The iPhone 16 lineup is less complicated to disassemble than ever earlier than. Picture credit score: iFixit
The standard teardown by restore website iFixit has given the iPhone 16 lineup the very best repairability rating of any earlier iPhone, thanks to 3 key adjustments within the design and internals that make it simpler to entry elements.
The ranking, which is provisional pending Apple’s launch of elements, relies on what iFixit identifies as three main adjustments. As famous in an earlier teardown, rumors of Apple encasing the iPhone 16 Professional battery in arduous metal case have confirmed to be true.
“Arduous cell batteries as an alternative of soppy pouch batteries will not get by accident punctured by a slip of a screwdriver, and they also’re means much less more likely to catch hearth,” iFixit famous on its weblog, tremendously lowering the chance of battery harm. The corporate additionally praised Apple’s change to a brand new adhesive that secures that battery, which may now be debonded when one passes an small electrical present by means of it.
The third issue famous was the growth of the power to disassemble the iPhone both from the entrance or again, growing the convenience of attending to the particular elements that want repairing. This characteristic really debuted on the bottom mannequin iPhone 14, but it surely has now come to the iPhone 16’s Professional fashions as properly.
The iFixit weblog referred to those adjustments as “large leaps for repairkind,” which allowed for a extra constant and easily-repeatable restore course of. Apple’s personal battery restore information supplied to AASP technicians reveals that the debonding will be accomplished with two leads from a family 9v battery.
Apple’s AASP restore information reveals find out how to debond the battery case utilizing a 9v battery.
Harvesting OEM elements made simpler additionally
The iFixit weblog additionally praised Apple’s new “Restore Assistant” program to help AASP technicians and DIY-ers alike to have the ability to calibrate and make sure correct “elements pairing” when utilizing new or harvested OEM elements to restore an Apple system.
“Once we examined it out with the iPhone 15 sequence earlier this week, we thought it was promising, if not fairly prepared for prime time,” the corporate famous. “However it labored impressively easily on our vanilla iPhone 16: one click on to pair and calibrate all elements directly, and no bugs to be discovered.”
The Restore Assistant characteristic in iOS 18 could or could not work with some compliant however third-party restore elements, nonetheless. The software program may additionally turn into a nuisance to patrons of used iPhones who had been unaware of earlier repairs, or any use of third-party elements.
Apple’s personal restore information notes that utilizing a 9v battery can debond the battery casing within the iPhone 16 in a couple of 90 seconds. iFixit’s comparability used a 12v battery, and was capable of debond in 60 seconds.
The complete iFixit teardown additionally revealed that there is extra to the brand new Digital camera Management activator than meets the attention. The corporate was happy to improve the repairability rating of the iPhone 16 line to a seven out of 10; the iPhone 15, by comparability, scored a 4 out of 10.
