If you have enough electronic skills, like to go bargain hunting in an Asian country, and prefer not to buy a new iPhone, then you can build your own almost from scratch. This is what one man proved possible when he gathered spare parts and put them together to build a working iPhone.
The man is a former software engineer named Scotty Allen. He went all the way to Shenzen, China where such components could easily be procured. As a matter of fact, Shenzen is referred to by tech enthusiasts, electricians and gadget repairmen as the "world's greatest electronics market". As BGR noted, it is also where assembly plants such as Apple's partner Foxconn are located.
Allen documented his treasure-hunting adventure in the Asian nation. He went around Shenzen in search of the right parts for his project. Allen decided on building the iPhone 6s instead of the newer iPhone 7 because components for the latest incarnation of Apple's flagship smartphones were scarce at the time.
Allen explained near the beginning of his 23-minute video that he needed four major parts for his D-I-Y iPhone; namely, the metal back or shell, the screen, the battery, and the logic board which contains the processor and memory, among others.
As Mac Rumors reported, Allen ended up spending as much money as it would take to buy a new iPhone. Around $300 were spent for the parts used to make the iPhone though he said he shelled out more than $1,000 overall. The extra expenses were needed for the tools, extra parts as well as for replacing the components that broke during the building process.
Apple is one of the major critics of the Digital Right to Repair Bill which will give consumers access to replacement parts and information on how to repair the products. It goes without saying that the tech giant will not be happy with Allen's project.
