Samsung Repair Costs: Why So High?
There are many advantages to being a Samsung owner but, we’ll be ones to admit it: the repair cost is not one of them. So why do Samsung cracked glass repairs cost more than, say, an iPhone screen repair? This is largely because of the type of display Samsung phones use - AMOLED, or Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode, technology.
AMOLED screens are only produced by a handful of factories compared to LCD, or liquid crystal display, screens. It’s also significantly harder to copy and more expensive to source and repair. Although GoMobile aims to be the best and more affordable Vancouver mobile repair shop, it still is a bit pricier than we’d like because of this.
AMOLED vs LCD in a nutshell
Without getting too nerdy, there are some of the general key differences between AMOLED and LCD displays that you’ll hear people argue about:
AMOLED
Pros
- Increased contrast & large colour gamut for richer colours
- Flexible panels form that sweet infinity display
- Deeper blacks that don’t light up pixels & therefore can lead to saving battery power
Cons
- Screen burn-in & diode degradation, meaning icons can haunt you because they’ll always be faintly visible
- More expensive to produce & repair
LCD
Pros
- More realistic colour & sharper display
- Brighter in direct sunlight
- Far cheaper to produce and repair than AMOLED displays
Cons
- All pixels are on regardless of colour, meaning it’s always using battery power,
- Contrast ratio is not as wide so not as dark darks or brighter brights
There are unsurprisingly real feelings about which display is the best. Ultimately, it’s up to you and what screen looks better to you and whether you like Samsungs or not. Of course, if you are prone to breaking screens, LCD technology will break the bank a whole lot less.
If it’s more expensive, why even bother to repair it then?
Truth be told, this is entirely your call. Repairing the broken display on your brand new Samsung 8 will still be far cheaper than purchasing a new one (at the time of writing this article, our repair is roughly half the price of a brand new device). You also won’t have to walk around with that busted screen for the next two years until your next upgrade.
Display not broken? Come see GoMobile for a protective case for your Samsung phone.
Display broken? We can fix that. And we’ll get you that protective case.
The future of AMOLED displays
Samsung has paved the way for smartphone manufacturers to begin using this exciting albeit expensive technology. Although they were the first, we have now seen these displays in OnePlus phone Google Pixel phones and it is now even in Apple’s latest, the iPhone X. Now that AMOLED screens are becoming mainstream, it’s only a matter of time before more factories are built and costs are driven down. We wouldn’t be surprised if one day we end up fixing your Galaxy S9+ for the same price as we’re doing and iPhone 6 Plus today.