Galaxy S20 5G Teardown Is Thankfully Boring But Has One Big Problem

After the Motorola Razr and then the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip hit the market, they were naturally subjected to the rough treatment that only durability tests and teardowns could give. Considering their novelty, it was also no surprise that both foldable phones weren't exactly that easy to properly pry open. In contrast, the Galaxy S20 seems to be a walk in the park which bodes well for repairs. Except it actually isn't for the one component that may matter the most.

The Galaxy S20 is as traditional as you could get. Even among its brethren, this lowest-tier phone is pretty normal despite having the same design as the Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra. It has, for example, the same rectangular box for a camera bump but all its cameras actually fit in a single line only.

That, fortunately, meant that getting into the phone's innards was rather uneventful, at least based on the phone's first teardown courtesy of PBKReviews. It is pretty much the same process of applying generous amounts of heat to loosen adhesive, removing over a dozen screws, and prying off those LEGO-like connectors. Up to that part, every piece is easy to remove and modular even.

The YouTube channel, however, notes how nearly impossible it was to remove the battery without potentially damaging the screen underneath. Samsung may have come across a rather nefarious way to discourage removing the power pack by having it so close to the display panel. This, in turn, means that any battery problem would effectively require replacing the unit. Hopefully, Samsung itself has special tools and materials to make that easier for authorized service centers.

We'll still have to wait for iFixit to give the Galaxy S20 its score but we might be looking at a relatively low mark because of that factor. It's not as bad as the foldable phones though, which is still going to be a mark against this new class of devices.