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The repair journal

Original vs aftermarket phone screens: the honest difference

Screen repairs often come with more than one price. The difference usually comes down to display technology, brightness, colour and battery use. Here is what you are choosing between.

1 min readBy the Wepairs team

A man removing a broken screen from a smartphone during a repair

When you get a screen repair quote, you may see different part grades at different prices. That is not upselling: the parts genuinely differ, and the right choice depends on how you use your phone.

OLED and LCD replacements

Many current phones ship with OLED displays. Some lower-cost replacement screens use LCD technology instead. LCD replacements can work well, but they are usually thicker, less bright, show greyer blacks and can use a little more battery.

What you might notice

  • Colour and brightness that look slightly different from new
  • A thicker border around the display on some parts
  • Touch that feels slightly less responsive on low-grade parts
  • On iPhones, a message noting a non-genuine display in the settings

How we handle it

Where there is more than one grade of part, we list both, with both prices, and you choose. We do not fit a cheaper part than the one you paid for, and we do not quote for a premium part and fit a standard one. Every screen is tested for touch, brightness and colour before you collect.

Which should you choose?

If you plan to keep the phone for years, use it outdoors a lot or care about battery life, the higher-grade screen is usually worth it. If you are selling soon or want the lowest cost, a quality standard part is a reasonable choice.

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