The iPhone has become the most iconic phone in recent years. Since its first release about ten years ago, Apple has strived to make the device as the best mobile phone in the market. Unfortunately, the current retail price of the iPhone makes it a bit difficult to get one. Consumers will have to spend more than $700 on a decent model like the iPhone 6s. This is probably why Scotty from Strange Parts just decided to build his own iPhone 6s from scratch.
The idea is actually pretty novel. What he did is the fly over to China, check out back alley stores and sellers and get himself the components that will enable him to build something that will resemble an iPhone 6s.
He started off with the back casing of the phone. At first, he was a bit disappointed with the quality of back alley shops so he decided to dig deeper. Finally, he managed to find one and was even able to get the laser engravings done somewhere else.
Next up, he looked for a suitable display assembly, complete with the digitizer, polarizer and other whatnots. The assembly process for the display took a bit of time although the sellers were quite well equipped and are ready for the challenge.
Scotty then moved on to the logic board of the iPhone 6s. Initially, he thought of assembling the board from the ground up. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the board itself, he then decided to get a working logic board for the iPhone 6s instead.
Once he had all the parts he needed, he then proceeded with assembly itself. At first, it was touch and go as he noticed he is missing a few parts here and there. Fortunately, a quick trip back to his supplier sorted things out.
All in all, the entire assembly took longer than expected. He has spent a good nine months coming back and forth to China and the actual hunt for parts took around two months. Subtracting all the unnecessary tools that he bought, Scotty spent around $300 for the entire build. For those who are interested to see his entire progress, check out the video below.