On November 28, 2025, a fresh teardown of the base iPhone 17 by YouTuber JerryRigEverything made headlines, after being picked up by outlets like GSMArena and regional tech blogs. The video finally gives us a detailed look inside the cheapest iPhone of the 2025 lineup — and pairs that with Apple’s official repair part prices for the device.
The verdict?
- The teardown process is surprisingly straightforward and repair‑friendly for a modern flagship.
- The component and repair prices are anything but friendly to your wallet.
Here’s a deep dive into what the teardown shows, how much each major part costs, and what it all means for iPhone 17 owners in late 2025.
JerryRigEverything finally tears down the vanilla iPhone 17
Until now, most in‑depth teardowns focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air. Those revealed a new vapor‑chamber cooling system, ultra‑thin designs, and Apple’s aggressive SIM‑tray removal in favor of eSIM. [1]
Today’s spotlight, though, is on the standard iPhone 17 — the model most buyers actually choose.
According to the mirrored write‑up of GSMArena’s story, the teardown is based on a new video from JerryRigEverything’s Zack Nelson. [2] The article and the video together highlight a few key points:
Opening procedure: still classic iPhone, just a bit kinder
The teardown sequence is refreshingly familiar:
- Remove the two pentalobe screws at the bottom of the phone. Apple sells these for just a few cents each (around $0.18 per screw via its Self Service Repair store). [3]
- Heat the back glass to soften the adhesive.
- Lift the rear panel so the phone opens like a book from the side, giving direct access to the internals. [4]
This “back‑glass‑first” approach matches what we’ve already seen on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air, where both display and back glass can be serviced independently. [5] That’s good news: breaking one side doesn’t automatically put the other expensive piece of glass at risk.
In a separate clip, JerryRigEverything even remarks that once the phone is open, the battery comes out in well under two minutes, calling it one of the easiest battery removals he’s seen on a modern iPhone. [6] That lines up with iFixit’s scoring for the 2025 lineup, which credits Apple’s newer adhesive designs and screw‑in battery brackets for improving repairability. [7]
Inside the iPhone 17: evolution, not revolution
While today’s teardown focuses on the base 17, it sits in a broader context:
- Earlier teardowns of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air by YouTuber Hugh Jeffreys showed a new vapor chamber in the Pro, a shockingly thin 5.6 mm chassis for the Air, and a shared A19 Pro chip with 12 GB of RAM in the units tested. [8]
- AppleInsider’s own teardown coverage confirmed that Apple has eliminated the physical SIM tray across much of the iPhone 17 lineup, using that space for larger batteries instead. The Pro Max, for example, jumps to about 5,088 mAh, with the standard iPhone 17 around 3,692 mAh and the Air at 3,149 mAh. [9]
Put together, today’s base‑model teardown suggests:
- Layout continuity with the Pro and Air: stacked logic boards, dual‑entry access to glass surfaces, and modular components for speakers, Taptic Engine, and cameras.
- More battery and fewer legacy parts: no SIM tray in most regions, freed‑up volume devoted to battery cells and internal bracing. [10]
- Improved serviceability on paper, at least compared to older iPhones that glued batteries and paired parts more harshly.
The catch? Once you break something, the price tags hit hard.
Apple’s official iPhone 17 part prices: what each component costs
Alongside these teardowns, Apple has quietly rolled out full support for the iPhone 17 lineup in its Self Service Repair program. The company now sells genuine parts and publishes manuals for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air in the US, Canada, and a long list of European countries. [11]
Multiple outlets — including 9to5Mac, Wccftech, Gigazine and a detailed explainer from Bez Kabli — have compiled Apple’s official pricing. [12]
iPhone 17 (base model) – Self Service Repair part prices (US)
Approximate prices for major components:
- Back glass: $159
- Battery: $99
- Display module: $329
- Enclosure with battery (frame + cell): $236
- Front (selfie) camera: $199
- Smaller internal parts (each, roughly):
- Bottom speaker: about $67
- Top speaker: about $67
- Main microphone: about $67
- Taptic Engine (haptic motor): about $67
- SIM tray (for markets that still have one): roughly $8 [13]
Those are just the parts, before tax and shipping. If you don’t own the right tools, Apple also suggests renting an official toolkit — around $49 for one week in the US. [14]
iPhone 17 Pro & Pro Max – parts
For the higher‑end models, the pattern is similar but slightly pricier:
- Battery: $119
- Back glass: $159
- Front camera: $199
- Enclosure with battery: $299
- Display:
- iPhone 17 Pro: $329
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: $379 [15]
iPhone Air – parts
Despite being the thinnest iPhone ever, the Air’s parts pricing stays in the same ballpark:
- Battery: $119
- Back glass: $159
- Front camera: $199
- Enclosure with battery: $299
- Display: $329 [16]
A Japanese breakdown from Gigazine goes even deeper, listing individual microphones, speakers and haptic units in the ~$67 range and confirming that the basic iPhone 17 display, back glass, and camera units are the big‑ticket items. [17]
Out‑of‑warranty Apple repair fees: what you pay if you don’t DIY
Of course, most people will never touch Apple’s parts store or manuals. They’ll simply walk into an Apple Store or an authorized service provider. Apple’s out‑of‑warranty repair fees for the iPhone 17 lineup were updated ahead of the September launch and have been widely reported. [18]
Here’s how the US service pricing shakes out:
Screen & glass repair (Apple service, no AppleCare+)
- Cracked screen (front only)
- iPhone 17 / 17 Pro / iPhone Air: $329
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: $379
- Back glass damage (rear only)
- All iPhone 17 models: $159
- Front + back glass damaged
- iPhone 17 / iPhone Air / iPhone 17 Pro: $419
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: $469 [19]
Battery & camera
- Battery replacement
- iPhone 17: $99
- iPhone Air / 17 Pro / 17 Pro Max: $119
- Rear camera
- iPhone 17 / iPhone Air: $169
- iPhone 17 Pro / Pro Max: $249 [20]
“Other damage”
For more serious issues (board damage, multiple components, liquid ingress), Apple uses a broad “other damage” category:
- iPhone 17: roughly $599
- iPhone Air: about $699
- iPhone 17 Pro: around $749
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: about $799 [21]
Now compare those numbers to the raw part prices above. The gap isn’t as big as you might expect — and that’s the crux of today’s teardown story.
DIY vs Apple Store: does Self Service Repair actually save money?
You might assume that buying parts and doing the work yourself would be dramatically cheaper. Several detailed analyses say not really.
A longform piece from Bez Kabli pulls together calculations from iDropNews, AppleInsider and others and comes to a blunt conclusion: once you factor in tool rental and “core” return credits, DIY iPhone 17 repairs usually cost about the same as an in‑store repair, or even more in some cases. [22]
A few examples:
- DIY iPhone 17 screen swap
- Display module: $329
- Old display “core” credit: around $16.45 back once you return it
- Net part cost: ~$312.55
- Toolkit rental: $49
- Total: ~$361.55, more than Apple’s $329 in‑store screen repair that already includes labor. [23]
- DIY iPhone Air battery swap
- Battery: $119
- Tools: $49
- Total is effectively the same or higher than Apple’s own $119 battery service, which doesn’t require you to risk tearing a flex cable. [24]
Several independent writers and repair advocates quoted in these analyses point out that Apple’s Self Service Repair is great for access and transparency, but not built to undercut Apple’s own repair pricing. iFixit engineers praise the availability of genuine parts, while US consumer groups note that the prices and paired‑parts system still keep repair “out of reach” for many users. [25]
In short:
For iPhone 17 owners, Self Service Repair is more about control and right‑to‑repair progress than it is about saving money.
How expensive is the iPhone 17 to manufacture?
Adding another twist, a widely cited estimate from Supercar Blondie breaks down the bill of materials (BOM) for the iPhone 17 Pro Max — Apple’s top model this year. The report puts the raw component cost at about $408.13, while the phone starts at $1,199 at retail. [26]
According to that analysis:
- The A19 Pro chip is one of the most expensive parts at about $90.85.
- The 5G modem is estimated at roughly $90.
- The camera module and display each come in around $80.
- The enclosure is about $20.79, with the battery around $4.10, and storage/memory adding a few tens of dollars combined. [27]
This is just for the Pro Max, but it illustrates the scale: the sum of parts is far below the retail price — and also much lower than what it would cost you to buy those same parts individually from Apple’s Self Service store.
Crucially, that $408 does not include:
- Chip and camera R&D
- iOS development
- Manufacturing yields and factory labor
- Logistics, marketing, retail overhead, customer support, and warranty costs
So no, the difference is not pure profit. But for consumers looking at today’s teardown and repair pricing, it’s hard not to notice how far Apple stretches each dollar of hardware.
Bigger batteries, no SIM tray: why the teardown matters in 2025
Today’s iPhone 17 teardown isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s part of a broader 2025 story for Apple:
- Bigger batteries, no SIM
AppleInsider’s earlier teardown coverage confirmed that Apple removed the SIM tray from most iPhone 17 models sold in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, using that space for extra battery cells and internal reinforcements. [28] - Improved repair scores
iFixit’s verdicts on the 2025 lineup, referenced in multiple reports, give the Air and 17 Pro 7/10 repairability, citing modular parts and improved battery access — even as parts pairing remains a frustration. [29] - Mass‑market success
Analysts now expect the iPhone 17 lineup to help Apple finally overtake Samsung in global shipments for the first time in about 14 years, with projections around 243 million iPhones shipped in 2025. [30]
So the base iPhone 17 teardown is important because it shows:
- Apple really did improve the physical design for repairs — especially batteries and glass.
- The economics of fixing the phone haven’t improved nearly as much as the hardware design suggests.
You can open it. You are allowed to buy parts. But whether you can afford to break it is another question.
What this means for iPhone 17 buyers right now
If you’re thinking about buying — or already own — an iPhone 17 in late 2025, here’s the practical takeaway from today’s teardown and price breakdown.
1. Budget for protection, not just the phone
Between out‑of‑warranty fees and component prices, a single accident can run $329–$419 for glass, or $599+ for more serious damage. [31]
That makes some form of protection worth serious consideration:
- AppleCare+ (or AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss) drastically lowers repair bills — as low as $29 for screen/back glass and $0 for battery service, with a flat $99 fee for most other accidental damage. [32]
- In markets like India, press reports quote AppleCare+ for iPhone 17 at around ₹749 per month or ₹7,499 per year, with display repairs dropping from roughly ₹18,000–₹26,000 to just a small service charge when you’re covered. [33]
If you know you’re accident‑prone, these numbers are hard to ignore.
2. Self Service Repair is for enthusiasts, not casual users
Today’s teardown shows that the iPhone 17 is physically repairable in a way that older models often weren’t:
- Back glass and display separate cleanly. [34]
- Battery removal is dramatically easier once you’re inside. [35]
But:
- The part prices mirror Apple’s own service fees.
- You must be comfortable handling fragile flex cables, screws of multiple types, and strong adhesives. [36]
Unless you’re already comfortable opening phones, you probably won’t save money — and you could make things worse if something goes wrong.
3. Third‑party repair shops will matter more than ever
As more information and genuine parts become available, expect more independent shops to:
- Offer mix‑and‑match options (e.g., third‑party display, genuine battery) at lower prices than Apple’s all‑OEM approach.
- Leverage Apple’s manuals and part numbers, even when using compatible, non‑Apple components.
You’ll still need to balance:
- Price vs quality (cheap parts can mean poor color accuracy or weaker water resistance).
- Convenience vs warranty (non‑authorized repairs may limit official support).
But the very fact that we have detailed teardowns, public part prices, and official manuals is a big shift compared to pre‑2022 iPhones. [37]
Bottom line: the iPhone 17 is easier than ever to open — but still expensive to break
The November 28, 2025 teardown of the iPhone 17 confirms three big things:
- Repairability has genuinely improved.
Opening the phone, removing the battery, and swapping glass are all less hostile than in older generations, and the design clearly anticipates repairs. - Apple’s pricing keeps repairs premium.
Whether you go through Apple’s Self Service Repair program or straight to an Apple Store, display, glass, battery, and camera fixes live firmly in flagship‑phone price territory. - Right‑to‑repair is moving, but slowly.
Legislation and public pressure have pushed Apple into providing parts and manuals, yet high prices and paired components still limit how much freedom and savings users actually get. [38] an iPhone 17 this holiday season — maybe even grabbing one of the aggressive Black Friday deals that cut prices sharply in markets like India — treat a good case, a screen protector, and a serious look at AppleCare+ as part of the real cost of ownership.
The phone might be easier to fix than ever. That doesn’t mean it’s cheap to break.
References
1. www.iphoneincanada.ca, 2. atkdir.com, 3. atkdir.com, 4. atkdir.com, 5. www.iphoneincanada.ca, 6. www.facebook.com, 7. www.bez-kabli.pl, 8. www.iphoneincanada.ca, 9. appleinsider.com, 10. appleinsider.com, 11. www.macobserver.com, 12. 9to5mac.com, 13. gigazine.net, 14. www.bez-kabli.pl, 15. wccftech.com, 16. wccftech.com, 17. gigazine.net, 18. www.macrumors.com, 19. durovscode.com, 20. durovscode.com, 21. 9to5mac.com, 22. www.bez-kabli.pl, 23. www.bez-kabli.pl, 24. www.bez-kabli.pl, 25. www.bez-kabli.pl, 26. supercarblondie.com, 27. supercarblondie.com, 28. appleinsider.com, 29. www.bez-kabli.pl, 30. indianexpress.com, 31. 9to5mac.com, 32. www.tomsguide.com, 33. navbharattimes.indiatimes.com, 34. www.iphoneincanada.ca, 35. www.facebook.com, 36. www.iphoneincanada.ca, 37. www.bez-kabli.pl, 38. timesofindia.indiatimes.com
