There’s not much more exciting than getting your new iPhone in the post — apart from, perhaps, watching one get taken apart by someone with loads of mad, phone-demolishing tools.
The first of what will likely be many iPhone teardowns are live, and it reveals a great deal about the internal structure of the iPhone 15 Pro. YouTube user PBKreviews pulls his new iPhone 15 Pro apart with spudgers, screwdrivers, and a crazy-looking clamp thing that pulls the screen of the device.
While it certainly seems like the iPhone 15 Pro is less laden with adhesive than other models from the past, it still doesn’t look like a job for the faint of heart — especially if you’ve got to put it back together again.
What’s inside?
The best part of the whole video is just seeing what the phone looks like inside. We get a really good view of the camera modules, the front sensors that hide within the Dynamic Island, and the 3290Mah battery.
That battery seems to just slide right out — and if you’ve seen previous iPhone teardowns, that could be big news. Those batteries often required incredible amounts of pulling on adhesive tabs, to the point where the batteries get bent and ruined.
There are a great deal of screws within the new iPhone, although this is expected with pretty much any smartphone in 2023. Those screws are a mixture of tiny Philips and tri-wing security.
The back glass also seems easier to remove and replace now, with less adhesive keeping it in place. This is likely why it’s going to be so much cheaper to fix, even if you take it to Apple directly.
So the iPhone 15 Pro looks to be more repairable than ever before — but should you try it yourself?
A more repairable iPhone — by those who know what they’re doing
We’re going to say ‘probably not’. As much as the iPhone internals and more modular and easily accessible, they still seem to need some special equipment to get at. Getting replacement parts is going to be a pain as well, with screens only being available directly from Apple, with each being programmed for the device at hand. After all, iFixit recently downgraded the iPhone 14s repair score because of its paired screens.
Even in the video, there were some specialist tools, like the crazy clamp/vice/suction cup thing that was used to pull the screen up and off. For the average person, fixing your iPhone is going to still be tricky.
This could be a big boon, however, for small repair businesses. If they can get hold of the tools and the paired screen kit, then it will be far easier to repair people's iPhones — and potentially undercut Apple’s repair costs.
It’s good that the iPhone 15 Pro is more repairable, but don’t go poking around in there yourself — leave it to the professionals.
