Trendy telephones are an authorized PITA to restore, due to ever-smaller and extra advanced elements in thinner and thinner designs. A current “innovation” has been plastic ribbons to chop by among the glue holding batteries in place, with less-than-stellar outcomes. However iFixit has discovered that the newest iPhones are surprisingly repairable due to some new glue that may be un-stickied with {an electrical} present.
In accordance with the teardown video, the newest iPhones get some massive inner redesigns affecting a lot easier repairs along with improved thermal administration. Stepping into the cellphone isn’t straightforward — the identical as any fashionable cellphone, with a few exceptions — requiring the corporate’s “Clampy” suction cup instrument adopted by leverage with a number of guitar picks. However as soon as the rear panel is eliminated, it comes away with a few screws and a cable for wi-fi charging unplugged.
The actually attention-grabbing bit begins at 2:36 within the video above. As an alternative of utilizing pull tabs or a slicing ribbon, the brand new iPhones have a small little bit of uncovered plastic wrapping up and over the battery. Should you run a small electrical present by it (whereas grounding the cellphone for security), the adhesive behind the battery loses its stickiness. Certain sufficient, it comes out of the cellphone physique with completely no residue.
It is a massive deal. Eradicating a glued-in battery is a big ache in most telephones, amplified with some stress as a result of a lithium-ion battery may be harmful if it’s warped or punctured. Add in the truth that the battery will virtually inevitably put on out in a cellphone should you don’t change it in a number of years, making it essentially the most frequent element that wants restore together with damaged screens.
Making battery replacements straightforward is a big a part of maintaining telephones sustainable, which is a part of the explanation it’s so irritating to see telephones just like the Pixel 9 make it such an ordeal. iFixit, licensed specialists in cellphone restore, couldn’t get that cellphone’s battery out even with three folks engaged on it without delay, contributing to a 5 out of 10 repairability rating. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus get a 7 out of 10 — hardly superb, however a substantial enchancment. A lot of the components may be modularly changed, although the FaceID digicam system won’t be so easy.
“Except extremely repairable units just like the Fairphone, I’m unsure we’ve ever had a battery restore course of go so cleanly and so easily,” says iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari.
I’ve repaired a number of telephones in my day, however haven’t tried in years as a result of the method has simply gotten too troublesome as elements get thinner and extra fragile. This electrically deactivated glue is thrilling, and I’d really feel much more assured about changing a battery myself realizing that it’s there.