LG G5's Modular Design Makes Teardown And Repair A Breeze

LG has always bucked the trend when it came to certain features that its peers were seemingly throwing away. Particularly, it has stuck to replaceable batteries and microSD cards even when almost everyone else turned away from them. In that area, the LG G5 isn't that different, but the Korean manufacturer did one better. It took modularity to heart and implemented it in the very core of its flagship. The end result is probably one of the easiest high end, premium flagship to tear down and repair.

It all begins with the removable battery which is, as everyone knows by now, special in the LG G5. Yes, it is removable, but unlike any other removable battery. The battery is pulled out from the bottom and comes off with the modular bottom. The battery can be separated from that module, though with a bit of difficulty. That module happens to also house the USB port, a speaker, and some antennas.

After the battery has been removed, all that separates a tear down engineer and the LG G5's innards are two standard Phillips #00 screws and some clips. That's basically all that it takes to separate the display assembly from the metal unibody case, made of LM201 aluminum alloy. One can probably say that LG has stumbled on the formula for an easily repairable unibody design.

That same theme of modular and easily removable components is repeated all throughout the LG G5. The end result is a smartphone that, at least on paper, will be very easy to repair. In fact, iFixit gives it a score of 8 out of 10, one of the highest scores we've seen lately and definitely a rare grade for a top of the line 2016 smartphone. Sadly, it's obviously not perfect, with copious amounts of adhesive used on the bottom module. Not impossible to pry, just a chore. LG also does follow the trend of fusing LCD with glass, making it more expensive to replace if either breaks.

SOURCE: iFixit