Many people don’t know that Apple has a DIY program where it sells parts directly to users. Today, Apple finally released the price list for all of these parts for the iPhone 17 series. So, as we open up the iPhone 17 and take out the parts, I’m going to tell you the price of each one. The prices will really surprise you.
iPhone 17 Disassembly
Let’s start with this tiny pentalobe screw that Apple sells for 18 cents a piece. It’s hot, it’s like it. It also comes in black and white, so if you’re tempted to change the color of the screws on the bottom of your phone, go for it. It’s a good start. If Apple makes the rest of the internal parts 18 cents, I’ll be a customer myself!
Let’s start with this tiny pentalobe screw that Apple sells for 18 cents a piece. It’s hot, it’s like it. It also comes in black and white, so if you’re tempted to change the color of the screws on the bottom of your phone, go for it. It’s a good start. If Apple makes the rest of the internal parts 18 cents, I’ll be a customer myself!
Removing the back glass panel is a lot harder than it looks. This damn thing fits so tightly into the iPhone 17’s aluminum frame that you can barely fit a thin tool between the aluminum and the glass. Glass is glass, but the truth is, unless you’re trying to replace the battery, there’s no reason to open it unless it’s broken, in which case being careful isn’t really important. The heat and isopropyl alcohol will help soften the adhesive under the glass.
To be fair, Samsung, Google, Fairphone, Xiaomi, and Motorola all sell replacement parts directly to users. And luckily for us regular folks, this is becoming a cool and common practice among manufacturers. I hope my teardown videos do a small part in starting this Right to Repair wave on the internet.
Now that we’ve removed the back glass, I have two more Y000 screws to remove.
Apple sells this full glass panel for $159, which I think is a bit pricey. Of course, the camera flash, magnets, and wireless charging coil are installed. And strangely enough, Tim Cook will refund you $38.16 if you send him your broken glass, which brings the final price to $120 after the credit is deducted. I’m sure Apple will then recycle the magnets and copper inside, which is a cool move. Maybe it’s not so strange when you look at it that way, but even with that discount, $120 is a lot to replace a broken glass.
And speaking of expensive, it gets even worse. The front screen replacement costs an astronomical $329, which of course gets you a $16 discount if you send your broken screen to Tim Cook. Normally, I’m 100% in favor of repairing over buying a new phone, but at these prices in this economy, you’re going to have to do two, two, four, and be on the safe side.
Oh, I wish I had completely removed the adhesive on the left side before lifting the screen. There’s a permanent angelic halo on the screen that’s costing me $329 to fix, but knowing myself, that’s probably not the only thing that’s going to break by the end of the video.
The next part that’s relatively easy to replace is the battery. The iPhone 17 battery doesn’t have a metal frame like the one we saw on the 17 Pro, but it still gets electricity. I take a 9-volt battery and some lizard clips, attach the positive to the bottom tab and the negative to the screw near the charging port. Then I let it short out for about 90 seconds to loosen the adhesive. The battery costs $99, but if you return the old battery, it’s $51.48, which is oddly reasonable. Lithium batteries are 95 percent recyclable, and Apple is now using 100 percent recycled cobalt and 95 percent recycled lithium in the iPhone 17 series batteries. So the materials you send to Apple could be used in your next iPhone, which is pretty cool. I’m glad Apple is leading the way in reducing the environmental impact of its devices.
Now that the common repairs are done, let’s see how much the more specific parts cost. I unscrew the four metal shields around it. These shields cost $4.50.
The 18-megapixel front camera bezel detaches from the motherboard like Lego pieces. This part, which also includes the Face ID scanners, costs $151 after the hot-swap cost. It’s a bit pricey, but it might come down in price over time. And of course, if you’re watching this video in a few years, prices will probably have changed.
The next part to open is the earpiece. This part also houses the 5G millimeter antenna and costs $67.08. Remember that number. There’s no visible bullet on the outside, but there’s a bullet blade inside.
I unscrew three more screws near the dual main cameras; Both are 48-megapixels and are priced very well at $169. Neither camera unit has external optical image stabilization (OIS), but the main camera has something better inside: Apple’s sensor-shift technology. Instead of physically moving the heavy lens to compensate for shake, Apple has decided to move the much lighter sensor itself. It’s much more efficient and can adjust up to 5,000 times per second using those electromagnets in the corners. It’s really worth the $169 just to see the technology inside.
Three more screws hold the Taptic Engine in place. This one is also priced at $67.08. Remember how I said to memorize the number?
The bottom speaker also pops out. That’s the same $67.08! This is the third time we’ve seen that number. And contrary to expectations, there’s no ball inside, just a clear rubber cover around the speaker, like the one we saw on AirPods.
What’s really funny is that Apple sells this little orange speaker gasket separately for $5.85. Imagine someone buying just one speaker gasket and one 18-cent screw and mailing it across the country! Of course, don’t do that. Apple is worth about $4 trillion and it’s not a very funny joke. Instead, go buy your mom something useful, like flowers.
Of course, I want to point out a point I made in the iPhone 16 teardown video. Last year, when I saw that bright orange gasket near the speaker grille, I said Apple should paint the entire phone that color. And I’m glad Apple is taking serious suggestions to heart and doing so.
Finally, here in the US, Apple has ditched the SIM card tray and replaced it with a bare metal box with just a slot for the flat to slide through and a few plastic pieces to fill the space. It would have been nice to have an SD card slot or headphone jack, but never mind, everything is quiet.
I take out the motherboard. This is where the magic happens. Every message you see, every post you like, every article you scroll through, all goes through the hardware chips on this tiny two-story motherboard. Unlike the iPhone 17 Pro, the regular 17 has no vapor chamber or cooling system to keep the A19 chip cool. And Apple doesn’t sell logic boards (motherboards) separately. What’s more interesting is that it seems Apple doesn’t sell the USB-C port separately. It’s as if Apple itself doesn’t have the patience to fix that.
What do you think about Apple’s pricing? Write in the comments. You’re welcome to watch.