The iPhone 16 lineup is less complicated to disassemble than ever earlier than. Photograph 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 modifications within the design and internals that make it simpler to entry elements.
The score, which is provisional pending Apple’s launch of elements, is predicated on what iFixit identifies as three main modifications. As famous in an earlier teardown, rumors of Apple encasing the iPhone 16 Professional battery in laborious metal case have confirmed to be true.
“Hard cell batteries instead of soft pouch batteries won’t get accidentally punctured by a slip of a screwdriver, and so they’re way less likely to catch fire,” iFixit famous on its weblog, enormously decreasing the chance of battery harm. The corporate additionally praised Apple’s change to a brand new adhesive that secures that battery, which might now be debonded when one passes an small electrical present by it.
The third issue famous was the enlargement of the flexibility to disassemble the iPhone both from the entrance or again, growing the convenience of attending to the precise elements that want repairing. This characteristic really debuted on the bottom mannequin iPhone 14, nevertheless it has now come to the iPhone 16’s Professional fashions as nicely.
The iFixit weblog referred to those modifications as “big 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 may be finished with two leads from a family 9v battery.
Apple’s AASP restore information reveals the best way to debond the battery case utilizing a 9v battery.
Harvesting OEM elements made simpler additionally
The iFixit weblog additionally praised Apple’s new “Repair Assistant” program to help AASP technicians and DIY-ers alike to have the ability to calibrate and ensure correct “parts pairing” when utilizing new or harvested OEM elements to restore an Apple gadget.
“When we tested it out with the iPhone 15 series earlier this week, we thought it was promising, if not quite ready for prime time,” the corporate famous. “But it worked impressively smoothly on our vanilla iPhone 16: one click to pair and calibrate all components at once, and no bugs to be found.”
The Restore Assistant characteristic in iOS 18 could or could not work with some compliant however third-party restore elements, nevertheless. 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 Digicam 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.