iPhone 16 Teardown: New High in Repairability, But Camera Control Button Repair Could Be Costly

iPhone 16 Teardown: New High in Repairability, But Camera Control Button Repair Could Be CostlyiFixit, the renowned teardown team, recently conducted a disassembly of the newly released iPhone 16, concluding it to be "the most repairable iPhone to date." This verdict is attributed to a series of improvements made by Apple in the phone's structure

iPhone 16 Teardown: New High in Repairability, But Camera Control Button Repair Could Be Costly

iFixit, the renowned teardown team, recently conducted a disassembly of the newly released iPhone 16, concluding it to be "the most repairable iPhone to date." This verdict is attributed to a series of improvements made by Apple in the phone's structure.

During the teardown, iFixit discovered that the iPhone 16 utilizes a novel "sticky glue" for better battery fixation. This special glue facilitates easier detaching when needed, enabling the iFixit team to remove the battery more conveniently. The new generation of the iPhone 16 series boasts a significantly enhanced degree of "modularity," leading to a considerable reduction in repair difficulty. Some analysts believe this move by Apple might be a prelude to the launch of official parts.

As is well-known, Apple has implemented regulations regarding serial number matching for repair parts in recent iPhone releases. Installing third-party iPhone components results in system logging, indicating the presence of non-genuine Apple parts and potentially triggering warning pop-ups. Although there's currently no concrete evidence suggesting Apple is heading in that direction, this trend is worth watching.

The iFixit iPhone 16 teardown also revealed a steel heat sink integrated into the back of the device, providing enhanced cooling performance for the A18 chip. Interestingly, the area of the heat sink is not particularly large. Regarding the newly added "camera control button," it's laser-welded to the phone's frame. If damaged, it necessitates replacement of the entire frame.

Ultimately, iFixit awarded the iPhone 16 a repairability score of 7 out of 10. While the iPhone 16 excels in battery, motherboard, and other component repairs, the cost of repairing the camera control button is set to increase due to the need for a full frame replacement. Overall, Apple has demonstrated efforts to enhance the repairability of the iPhone 16, but certain details still warrant attention.