Tech reviewers may not consider the iPhone 16 lineup Apple's most drastically improved iPhone series, but it's evidently making strides in repairability (as the company had pledged). Repair website iFixit praised the iPhone 16 series in a blog post published Sunday for making "three big leaps for repairkind," in reference to three key design upgrades.
This progress comes after years of complaints from consumer advocates that Apple's carefully designed devices are both costly and difficult to repair. Although Apple opposed the right to repair movement for years, the Cupertino, California-based company changed its stance in November 2021 when it announced the Self Service Repair program, after pressure from various stakeholders. Since then, it has been working to make the iPhone a more repairable device. Last October, Apple said it would ensure independent repair shops and consumers across the US have access to supplies of parts, tools and written materials needed to fix its iPhones and other devices.
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In its blog post, iFixit noted the iPhone 16andiPhone 16 Plus now use a reliable adhesive for securing the battery on those models, which it says can debond when you pass an electrical current through it. The website says this is a marked improvement from the "finicky, brittle adhesive strips" from years past, making battery repairs an "easily repeatable process," although it'll require a new tool.
The second change iFixit highlighted was the improved ability to repair the iPhone 16 from either the back or front of the device. "Having to remove an expensive, fragile, ProMotion OLED during a repair path isn't ideal, so being able to avoid it for simple repairs streamlines procedures," Kyle Wiens, the author of the iFixit blog post, wrote. Such access was initially available on the base iPhone 14 models. However, it took Apple two years to bring this feature to the Pro models, or all four models of the lineup.
Finally, as noted in a previous iFixit teardown, the battery of the iPhone 16 Pro is encased in hard steel instead of a soft pouch. Wiens noted that hard cell batteries are less prone to damage by the slip of a screwdriver, and are therefore less likely to catch fire. The iPhone 16 Pro didn't receive the new aforementioned adhesive, which means removing the battery may sometimes require prying, the post says. "A hard case will make that process safer," iFixit notes.
In light of these three key design changes, iFixit granted the iPhone 16 lineup a repairability score of seven out of 10. By comparison, the iPhone 15 series received a score of four out of 10. This puts the iPhone 16 on par with the iPhone 14, which also got a seven out of 10 repairability score.
While it's clear Apple has stepped up the iPhone's repairability game, there are still ways its could improve its bestselling product, according to iFixit. That includes using less "fussy screw types," and making it easier to remove the display and rear panel adhesive without heat.
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