I’m sure there are a lot of things that you remember about getting your first iPhone.

The sleek, clever packaging. The minimal, slim design and shininess of the phone. Unwrapping the charging cable and other bits. Peeling off the protective plastic before the first time that you turned it on and your screen came to life…

Then you dropped it on the pavement and that sleek shininess was marred by a layer of thin spiderweb-like cracks, changing your relationship with the phone forever.

Just like that, your pride and joy is now a source of shame.

Molly McHugh wrote the following about the “secret shame of the cracked iPhone” for The Ringer:

I polled Twitter recently after a rash of complaints about my phone, asking exactly how ashamed I should be of my shattered screen on a scale of 1 to 10. “11,” one friend said. “Ten billion,” known jerk David Pierce replied. Colleagues told me I was undatable as a grown adult with a job who walks around with a cracked iPhone.

“I think everyone should always fix their screens unless you are in severe financial hardship,” Kate Knibbs said some months back. “To be rude, if I were single I would not date someone with a broken screen.”

This shame isn’t limited to colleagues and the internet; nearly everyone who sees my phone has something to say about it. Checking in for a doctor’s appointment last week, I had to show my insurance card — which I store on my phone — to the receptionist. When he got a look, he laughed and asked me to move around the image on the screen so he could see my policy number through the cracks.

I received an insinuating “Oh wow” from a friend while she watched me zoom and move around an Instagram photo so I could properly view it from an unshattered area.

The phone that once made your life easier, now makes you undateable and a laughing stock at the doctor.

Oh, the shame.

So what can you do about it to turn your life around? There are a couple of options.

1. Do the obvious and get the screen fixed

Digicape is South Africa’s largest independent Apple retailer, so they’re a solid bet if you want to get your screen replaced by an Apple Authorised Service Provider, with a genuine Apple replacement screen.

This will ensure that full functionality is retained and the manufacturer’s warranty remains valid – at a lower cost than current non-authorised repairs.

If you require an iPhone screen repair you can simply walk into any Digicape location nationwide and book your device in for a screen repair. Repairs will be completed within four working days.

2. Buy a new phone

Your screen is cracked, but it was time for an upgrade anyway? You can save big on the iPhone X at Digicape.

Not keen on the iPhone X? Shop their extensive range of Apple products and iPhones here.

3. Get Digicare

DigicarePlus, exclusive to Digicape customers, gives you the assurance you need that your faithful iPhone or iPad will be fully covered for two years, should anything go wrong.

Not only is your hardware warranty extended for an additional year, but you are also covered for two accidental damage claims, along with access to technical support and repairs at any of their Authorised Service Centres in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

There is a whole range of Digicare packages tailored to specific Apple products from Macs to iPhones.

Some more good news – if you pre-order the new iPhone XR, you’ll get free Digicare Plus:

Never feel the shame of the cracked iPhone screen again. Go forth and prosper.

[source:theringer]