You can save money and extend the useful life of your out-of-warranty gadgets by repairing them yourself, but should you? iFixit, provider of free repair guides and seller of parts and tools, buys the latest devices and tears them apart, assigning them a “repairability score.” They report that some design changes make the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus the most repairable iPhones ever.
Of course, “most repairable iPhone ever” isn’t saying very much. No device that requires opening up the case to get at the battery requires, and buying a special screwdriver to open that case in the first place, is very repairable. Phones with batteries that the user can easily pop out top the list, but the original 2007 iPhone had its battery soldered in place and had a very low repairability rating. The iPhone 6 got a 7, comparable to the Moto X or Nexus 4.
Repairability scores are very practical, based on how easy it is to open up the case, and also the ease of access to frequently-broken parts like the phone’s display or the battery.
Unrelated to is repairability, they also point out that the iPhone 6 Plus is bigger than a Pop-Tart.
What makes the iPhone 6 more repairable? A long home button cable. Sounds minor, but it isn’t. With the iPhone 5S, that cable was distressingly short, which made repairs very difficult for novices.
You can also watch their teardown video, though the actual tearing down doesn’t start until about a minute and 45 seconds in.
iPhone 6 Teardown [iFixit]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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