Next iPhone no problem for local repair shops

By Cody Starr

BELLEVILLE – Media reports are suggesting that the next version of the iPhone will be nearly impossible to fix for local cellphone repair businesses.

Among others, Vice’s Motherboard have suggested that will be the case.

But, businesses in Belleville that repair cellphones say they aren’t worried one bit.

Paul Holley of Your Cell Phone Doctor on Bellevue Drive says, that as long as they have the right tools and parts are available the phone can be repaired.

“I even had parts available for the iPhone 7 a week after it came out,” said Holley.

Hansan Burbur  of Cell Phone Doctor on Front Street who has been in the cell phone repair business for over 10 years now says, “When I started with the iPhone 3G everybody thought it impossible to repair. But, actually any phone can be repairable if you have (the) proper tool(s) and proper parts.”

Both men say that even if the next iPhone is nearly impossible to repair it would not significantly impact their businesses as they don’t just repair iPhones but all phones. They believeg they would still have significant business despite not being able to repair the next iPhone.

“I don’t think there is a phone right now that is unrepairable, any phone can be repairable, ” Burbur says.

Holley  thinks Apple is trying to take over the iPhone repair market. Burbur doesn’t quite agree. He says that Apple is trying to make it harder for them to obtain the parts necessary by making it so that only licensed iPhone parts work with them.

But he says Apple aren’t the first to do this.

“Samsung actually stated before Apple. Right now most Samsung parts will only work if you have original Samsung made parts. If you buy aftermarket parts from another source they will not work at all. Because of that, Samsung repairs are expensive right now.”