iPhone 5s Gets iFixit Teardown Treatment
The folks over at iFixit have been busy today tearing into the new iPhone 5s, giving us all a look at what lies beneath its shiny metal exterior. The process took awhile, and reveals carefully packed hardware that — upon first look, at least — seems very similar to the iPhone 5's internals. From there it is all a piece-by-piece process, and we've got the details after the jump.
After removing the familiar pentalobular screws on the bottom, the team took to a suction cup and gentle prying to liberate the display, finding a connector from the Touch ID that, if one isn't careful, could be ripped out with some over-aggressive tugging. From there they took to the battery's removal, with the process being hampered by the use of glue rather than a pull-tab.
As it turns out, the iPhone 5s has more than its fair share of glue inside, with iFixit rating it as being on the "holy adhesive!" level. From there, it's a matter of liberating cables and connectors, allowing one to remove the Touch ID assembly, camera, and assortment of chips. Not surprisingly, DIYers will still need to replace multiple components at the same time, with the iPhone 5s not being modular.
As far as hardware discoveries, the iSight camera — recently used to film the Burberry runway show — is labeled as a DNL333 41WGFRF AW61W. The WiFi module appears to be a Murata 339S0205 unit, while the flash storage comes by way of SK Hynix. Also on board is a Qualcomm MDM9615M LTE modem, a Desay Battery Co. battery, and of course the A7 chip.
At the end of it all, the iPhone 5s received a 6 out of 10 score, meaning it's not the hardest to repair, but some will find it difficult. Praises were sung for the ease at which the screen can be repaired and the "fairly easy" battery access. Problem areas include the position of the Touch ID cable, which can be easily damaged when the display is removed, the display components being a single unit, making it more expensive to replace, and the loss of the battery's pull tab.
SOURCE: iFixit