14 DAY TRIAL // If you drop the Samsung Galaxy S10 by accident and its screen ends up completely shattered, be ready to spend a small fortune on getting a new display.
Because, as it turns out, it might be a better idea to purchase a brand-new phone rather than replace the screen of your existing device given how much the whole operation costs at an authorized service center.
Official Chinese pricing reveals that a screen replacement for the Galaxy S10e, which is also the most affordable Galaxy S10 version right now, is also the cheapest of them all, so you’ll have to spend only 5,350 NT$ (New Taiwan dollar) – for our American readers, this means around $175.
Expensive repairs
On the other hand, the more expensive the device, the higher the cost of the servicing, so the Galaxy S10 itself will set you back 6,450 NT$, or $210, if you break its display. In the end, if you spent a small fortune to buy the Galaxy S10+, you might have to spend another small fortune on a new display, as the cost of this operation is 7,100 NT$, which is over $230.
As for the reasons that make the Galaxy S10 screen so expensive, everything mostly comes down to the fingerprint sensor that is embedded into the glass. Of course, this doesn’t make much sense for the Galaxy S10e, which has a fingerprint reader on the side, but on the other hand, the Infinity O panel with a hole at the top is what significantly increases the price.
For comparison, replacing the broken screen on a Samsung Galaxy Note9 is also an expensive thing to do, as you have to pay 5,500 NT$ in Taiwan, which is approximately $180 at the current exchange rates.
The costs here apply for Taiwanese buyers who demand servicing out of warranty or for damages that aren’t covered by the warranty, such as shattered displays.
The original version of the article incorrectly stated that the prices were in yuan. Story updated with priced in NT$ and the correct conversation to US dollars.