How much does an iPhone actually cost when you strip away the packaging, the marketing, and the inflated prestige that comes with that half-bitten fruit logo? Turns out, around 30% less than what you’d pay at the store. Phone Repair Guru decided to find out the real cost of an iPhone 13 Pro by building one entirely from scratch using the cheapest, best-reviewed parts available on AliExpress. No branding, no retail markup, just pure hardware. And the results were nothing short of fascinating.
Now, the caveat here is that not everyone can put together a phone based on parts from AliExpress. Apart from being a physically draining and technically challenging experience, AliExpress can be a bit of a hit or miss. Parts take weeks to arrive, and a lot of them could be wrong or misleading, or even defective. In the best-case scenario, if you DO get all your components in one shot, the iPhone could work out significantly cheaper – going to show that a major chunk of the price you pay for an iPhone is for, well, the ‘Apple factor’.
Designer:
The journey began with the frame, a housing unit bundled with essential internals like the charging port, speaker grilles, wireless charging coil, and even a taptic engine. It cost $88 CAD (about $65 USD), and while the Apple logo came discreetly hidden under a sticker to avoid trademark issues, the part quality was surprisingly solid. Buying this assembly saved money and time, especially since purchasing each piece individually would have been significantly more expensive.
Next came the earpiece speaker, purchased separately because the housing didn’t include it. Without it, you’d lose stereo sound and phone call functionality. The back camera module was also a major purchase at $76 CAD (about $56 USD), but upon inspection, it appeared to be a genuine Apple part, complete with the tiny logo etched into the flex cable.
Then came the most expensive piece of the puzzle: the motherboard, bundled with a front camera, dot projector, and infrared module for Face ID. This cost a hefty $220 CAD (about $161 USD). It had likely been used and repaired before, but was still intact, and crucially, it worked. Since Face ID is serialized to the motherboard, this part was a gamble. Fortunately, the phone booted up and recognized faces without issue.
The OLED display was sourced for $115 CAD (about $84 USD). Here’s where skepticism kicked in. It was thicker than expected, the bezels were a little too chunky, and the flex cable didn’t exactly scream “OEM.” Still, when powered on, it performed well. Not quite flagship quality, but certainly good enough for a phone built on a budget.
The battery looked nearly identical to Apple’s original, right down to the adhesives and labeling. It functioned perfectly. A few other small but essential parts, like the proximity and ambient light sensor and the LiDAR scanner, had to be added separately. These aren’t features most users think about, but they’re required to make the iPhone experience seamless. For example, without the proximity sensor, the screen wouldn’t turn off during calls, and without the LiDAR, some augmented reality functions and low-light photography features would break.
Assembly was both a technical and psychological test. With no screw chart, each step required patience and educated guessing. One wrong screw could puncture the back glass or damage internal layers. From installing the SIM ejector nub to correctly seating the shield over the LiDAR module, every detail mattered. The Phone Repair Guru pointed out that it’s actually safer to leave out a screw than to insert the wrong one.
When the last connector was clicked in and the power button held down, the Apple logo appeared. The phone booted. Cameras functioned. Face ID worked. Even the sketchy OLED screen looked better than expected. Not everything was flawless – the vibration motor felt weak, and some connectors were missing (likely due to regional variations), but overall, the phone ran like it came off an assembly line.
The total cost? $507 CAD (about $373 USD). That includes the screws, which added an extra $5 CAD (about $4 USD). Compared to the average refurbished iPhone 13 Pro at $700 CAD (about $513 USD), that’s not just pocket change; it’s nearly a 30% discount, compared to a REFURBISHED model. The real price comparison with Apple’s own website would be significantly more, resulting in even higher savings. But the savings come at a price: stress, time, and a real risk of failure. This isn’t as simple as putting together a bookshelf. It’s a weekend-long commitment with a margin for error thinner than a SIM ejector pin.
Still, when you’ve built something with your own hands, even a smartphone, you look at it differently. There’s pride in knowing exactly what’s inside. It’s the IKEA effect, applied to tech: you’re statistically more likely to value and use it longer simply because you built it yourself. And in a world of disposable electronics, maybe that’s the real win.
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