iFixIt Tears Down iPhone 6; Awards Respectable 7 Out Of 10 Repairability Rating
iFixit notes that even the smaller 4.7″ iPhone 6 is a giant among iPhones; so big that Apple couldn’t fit it into the familiar iPhone form factor.
In a welcome reversal of a recent trend to more or less hermetically-sealed, largely unrepairable, mobile device designs, in iFixIt’s teardown evaluation, the iPhone 6 earned a respectable seven out of ten repairability rating based on the following points:
– Continuing the trend from the iPhone 5 series, the display assembly comes out of the phone first, simplifying screen repairs.
– The battery is straightforward to access. Removing it requires a proprietary pentalobe screwdriver and knowledge of the adhesive removal technique, but is not difficult.
– The fingerprint sensor cable has been re-routed, fixing a significant repairability issue with the iPhone 5s and making the phone much safer to open. (On the 5s, the cable is easily torn if a user is not careful while opening the phone.)
Note well however that the iPhone 6 still uses proprietary Pentalobe screws on the exterior, requiring a specialty screwdriver to remove, and that Apple does not share repair information for the iPhone 6 with independent repair shops or consumers.
For the full, illustrated teardown, visit:
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+6+Teardown/29213