One of the bigger challenges with our industry is the never-ending struggle to produce stable aftermarket parts that are compatible with the latest and greatest devices. And while manufacturers do an amazing job at meeting demand, it requires a daunting amount of technical aptitude and experience to reverse engineer these products and produce working alternatives. For parts meant for the latest new phone, this typically means high prices and lower yields. Every now and then, however, a phone comes along that makes things easy for us, and sometimes, is even good for our industry. This year, that phone is the second-generation iPhone SE.
Familiar, Pre-Existing Parts
For those of you who are scratching your head, consider the following. Most of the components in the iPhone SE are swappable with iPhone 8 parts. We are currently working to confirm the exact compatibilities, but according to iFixit, these include the front and back cameras, SIM tray, vibration motor, display, charge port/mic, and proximity sensor. Others have confirmed additional compatible parts, such as the wireless charge/NFC coil, power/volume flex, earpiece speaker, and loudspeaker. Why is any of this important? Well, since these are older parts, they don’t have the high price that comes with newly-developed products. Compared to newer models like the iPhone 11, parts for the SE 2020 are a fraction of the cost! This potentially means higher margins for any repairs you make on these devices!
Time-Tested Stability
But low costs aren’t the only benefit to using old parts. These components also use older, more established technologies, which means higher levels of reliability- something that isn’t always possible when new phones come out. Remember, the iPhone 8 was released nearly 3 years ago. In that time, manufacturers have produced a stable and reliable line of parts for that phone (and in the case of the battery, they have even improved on it by creating a high-capacity variant). Because of this, it’s very likely that SE repairs will see a low amount of delays from RMA and return visits; both of which are good news for your repair brand.
Expect to See a Lot of This Phone
Lastly, this phone will probably be around for a while! Counterpoint Research predicts that the latest iPhone SE will sell 15 million units this year alone, and Apple have claimed that sales have gone well, despite being released during a pandemic. Honestly, that’s not too much of a surprise considering the value that this phone offers. The new SE brings flagship performance, at a midrange price. It’s an especially attractive offer at this particular time, and it’s likely that it will continue to do well for the foreseeable future.
Here at Maya Cellular Parts, we’re well-stocked on iPhone 8 parts, and as soon as SE-specific parts (such as the battery) hit the market, we’ll stock up on those too. Keep an eye on our website, and follow us on social. We’ll make sure to let you know as soon as those parts are in!
Image via Apple
