iFixit: Teardown of the iPhone 16e with a look at the new C1 modem
After an initial teardown of the new iPhone in Hong Kong, the well-known repair service provider has now also taken a look at the device. There were surprises.
Main board of the iPhone 16e: This is also where the C1 is located.
(Image: iFixIt)
How well can the brand-new iPhone 16e be repaired? The well-known US repair service provider iFixit has now addressed this question and has come to a decent preliminary result: the new entry-level smartphone achieved 7 out of 10 possible points in the “Repairability Score”. During the teardown – it is already the second after the Hong Kong company Rewa Technology. However, there were some minor and major surprises.
More flex cable security, less parts pairing
Apple could have achieved an even better repairability score if the company had made it easier to access frequently broken components. This includes the USB-C port, for example, which can only be reached after disassembling numerous other components. However, according to iFixit, one positive aspect is that Apple has used metal clips to better protect flex cables that are prone to breakage during repairs and has mitigated the annoying parts pairing.
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In this process, components are paired with the respective iPhone – if they are exchanged for “third-party components”, error messages are then displayed. The teardown by Rewa Technology, in which an iPhone 16e screen was made to work in an iPhone 14 without any problems, showed that parts pairing is apparently no longer quite so harsh.
C1 split into modem and transceiver
Apple's C1 modem chip, probably the most exciting part of the iPhone 16e, was also examined by iFixit. A decapping was carried out in collaboration with the market analysis company Yole Group. The package structure should correspond to that of Qualcomm. The 4 nm modem integrates DRAM. The 7 nm transceiver is not included in the modem package. Apple is otherwise continuing its strategy of replacing more and more chips on the motherboard with in-house developments. Wlan and Bluetooth chips are next in line.
Overall, according to iFixit, the 16e is an interesting but also confusing device: state-of-the-art Apple developments such as the A18, the easily removable battery or the C1 meet missing components such as MagSafe and the old iPhone 14 design. Whether you should spend 700 euros on it is up to you to decide. You can find the Mac & i test of the new device here.
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