Most repair shops quietly fit whatever panel is cheapest that week. We let you pick. Genuine Apple and Samsung service parts on request, premium OLED same-day, or a budget tier if that is the sensible call — priced up front, all on the same 12-month warranty.
OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer — the part the manufacturer fits on the production line, or supplies through its own service channel. In phone repair the word gets stretched until it means almost nothing, so here is how we use it, plainly:
Our position: we will tell you which tier your handset actually warrants, including when the expensive option is a waste of your money. We would rather you came back in two years than paid £80 more today.
| Part tier | What you get | Trade-off | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genuine service part | Factory-identical panel. True Tone, Face ID and colour accuracy preserved. Best for resale value and near-new handsets. | Highest price. Samsung supplies most Galaxy displays as a full frame-and-battery service pack, which pushes the cost up further. | Ordered on request, typically 1–3 working days |
| Original harvested / OEM-refurb | Genuine panel, re-laminated. Display quality effectively matches original. | Refurbished assembly rather than a new one. Not available for every model. | On request, subject to stock |
| Premium aftermarket OLED | True blacks, strong brightness, accurate colour. The tier most customers end up choosing. | Not a manufacturer part. True Tone may be unavailable on some models. | Same day, in stock |
| FHD incell / LCD | Lowest price, fully functional, still a 12-month warranty. | Noticeably dimmer outdoors, greys instead of true blacks, no True Tone. | Same day, in stock |
Every tier above is covered by the same Windsor Express 12-month warranty on parts and labour, and the same no-fix-no-fee promise. The warranty does not change because the part is cheaper.
Go genuine, or original harvested. You will likely sell or trade this phone on, and Parts and Service History follows it. The premium is small against the resale hit.
Premium aftermarket OLED. This is the value sweet spot and what we fit most often. Save the difference.
FHD or LCD. Spending genuine-part money on a phone that has stopped getting security updates is money you will not get back.
Genuine. Aftermarket panels can disable True Tone on some models, and we will tell you which before you commit.
We will say so and point you at Apple or Samsung. An independent repair can cost you cover you have already paid for.
Usually genuine on newer devices, aftermarket on the rest. We will quote a mixed policy across the fleet rather than one blanket rate.
Tell us the model and what is broken. We will quote the genuine part and the aftermarket alternative side by side, with the honest recommendation, before you commit to anything.
Modern iPhones log every replaced part. Open Settings → General → About → Parts and Service History and iOS lists what has been changed. This is worth understanding before any repair, wherever you have it done.
Since Apple's April 2024 change, genuine Apple parts — new or used — are calibrated on the device after fitting rather than needing to be paired in advance, and the Parts and Service History screen shows whether a genuine part is new or used. Apple also extended Activation Lock to parts, so calibration is restricted on components harvested from a device reported lost or stolen. That is a good thing: it is what makes a legitimate harvested-original market possible.
Aftermarket panels and batteries can trigger a service message and may switch off True Tone or battery-health reporting, depending on model and iOS version. None of this stops the phone working. What matters is that you are told before the repair, not when you get the phone back. We tell you.
Source: Apple Newsroom, April 2024 — Apple to expand repair options with support for used genuine parts.
Straight answer: under UK consumer law a manufacturer cannot void your entire warranty just because somebody else opened the device. What Apple and Samsung will do is decline cover on the part that was replaced, and on any fault they can attribute to it. In practice, if your handset is still inside its manufacturer warranty and the fault is not accidental damage, the manufacturer route is usually the better one — and we will say so rather than take the job.
Outside manufacturer warranty, the cover that matters is ours: 12 months on parts and labour, on every tier, plus no fix no fee if we cannot solve it. See our warranty terms for the detail.
Yes — on request, at our Peascod Street shop. Genuine parts are not stocked for every model, so they are ordered in, usually one to three working days, and quoted before you commit. If you would rather not wait, a premium aftermarket OLED is available same day.
OEM is the manufacturer's own part. Aftermarket is third-party, in tiers. On an OLED iPhone, genuine or premium aftermarket OLED keeps true blacks and full brightness; LCD and FHD incell do not match the original outdoors or on dark backgrounds, but cost considerably less and carry the same 12-month warranty.
iOS logs replaced parts under Settings → General → About → Parts and Service History. Genuine parts calibrate on-device and show as genuine, new or used. Aftermarket parts can show a service message and may disable True Tone or battery health on some models. We tell you which to expect for your model before we start.
Not your whole warranty — UK law does not allow that. But the manufacturer will normally decline cover on the replaced part and on faults arising from it. If you are still in manufacturer warranty we will tell you to use it.
No. On a two-to-four-year-old handset you are keeping, premium aftermarket OLED is usually the better value. Genuine earns its price on near-new phones, on resale value, and where Face ID or True Tone matter.
Yes, on request. Samsung supplies most Galaxy displays as a full service pack — panel, frame and battery together — so it costs more than an aftermarket panel swap but comes out factory fresh. We quote both.