Why two shops quote wildly different prices
Ask three repair shops to quote a screen replacement for the same phone and you might hear ₹3,200, ₹5,500 and ₹9,500. Nobody is necessarily cheating you, they're quoting different grades of part. The problem is that most shops won't volunteer which grade you're getting, and the words on the bill ('OG', 'first copy', 'A+ quality') are marketing, not specifications.
Here's the actual hierarchy, so you can ask the right questions before you pay.
The four grades of replacement display
Roughly from best to worst, this is what exists in the Indian parts market:
- Service-pack / original: the same panel the brand uses, in official packaging, full brightness, colour and touch response. The most expensive, and for some models genuinely hard to source
- Pulled original: an original panel removed from a working donor phone, original quality, may have minor cosmetic wear; a smart middle option when service packs aren't available
- Refurbished original: an original panel with its broken top glass replaced, quality depends entirely on the refurbisher's lamination work
- Copy (incell/TFT for OLED phones): an aftermarket panel, works, but with visible compromises
What you actually lose with a copy panel
On an OLED phone, a copy incell panel typically means noticeably lower brightness, often 400–500 nits versus 800+ on the original, which you feel instantly in Indian afternoon sunlight. Colours look washed or oversaturated, blacks turn greyish, and a 120Hz phone may be stuck at 60Hz. Touch sampling is slower, so fast typing misses letters. Copy panels also draw more power, so battery life drops, and they're usually thicker, so the screen may sit slightly proud of the frame.
On iPhones, a non-original display can additionally cost you True Tone and auto-brightness, and may show a 'non-genuine display' notice in Settings. None of this makes copy panels evil, for a five-year-old phone you're using for one more year, a ₹3,000 copy can be a rational choice. The sin is paying original prices for one.
The price gap in real numbers
For a mid-range Android, expect copy panels starting from ₹2,499 and original-grade from ₹4,999. For recent iPhones, copy incell starts from around ₹3,999 while original-grade panels start from ₹8,999, final quote always after a free diagnosis, since frame damage or Face ID proximity can change the job. If a quote seems too good for an 'original', it isn't an original.
Warranty is the other tell. Original-grade panels are usually backed by a meaningful warranty, ours is up to 90 days on selected repairs, while copy panels typically carry a short one, because the seller knows the failure rate. A shop's confidence in its warranty terms says more about the part than the label on the box.
How to buy a screen repair with confidence
Insist on three things in writing: the grade of panel being fitted, the warranty on it, and the price before work starts. At Zerofix we quote both options where available, original-grade and budget, with separate prices and warranty terms, and the choice stays yours.
If your screen is already broken and you're weighing the options, book a free diagnosis. We'll check whether your panel qualifies for a cheaper glass-only repair first, and if it needs full replacement, you'll see exactly what each grade costs before deciding.
