An overview of how rising memory costs have increased global smartphone prices by roughly 20% this year, shifting hardware upgrade cycles, boosting the market for refurbished devices, and refocusing attention on out-of-warranty battery replacement costs.
Apple charges $129 for an out-of-warranty battery replacement on its newest Pro model. Older Pro models cost $10 less, while the 2020 iPhone 12 costs $89. For the iPhone Duo, the charge is $229. According to most online reports, Samsung typically charges $99 to $129 for an out-of-warranty battery replacement.
AppleCare and Samsung Care+ cover battery replacements, but you need to sign up for the plans shortly after purchasing the phone. iFixit also offers a do-it-yourself repair option. However, many modern phones aren't easily repaired at home.
The cheap battery replacement of 2018
In 2018, following controversy over slowing down older iPhones, Apple charged $29 in the US for out-of-warranty battery replacements. The price was valid for a year. Before that year, Apple performed about 1 to 2 million battery replacements a year. In 2018, the number reportedly reached 11 million.
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In January 2019, then-Apple CEO Tim Cook said that some customers were opting for cheaper battery replacements rather than buying a new iPhone. Apple had reported a 5% revenue drop for the quarter, while iPhone revenue was down 15% from the same period a year earlier. Cook attributed most of the decline to an economic slowdown in China, which was exacerbated by the U.S.-China trade conflict. He called cheap battery replacements a minor factor, at best.
The cost of lithium-ion battery cells has come down significantly over the years, the article says. If forecasts from SK Hynix and other memory makers are correct, memory supply will not meet demand before 2030. Therefore, the article suggests that device manufacturers offer cheap out-of-warranty battery replacements while memory shortages persist.
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