According to MacRumors, Apple is rolling out a repair policy for iPhone 5S and 5C display replacements and other repairs, where they will be done within the store’s own repair facilities, rather than replacing the entire phone. This is part of a move by Apple to reduce repair costs on new iPhones. This may reduce costs for Apple, but not so much for iPhone owners. Currently, without an AppleCare plan for your iPhone, you can get the screen replaced for $150. With AppleCare, a replacement will run you $80. This is up from the $50 display replacement that was a part of the 4 and 4S AppleCare plans. Other replacement parts will be available at a cost specific to the situation. A new Home button will run you $30 without AppleCare, however it doesn’t specify whether this is the price for a “normal” Home button or the Touch ID button. On the plus side, neither the 5C or 5S have a glass back plate anymore so now you have less chance of breaking something when you drop your phone while looking for directions to the next bar on Yelp, and not paying attention where you are walking (yes, sadly this has happened to me more than once). On the other hand, if you have very precise vision, a steady hand, immense patience, and a keen memory for putting thing back where they came, you could always try the repair yourself. The web site iFixit sells both the replacement parts and tool kits to get the job done*. I definitely recommend their tool kits and take-apart guides, but you may be able to find the replacement parts cheaper on eBay.
*as of this writing, iFixit is only supplying parts up to the iPhone 5