A teardown of the iPhone 15 Pro by PBKreviews lets us take a look at the internal changes Apple has made to its high-end device. Some of them could facilitate repairs… and therefore the durability of the product.
The PBKReviews technicians gave the iPhone 15 Pro a hard time, for science… and to allow us to discover the internal design of the device. We learn from this that Apple has made several beneficial changes from the point of view of repairability. These new features should allow repairers (approved or amateurs) to dismantle and replace certain parts more easily than in the past.
As WCCFTech points out, Apple has also added a graphite coating covering a larger internal surface area to facilitate heat transfer. A novelty which, however, does not seem to have the expected effect, with the first users and testers of the iPhone 15 Pro and especially 15 Pro Max mentioning a noticeable heating of the device in the context of advanced use.
An iPhone easier to disassemble and repair?
In detail, PBKReview reveals that access to components is a little less delicate than before. Removing the screen is indeed easier, but be careful not to accidentally tear off the small cable (visible in the photo above) connecting the panel to the motherboard. We then discover the battery, in the shape of an “L” to intelligently occupy the available space. The latter is equipped with small straps allowing it to be removed more easily from the frame.
A feature that was nevertheless already found on older models, and which is not to the taste of all repairers: because if these straps come loose, removing the battery immediately becomes more complex. PBKReviews nevertheless notes that a little isopropyl alcohol allows the battery to be smoothly removed from the chassis in all cases.
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For the rest, the motherboard is also easily removable, but the USB-C port is soldered there. In the event of a short circuit, for example, it will therefore be impossible to replace it without changing the motherboard with it.
Overall, PBK welcomes the progress made by the iPhone 15 Pro in the area of repairability, and gives it a score of 7/10 in this area, compared to 6.5/10 for the iPhone 14 Pro. WCCFTech notes for its part that the Galaxy S23 remains even easier to repair, in particular thanks to a more accessible battery and colored labels making it easier to disassemble key parts.
For our part, we are awaiting the additional opinion of iFixit, which is often authoritative in matters of repairability. The specialized site has not yet commented on the case of the iPhone 15 Pro at the time of writing these lines.
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