Hardly any air in the iPhone Air
No sooner arrived than taken apart: iFixIt gives the iPhone Air a good rating. The teardown revealed a number of surprises.
"One iPhone Air, please, but without a display or battery." "Here you go."
(Image: iFixIt)
With a score of 7 out of a possible 10 points, the new iPhone Air is relatively easy to repair. This is the conclusion reached by the repair specialists at iFixIt after completely dismantling the device and a MagSafe battery and testing them out. One of the first things they noticed about the battery was that the power storage from the external battery can also be installed directly into the iPhone Air, and the smartphone still works with it. It is the same component.
The professional disassemblers welcome the decision to use the center of the iPhone solely for the battery and to attach the logic board at the top. This does not result in any disadvantages, as with most current smartphones, the display or back cover has to be removed anyway if you want to access the individual parts. In the case of the Air, it is sufficient to loosen the rear glass cover using heat, then you can access the battery directly. It is attached with electrically conductive adhesive strips, which come off easily when voltage is applied: 12 volts for 70 seconds at an unspecified current was sufficient.
USB port with titanium, but replaceable
The single housing opening, long standard on iPhones and now via USB-C, is one of the biggest challenges in designing a smartphone that is at least 5.64 millimeters thin. The charging and data port must be as flat as possible, yet very stable, as it will inevitably be subjected to mechanical stress. According to iFixIt, the Air's port is made of 3D-printed titanium, which was subsequently specially treated. Exactly how this was done has not yet been conclusively clarified. Repairers are bringing a patent into play here that Apple acquired in 2015 through its acquisition of Metaio.
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Apple also resisted the temptation to build the port and the surrounding frame from a single piece of metal: the actual surround of the socket is screwed on, so it can be replaced with relatively little effort. Despite these measures, however, the iPhone Air remains sensitive to bending, especially at the top and bottom, where the battery does not stabilize, so too much force should not be applied.
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