What Are the Different Types of Replacement Screens? A Guide to Display Grades for Phone Repair
If you've ever called around for screen repair pricing, you've probably noticed the quotes can vary — sometimes by a lot. A shop down the street might quote you $80. Another quotes $220. Both
What Are the Different Types of Replacement Screens? A Guide to Display Grades for Phone Repair
If you’ve ever called around for screen repair pricing, you’ve probably noticed the quotes can vary — sometimes by a lot. A shop down the street might quote you $80. Another quotes $220. Both say they’re doing the same repair. So what’s actually going on?
The biggest factor, by far, is the quality of the replacement display being used. And in my experience working with customers across Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, and Tucson, this is the single most misunderstood part of the screen repair process. Most people don’t know there’s more than one option — let alone six. So let me break it down for you the way I’d explain it to a friend sitting across the counter.
Here’s a guide to every display grade we offer, what each one means in the real world, and how to figure out which one is actually right for you.
In-Cell — The Budget Option
In-cell displays are the most affordable replacement option on the market, and there’s a reason for that. With an in-cell display, the touch layer (digitizer) is built directly into the display panel itself, and the screen technology is LCD rather than OLED. On phones that originally shipped with an OLED display — which includes most iPhones from the X onward and virtually all modern Samsung flagships — choosing an in-cell replacement means you’re accepting a downgrade in display quality.
In practice, that means lower brightness, less color vibrancy, and a viewing experience that doesn’t quite match what your phone felt like the day you got it. It works, and it works fine — but it’s not the same.
Best for: Customers who plan to use the device for only a short time after repair, or who are taking it straight to their carrier for a trade-in and just need the screen to pass inspection.
Aftermarket OLED (Hard) — A Solid Step Up
This is where things get noticeably better. Aftermarket OLED displays use the same core display technology as your original screen — true OLED panels with the brightness, contrast, and color accuracy you’re used to. The tradeoff at this grade is in the back frame: it’s constructed with rigid glass, which makes it more susceptible to cracking again under stress or repeated drops compared to higher grades.
The image quality is genuinely good, and the price is significantly more approachable than OEM options. For a lot of customers, this hits a comfortable middle ground.
Best for: Customers who want OLED quality at an affordable price and plan to keep the device for a moderate amount of time — but aren’t necessarily planning to hold onto it for years.
Aftermarket OLED (Soft) — Our Most Popular Choice
The soft OLED option delivers everything the hard OLED does, but with a more flexible back frame construction. That flexibility means the display absorbs impact energy better and is significantly less prone to cracking again after repeated drops or hard use. The cost difference over the hard OLED is modest — usually not much — and in most cases, it’s worth it.
This is our most requested display grade by a wide margin, and it’s the one I recommend to most customers when they ask what we’d personally choose. The quality is excellent, the durability improvement is real, and the price-to-performance ratio is hard to beat.
Best for: The vast majority of customers — especially anyone planning to keep their device for another year or two and who wants a high-quality repair without paying OEM prices.
OEM Pull — Original Quality, Smarter Price
Here’s where we get into original equipment. An OEM pull screen is a genuine Apple or Samsung original display — the exact same part that was in your phone from day one — that was removed from another device. That other device had some different kind of damage (water damage, a broken chassis, something that made the overall repair not worth it), so the screen was pulled and saved. It was never broken. It was never refurbished. It’s simply a used original part that still has plenty of life left in it.
In terms of visual quality and performance, you won’t notice a single difference between a pull screen and a brand-new OEM screen sitting next to each other. This is a genuinely smart option for customers who prefer original parts but are working with a reasonable budget.
Best for: Customers who are particular about using original parts and plan to keep the device long-term, but don’t need or want to pay full price for a brand-new OEM display.
OEM Refurbished — Original Where It Counts
An OEM refurbished display starts as a genuine original screen that was broken — typically the outer glass cracked while the OLED panel underneath remained intact and functional. In a professional refurbishment process, the damaged outer glass is carefully separated from the original OLED panel and replaced with new glass. What you end up with is an original OLED panel with new glass on top.
The result is a display that looks and performs exactly like an OEM screen at a price that sits below brand-new OEM. The OLED panel driving the image — the part that really matters for color accuracy and brightness — is original. This is a popular option for customers who care about original quality but want to be a bit more budget-conscious about it.
Best for: Customers who prefer original parts, plan to keep the device long-term, and want OEM performance without the cost of a completely new part.
OEM New — The Best of the Best
A brand-new OEM display is exactly what it sounds like: a factory-fresh screen purchased directly from Apple, Samsung, or a certified parts partner. It’s the highest-quality option available, full stop. Every spec is original. Every calibration is factory-set. And critically — if your phone showed a “third-party parts” or “unable to verify” warning message after a previous repair, choosing a new OEM display through the proper calibration process will eliminate that.
This is also the option we recommend for business customers and for anyone who has device insurance that covers the cost of a premium repair. If you’re filing a claim or your employer is covering the bill, there’s no reason to compromise — go OEM new and get it done right.
Best for: Business customers, insurance repair claims, customers who want the absolute best possible result, and anyone who wants to be completely free of post-repair software warnings.
So Which Screen Grade Is Right for You?
When a customer sits down across from me at the counter, here’s the question I always ask before I recommend anything: How long do you plan to keep this device after it’s repaired, and how close to the original experience do you want it to feel?
If you’re heading to the carrier next month for an upgrade, an in-cell or aftermarket OLED hard might be all you need. If you love this phone and want it to feel like new for another two years, a soft OLED or OEM option is worth every penny. And if cost isn’t the primary concern, there’s simply no substitute for a brand-new OEM display.
Whatever your situation, the most important thing is that you’re asking the question at all — because shopping for screen repair on price alone without knowing what you’re getting is one of the easiest ways to end up disappointed. The cheapest quote usually means the cheapest part.
If you have questions about what’s right for your specific device, or you’d like to schedule a screen repair at one of our locations in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, or Tucson, we’re glad to help. We’ll walk you through the options, give you a straight answer, and let you make the call.
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