The repair site iFixit has offered kudos to Apple’s newest phone for ease of battery access and criticism for the addition of tri-point screws.
The electronics repair group recently executed a tear-down to determine how easy Apple’s new mobile phone is to repair for resale. In iFixit’s 1 to 10 scale (with 10 the easiest to repair), the latest iPhone received a 7 out of 10.
The site’s technicians also gave Apple accolades for the inclusion of a solid state home button – such buttons are a common point of failure. And the site applauded the use of a pull tab for easy removal of the battery.
In a couple of other areas, the review was a little more mixed: Improved water and dust protection reduces the need for repairs but also complicates some repairs, iFixit noted, and the display assembly continues to be the first component out, which simplies screen repairs, but the procedure has been complicated by improved waterproofing.
The phone was dinged for including tri-point screws, which requires a repair technician to use up to four different screwdrivers to make many repairs.
The iPhone 7 tear-down, published Sept. 16, has already garnered nearly 75,000 web views. Technicians conducted a live tear-down demonstration of the iPhone 7 during E-Scrap 2016 in New Orleans. The demonstration took place in the trade show hall.
