Slashing iPhone repair prices in South Africa

Apple Doctor said that over the course of nine months it has forced the prices of iPhone and iPad repairs in South Africa to drop by 72%.
This includes the price of battery and screen replacements.
“It’s not uncommon for consumers to rather buy a new iPhone than repair it,” said Sean Joffe, co-founder of Apple Doctor.
“We noticed that there appeared to be some unscrupulous profiteering by the dominant market player in iPhone repairing which had captured close to perhaps 80% of the market share in South Africa.”
“So, the Apple Doctor went to war on behalf of the over-stretched South African consumer, implementing mercenary prices from 1 October 2016,” said Joffe.
Joffe co-founded Apple Doctor with James Winter, launching the service in January 2016 with the promise of guaranteed repairs done “while you wait”.
He said the company can complete a screen replacement in an hour or less, and will match or beat any written quote from an Apple-authorised repair agent.
“We’ve noticed that consumers are enjoying the David and Goliath price battle, and us unseating the incumbent,” said Joffe.
Changing the battery
“Many consumers are completely unaware that they are able to replace the internal iPhone battery inexpensively, and unfortunately their iPhones often become draw fillers,” said Joffe.
Another challenge for Apple Doctor is that over 30% of all iPhones received show evidence of a bad attempt to repair them, he said.
“Shoddy workmanship shows itself clearly and consumers need to be made aware that their repairers are either not doing their job correctly or simply stealing parts.”
Apple Doctor’s prices to repair iPhones and iPads are detailed below.
iPhone repair prices
Device | Cracked screen replacement | Battery replacement |
iPhone 4 | R449 | R289 |
iPhone 4s | R499 | R309 |
iPhone 5 | R599 | R309 |
iPhone 5s | R699 | R349 |
iPhone 5c | R699 | R319 |
iPhone SE | R999 | R489 |
iPhone 6 | R799 | R379 |
iPhone 6 Plus | R1,299 | R419 |
iPhone 6s | R1,499 | R469 |
iPhone 6s Plus | R2,599 | R479 |
iPhone 7 | R2,699 | R689 |
iPhone 7 Plus | R2,999 | R789 |
iPad repair prices
Device | Cracked screen replacement | Battery replacement |
iPad 2 (Digitizer only) | R699 | R649 |
iPad 3 (Digitizer only) | R849 | R849 |
iPad mini (Digitizer only) | R899 | R649 |
iPad Air (Digitizer only) | R1,199 | R849 |
iPad Air 2 | R2,999 | R799 |
iPad Pro 9.7″ | R5,999 | N/A |
iPad Pro 12.9″ | R6,499 | N/A |
Apple Watch repair prices
- Apple Watch 38mm – R2,400
- Apple Watch 42mm – R2,800
Apple Doctor repairs