Surprise! iPhone 16 Scores High Marks In Teardown For Its DIY-Friendly Features

While the feature set of Apple's latest set of iPhones isn't exactly setting the world on fire, it has managed to spark a match under the DIY mavens over at iFixIt. That's because the company has surprisingly managed to make this generation some of the most repair-friendly iPhones in memory—all the more surprising given that Apple isn't crowing about it.

One of the primary design changes that makes this year's iPhone more repairable is the way in which the battery is secured to the chassis. The iPhone 16 uses an innovative new adhesive that can debond with the use of an electrical current, which makes it far easier to replace the battery. While this process requires a 9V battery and alligator clips, these are items that any DIY enthusiast is likely to have on hand.

Additionally, Apple has made the battery hardier in the iPhone Pro. It now sports a steel case that offers more protection than the soft pouch design. This will make is safer for someone to remove the battery with tools like spudgers, which will be necessary for the iPhone Pros as they don't include the new adhesive. Unfortunately, the Pro Max doesn't include this the battery improvement.

The final design decision that adds to repairability is what iFixit refers to as the “enter through either the front or the back” design, which is now available on all the iPhones in this year's lineup. This feature means it's possible to fix the new iPhones without removing the display, making repairs far less challenging than before. Hopefully this means more users feel confident about making repairs themselves.

These design changes along with the repair manuals and process led to iFixIt assigning the iPhone 16 with an initial repairability score of 7 out of 10. While not flawless, it's a huge improvement from last year's 4 out of 10. Kudos to Apple for making strides in the repairability of its devices, and let's hope more improvements follow in the future.