iPhone 16's 'Revolutionary' Battery Removal Process Shown in Video

[MacRumors]

Over the weekend, well-known repair website iFixit shared an iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus teardown video, and an accompanying blog post. Notably, the video shows Apple's new electrical battery removal process in action on the standard iPhone 16.

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus batteries have an innovative type of adhesive that can be easily loosened with low-voltage electrical current, such as from a 9V battery. The steps involved include attaching alligator clips to a 9V battery, connecting the red/positive clip to the silver tab on the iPhone's battery, and connecting the black/negative clip to the lower-right grounding screw on the iPhone's bottom speaker module. After up to 90 seconds, the adhesive should debond and the battery can then be easily taken out of the iPhone.

iFixit described this new process as "revolutionary," and explained how it works:

Imagine an Oreo cookie with a thick layer of double-stuf creme. You figured out that if you dip just the bottom cookie in some milk and twist the cookie apart, the filling will always stick to the top cookie.

Similarly, when we zap the adhesive, the current oxidizes the negative/anode mating surface and loosens the adhesive from it. The adhesive "filling" between the battery and the frame will then stick to whichever surface that’s connected to the positive terminal.

In an email, iFixit said the iPhone 16 is "the most-repairable iPhone yet":

We're giving the phone a laudable 7 out of 10 repairability score (provisional, pending Apple's release of parts). It's not the Fairphone, but Apple's made some important strides in improving hardware repairability, and ending parts pairing restrictions for harvested OEM parts is a huge boon for the repair community.

Only the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus use this new process. iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max batteries still have stretch-release adhesive pull tabs.

iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro Max batteries still have a black foil enclosure, while the iPhone 16 Pro battery has moved to a metal enclosure, which increases repair safety and likely contributes to improved heat dissipation.

Article Link: iPhone 16's 'Revolutionary' Battery Removal Process Shown in Video

 

[MrCrowbar]

Requiring 9V to replace a 4.2V battery, what could possibly go wrong?
Then again, the old adhesive was terrifying to remove as well.

 

[D-a-a-n]

All of a sudden, Apple found a revolutionary way to replace the battery. I wonder if the EU had something to do with this.

 

[Jhonjhon236]

Requiring 9V to replace a 4.2V battery, what could possibly go wrong?
Then again, the old adhesive was terrifying to remove as well.

What could go wrong? Unless you are a total idiot then it would be pretty hard to mess up if you RTFM.

 

[AlexESP]

All of a sudden, Apple found a revolutionary way to replace the battery. I wonder if the EU had something to do with this.

Is that something to be proud of or what?

If they spent effort on this because they think customers want it (and if they’re right about it), it will pay off.

If they were forced by the EU without believing in it and customers don’t care, the result is that they spent a lot of money on a “revolutionary” method no one wants, that could have gone to something more relevant to customers.

 

[dwaltwhit]

All of a sudden, Apple found a revolutionary way to replace the battery. I wonder if the EU had something to do with this.

Competition has always been the driver of apple's innovation. Now it sounds like regulation is, too!

 

[CalMin]

What's the chances that we'll see a slew of shorted logic boards when folks start replacing batteries. ⚡️📲 = 🔥💨

 

[now i see it]

Four screws on the corners of a battery is a time tested method to secure it.
But noooooo

 

[Graphikos]

The battery removal process is really cool and entirely different than I thought it worked. I assumed it was just shorting out a 9V generating heat to the adhesive to remove it. iFixit's note near the end about using this tech to open the whole phone would be awesome as well.

 

[nburwell]

Good to see, but there is zero chance I open up my iPhone to replace the battery. I’ll take it to Apple have them do it.

 

[vegetassj4]

New Apple Accessory: Remove your battery without wires, and in half the time.

 

[TakeOFF250]

Four screws on the corners of a battery is a time tested method to secure it.
But noooooo

Yeah, four screws on the corners of a battery - what could possibly go wrong, right? lol

 

[orev]

This is very cool and the fact that they put time and effort into this shows they're making efforts where they can. I can't imagine any other company spending time to research and implement a whole new method of battery adhesive.

Of course this will also benefit them as well as it will make in-store repairs easier and faster.

 

[Mistletoe66]

And this new innovation is on the cheaper iPhones 16 and +

While 16 pro get a metal battery without this removal technology (which is fine)

But 16 pro max is short changed with NEITHER OF THE ABOVE changes.

 

[DrRadon]

I remember exchanging the battery’s on my iPods and the first iPhone SE. Palm sweating each time, but it worked out every attempt.

It’s just sad so much tech is needed to do it now. Heat mat and whatever that electrical thing is sure come in at 100€ total at least. At that point you might as well buy yourself another four years of using your phone at apples asking price.

 

[vertsix]

As an electrical engineer, this surprised me. Very cool!

 

[needsomecoffee]

I keep our iPhones working as long as possible to help Mother Earth. Probably done close to 12 battery replacements myself the last decade or so. The pull strips have never (if I remember correctly) fully retracted when pulled (there are usually multiple strips for each battery, just need one to break off prematurely). This looks like a really great advancement. I criticize Apple's greenwashing re: environmental stuff... might have to back off a bit. Thanks Apple.

 

[StoneJack]

i wanna try it. Someone give me iphone 16!

 

[entropi]

Four screws on the corners of a battery is a time tested method to secure it.
But noooooo

Exactly! Also, how much is the adhesive really necessary (apart from still making the battery harder to replace than if screws were used) - I mean, it not like the battery would spin around and get all misplaced if nothing were used, it's not exactly spacious inside an iPhone anyway...?

 

[CarAnalogy]

Seems more magical than revolutionary.

 

[Unity451]

I hope they figure out a way to do that with the screens too.

 

[Analog Kid]

What could go wrong? Unless you are a total idiot then it would be pretty hard to mess up if you RTFM.

Have you met humanity?

 

[Analog Kid]

All of a sudden, Apple found a revolutionary way to replace the battery. I wonder if the EU had something to do with this.

Competition has always been the driver of apple's innovation. Now it sounds like regulation is, too!

You realize that Apple's tech's need to remove the battery too, right? The harder it is to do, the more it costs Apple to fulfill the repair. Don't let iFixit's blathering convince you they're somehow steering the ship. Apple needs to streamline these processes for their own reasons and will continue to do so.

Is that something to be proud of or what?

If they spent effort on this because they think customers want it (and if they’re right about it), it will pay off.

If they were forced by the EU without believing in it and customers don’t care, the result is that they spent a lot of money on a “revolutionary” method no one wants, that could have gone to something more relevant to customers.

Exactly. If competition wasn't motivating a change, then it's likely people didn't really care about it. Regulating it just substitutes a bureaucrat's preferences for the consumer's preference.

 

[Analog Kid]

Four screws on the corners of a battery is a time tested method to secure it.
But noooooo

Exactly! Also, how much is the adhesive really necessary (apart from still making the battery harder to replace than if screws were used) - I mean, it not like the battery would spin around and get all misplaced if nothing were used, it's not exactly spacious inside an iPhone anyway...?

The battery is a key structural component of the stack-up.

Lamination - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[lkrupp]

Requiring 9V to replace a 4.2V battery, what could possibly go wrong?
Then again, the old adhesive was terrifying to remove as well.

iFixit, a major critic of Apple’s repairability for years, seems to think otherwise. They even refer to it as “revolutionary”. That’s like Greenpeace saying Apple is doing a good job on the environment. It means something. Not on toxic tech blogs, obviously.