There is a trend in the repair industry where the cost of repairing a Non-Apple device (Samsung Galaxies, Nokia 710, HTC One, etc) is much higher than the cost of repairing an Apple Device.
There are several explanations for this
The Australian Mobile Market, traditionally, have been dominated by Apple since the introduction of the iPhone. This means that there was (emphasis on the past tense) much more Apple phones in circulation compared to non-Apple phones. This, in turn, means that there will be more Apple phones that are damaged than non-Apple phones. This creates a market for repairers specializing in repairing iPhones as the costs are driven down by the global demand for parts. This also meant that the knowledge in repairing iPhones was much more available than non-Apple phones.
Cost of the part. The architecture of iPhones are significantly different to their competition, especially so with the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5. Many non-Apple phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 have a ‘layered’ design principle where the hardware is placed on top each other like a sandwich whereas the iPhone 4 is segmented in ‘blocks’ which easily differentiates the different internal components.
The drawback to designing in layers is that the costs of the parts can dramatically increase as more and more chips are attached to the part housing the display. This rule is not shared by all non-apple phones, but is a shared tendency for Android phones. Which a shift in the global market share for mobiles, things are about to change in Australia as Android takes a 50% global market share.
Things are also expected to get spicy as Microsoft pushes their Windows 8 mobile platform on the Nokia Lumia 920. Motorola (which Google owns) is about to announce their new Droid line of Phones come the end of the year. Keep an eye out.
