You drop the phone. You pick it up. The screen is cracked. The question that follows is almost always the same: is it worth fixing, or should you just get a new phone?
The honest answer depends on a few things — and "just get a new phone" is rarely the right call when you think it through.
The cost of a screen repair vs the cost of a new phone
A cracked iPhone 15 Pro Max screen costs $219–$349 to replace at The Fone Club, depending on whether you choose the aftermarket or premium option. A new iPhone 16 Pro Max retails for $2,399. Even a refurbished 15 Pro Max will run you $800–$1,100.
The maths on screen repair is almost always better than replacement — unless the phone is very old, has other faults, or the repair cost is genuinely close to replacement cost (which rarely happens on a phone under five years old).
When repair is clearly the right call
The screen works fine aside from the crack. Touch still works, the display is readable, Face ID or Touch ID is functioning normally. A cosmetic crack that doesn't affect usability is the easiest case — you're paying to restore the phone's condition, not to fix a function.
The phone is less than four or five years old. Phones under this age are usually repairable with parts still available, and the underlying hardware is worth preserving. Screens on iPhone 11 through current models, and on Samsung Galaxy S10 and later, are all standard repairs with available parts.
You have data you'd prefer not to lose. Migrating everything to a new phone takes time and doesn't always go perfectly. If your photos, messages or apps matter, repairing what you have avoids that risk entirely.
When replacement might make more sense
The phone has multiple faults alongside the cracked screen. A broken screen on a phone that also has a dead battery, a damaged charging port and intermittent touch issues changes the calculus. You might be up for $400 in repairs on a phone worth $200.
The phone is genuinely very old (iPhone 7 or earlier, Samsung Galaxy S7 or earlier). Parts can be harder to source, and even after a successful repair, you're still running an old device.
The repair cost approaches replacement cost. This rarely happens, but on some flagship models with very expensive display assemblies — iPad Pro 11" Gen 5, for example — it's worth comparing.
What about insurance?
If you have phone insurance that covers accidental damage, check your excess before deciding. A $150 excess on a $349 repair means you save $199 — the excess is usually worth paying. But some excess amounts are high enough that it's not worth a claim.
The crack will get worse
A crack in a phone screen doesn't stay the same size. Glass distributes stress, and a hairline crack today can spider across the whole display after a minor drop. If the screen is currently functional but cracked, repairing it sooner is usually cheaper than waiting until the display fails entirely and needs replacing as a more complex job.
If you're in Canberra and weighing up a screen repair, come in to The Fone Club at Majura Park Shopping Centre, Canberra Airport. We'll give you a firm price before we start, and if we can't fix it, you don't pay.