Aftermarket Screens: What Does it Mean?
One night Angie was walking her dog and dropped her phone, face down on the concrete. She picked it up and the screen was shattered. She walked her dog back home the whole time bracing herself for calling into Apple to see what the cost would be to fix her phone screen. The call connects and the rep cheerfully told her it will only be about $300 if there is no other damage.
After picking her your jaw off the floor she called around to your local repair shops to see if she could get the repair done cheaper, and they can. The only thing is, is that they use aftermarket screens for their repairs and that makes her nervous because she doesn’t really know what that means.
What Is an Aftermarket Screen?
If you’re looking to repair your phone you’ve probably come across the terms OEM and Aftermarket, but what does that actually mean? OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer meaning it comes straight from the factories of Apple or Samsung. Aftermarket means they have been made by other companies to make as many models and parts accessible to people as possible.
Is there a difference in OEM VS. Aftermarket?
The simple answer is yes, but the more complicated answer is it depends on how big the difference is. Most aftermarket screens have three grades, for example Group Vertical has A+, PRO, and GV+. Many other companies refer to them as their good better best option. These screens all have OEM components but the GV+ or the “best” version have as many OEM pieces as possible making the replacement screen nearly impossible to distinguish the difference. To learn the differences between the screen grades GV offers follow this link: https://groupvertical.com/screen-performance-lines/. You will find OEM screens are thinner, and slightly brighter but for a much higher price tag (think triple the price) You’ll find yourself questioning if that makes it worth it.
Are Aftermarket Parts Reliable?
The numbers don’t lie, between 2019 and 2020 use of aftermarket parts went 8%, and profit in the industry has increased to over 200 billion dollars. In a 2018 study research found that on average 5,761 phone screens are broken every year and out of those people 59% found it cheaper to get a new phone instead of having theirs repaired. With more accessible options like after aftermarket screens more people are now opting to repair screens themselves instead of either getting a new phone or living with a damaged screen because of costly repairs.
After doing research and learning what it meant to use an Aftermarket screen, Angie picked up her shattered phone and called back the local repair shop. The next week her screen was fixed for nearly half of what the Apple rep told her it would cost to get an OEM replacement.