iPad Broken Glass Screen repair information page

Bonded screens on newer iPads & iPhones

Its possible to change just the front glass on certain iPad's.

Unfortunately the iPad Air 2 & 3, iPad Mini 4/5 and the iPad Pro (all sizes) require a full unit that includes the inner LCD.

Basically apple changed the way that the screens are made, apple now "laminate" the LCD, which basically means that the glass is sealed to the LCD.

This has the effect that the iPad can be much slimmer, with reduced glare & reflections

If the glass breaks, it is not possible to remove it as a single component. The cover glass, touch sensor and the LCD are bonded together and need to be replaced as a set at a higher cost to the end user.

2 ipads, side by side, on a bright summer's day. The one on the left has a laminated screen and has a lot less glare than the previous type of iPad screen — The laminated screens have much less glare than the older screens

a screen showing the different layers of a laminated iPad Air 3 screen

iPad Broken Glass Screen repair information page

Bonded screens on newer iPads & iPhones

The laminated screens have much less glare than the older screens