screens (and a minor tweak of the manufacturing setup).

The three main types of copy screen for the iPhone X- and the likely basis for any early XS-compatible copy screens– are as follows:-

• TFT LCD version – These don’t even use the same technology as the original (OLED) displays and- as expected- have the lowest quality. The bezel is thicker, and picture quality, refresh rate and touch will be nowhere near as good as the original OLED. They also run much hotter. However, due to their low price, they’re what a lot of places will fit (often without informing the customer).
• Hard OLED version (“ZY”) – Picture quality is naturally better than the LCD version, but these still have a lot of touch problems and run hot.
• Flexible OLED version (“GX”) – This is closest in technological terms to the flexible OLED used in the original screen. However, we still don’t recommend it.

This is- of course- in addition to the highest-quality original OLED displays.

As the manufacturers aren’t starting from scratch this time round, we expect XS copy screens to arrive far more quickly than those for the X.

iPhone XS Max copy screens might take a little longer to arrive (as manufacturing the new, larger displays will require retooling). However, we still expect them to benefit from development work already done for the iPhone X copies.

As was the case with the LCD-based iPhone models, we still only recommend using original screens (not copies) for iPhone X screen replacements, and this is likely to also apply to the XS and XS Max.

Changes in iPhone X and XS Make Screen Refurbishment More Complicated

Before the iPhone X, all iPhones had the LCD under the glass but inside the frame. The X changed this, and its OLED is sandwiched between the frame and the glass. This means it is more difficult to repair as you need to carefully remove the frame before you even get to the OLED. The OLEDs on the XS and XS Plus are the same. (It’ll be interesting to see if the LCD screen on the XR also follows this design. We hope not!)

The design of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus- and older models- made possible the use of pre-assembled frames bought in from China (with frame and glass already cold-pressed together) during refurbishment. The change in design with the iPhone X OLED meant that this was no longer possible. There still isn’t a perfect method for gluing the X frame to the LCD yet, and because the new XS and XS Max screens use the same design, this problem will continue with them.

Other Screen and Repair-Related Points

• The XR’s LCD lacks 3D touch, which means one less thing to worry about during refurbishment.
• As there’s no home button, we don’t need to worry about sending out screens where the home button cable- on the screen- gets damaged during fitting and no longer works. Face ID doesn’t connect via the screen, so it’s not an issue there. (However, Face ID still connects elsewhere- and is paired- on the iPhone X, and we’d assume the same applies to the XS until we hear otherwise).
• All screens are black, which means fewer parts to keep in stock and less inventory that repairers need to keep.
• As with the 8, 8 Plus and X, the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max have glass backs. Regardless of whether the iPhone 8’s glass was the “most durable ever” as Apple claimed, it was still breakable, less resilient than metal-backed iPhones and very expensive to repair. It’s likely that the new models will have a similar vulnerability to breakage in this area.

Update: More Specs Now In

• Figures from the Chinese government regulator suggest that the batteries for the XS, XS Max and XR are rated at 2658, 3174 and 2942 mAh respectively. That’s not bad, but significantly lower than most Android flagships.
• A teardown shows the XS to have an odd-looking L-shaped battery.