iFixit’s iPhone 16 teardown showed a much improved battery removal process

iFixit has published teardown views of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, as well as their larger cousins, the Plus and Pro Max.

These videos are actually marketing the various iFixit repair kits and other tools and products you can buy – and sometimes these videos now have long plugs for some new product – but despite this, the videos almost always contain interesting insights into the devices’ components.

Taking apart the iPhone 16, iFixit confirmed one thing we already suspected: one of the mmWave antennas had been removed and replaced in the same place with a Camera Control button. It has also been established that the camera systems on the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are almost interchangeable, but unfortunately this is not the case due to the single screw placement and single cable length. Pity.

The process for disassembling Pro phones is mostly the same as before, but fortunately there’s a redesign that reduces the risk of damaging the OLED panel when taking the phone apart.

The biggest revelation was that the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have a better battery replacement process compared to earlier phones. Instead of handles, glue is used, which releases under the influence of electric current.

iFixit claims this is one of the easiest battery removal processes in the industry, which is highly praised, especially when it’s aimed at a company with a troubled past in this field.

Unfortunately, the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max models don’t feature the new battery replacement process found on the 16 and 16 Plus models. On the other hand, servicing the USB-C port is much easier than before, although Apple doesn’t sell this part separately.

iFixit gave all new iPhones a 7 out of 10 repairability rating, which is historically the highest score for an iPhone.

The videos go into a lot more detail, so check them out.

Listing image by iFixit