For all the marketing around the split of the iPhone X into three distinct models at various price points, for all of Apple’s pressure to have the $749 iPhone XR labelled by the media as the ‘affordable’ model, what is lurking inside the case?
The dedicated team at iFixit decided to find out this weekend. With a retail iPhone XR at their disposal, they set about tearing down Apple’s latest handset to find out what they could.
Two things that stood out for the team was the relative ease of removing the LCD screen, and the easily accessible battery. These two components are arguably the two that will require the most repairs, so ensuring a smooth process is vital for fast turnaround and lower support costs (which in turn leads to higher average revenue per user).
Apple has leaned heavily into the concept that the iPhone XR is everything that the iPhone XS can be in terms of specifications. That’s true of the chipsets in the handset, but the internal design, which includes a single-decked logic board and a rectangular battery with tabs to aid its removal.
While the pitch is the XR is just the lower priced of the 2018’s ‘X’ family, the internal design makes it clear that this is a physical evolution of the iPhone 8, albeit an evolution that takes into account the latest silicon. It’s also a design that, unlike the actual XS line-up, is geared towards easier and faster repairs.
And if you want a closer look inside the iPhone XR, the iFixit team videoed the process.
Now read about Apple’s new screen technology for the Next-Generation iPhone…
