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

[lkrupp]

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

iFixit is calling this revolutionary, not Apple. Review the text of the article, please.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

Does it matter how easy it is to remove the battery when you still have to take the display off first?

 

[Analog Kid]

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 tech blogs, obviously.

Being a major critic doesn't make them a reliable source. I agree this technique is quite interesting, but I've long stopped taking anything iFixit says seriously.

 

[mrochester]

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.

Neither the 16 pro or 16 pro max will still be sold when these regulations come into force. The 16 likely will.

 

[Keymaster]

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

Look at how tightly that's all packed...there would have to be spaces around the battery, which means moving things around, and probably increasing the size of the phone in some dimension (or decrease the size of the battery). Even if it's limited to two screws, it's still going to cause more trouble.

Screws would have been better than the adhesive strips, which were prone to ripping (been there, done that)...this new setup really is awesome though, better than screws for sure. There is still a question of how this will hold up over time, after a phone is cycled, gets wet, and so on, but it seems like a setup that should continue to work despite all of that. We'll see in a few years if there are long term issues that Apple can't know about yet (I'm sure the have tested, but time can't be simulated completely).

 

[krakenrelease]

Adhesive shouldn't even be needed with so close tolerances.

 

[NetMage]

There is still a question of how this will hold up over time, after a phone is cycled, gets wet, and so on

If you have water inside your phone, you have much bigger problems than replacing the battery.

 

[NetMage]

What will trolls complain about now that iPhones get higher repair scores than Android phones?

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

iFixit Repairability Score of 7/10?!? For an Apple device? Or, really, any high-end, mainstream smartphone?

I don’t care much if this is their own ambitions or those spurred on by EU regulations.

That’s just genuinely impressive. Great job, Apple! 👏🧐

That’s certainly also one in the basket for all the sustainability efforts. This is legit.

 

[Daul]

Ffs just use screws. It doesn’t need to be this complicated.

 

[Graphikos]

Ffs just use screws. It doesn’t need to be this complicated.

I bet they never thought of that!

I'm no expert, but I assume that even screwing it down with brackets isn't "secure enough". I don't think you want a sealed battery moving around at all and adhesive seems like the best solution for that. Pull tabs are generally the industry standard.. which aren't great.

 

[Parowdy]

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

if they had, it would still be user replaceable without electronic devices

 

[Parowdy]

Ffs just use screws. It doesn’t need to be this complicated.

ffs just understand why screws make no sense, it doesn't need to be that complicated.

 

[JSchwage]

To everyone complaining that this new procedure requires expensive tools, this can be done with a 9v battery and some wires with alligator clips as shown in Apple's official repair guide below:

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16e Battery - Apple Support

Repair procedure with removal and reassembly steps

support.apple.com

 

[dwaltwhit]

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.



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.

I apologize if you thought I was accusing Apple of being altruistic. I'm not and wouldn't expect them to be. I think the regulations were likely the impetus for change; if Apple's own repair services also benefit, so be it.

 

[Analog Kid]

I think the regulations were likely the impetus for change; if Apple's own repair services also benefit, so be it.

So you think the EU regulation was aimed at helping Apple save costs because they couldn't figure out how to on their own?

 

[szw-mapple fan]

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

And how exactly are you going to attach screws to a battery pouch without additional plastic reinforcements on the sides? This seems like a much better use of space.

 

[mansplains]

I've replaced dozens of iPhone batteries, if not hundreds. I only had a handful of troublesome pull tabs, but this definitely would've saved me some time!

 

[rogertoh16]

🙋🏻‍♂️ I have a question. How do we stick back the battery?
Do we need to replace the 2 metal on both iPhone & battery?

 

[Username Unique]

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.

iFixit's main goal is to sell their tools and their overpriced soldering iron.

 

[svish]

Good video. Easier way to remove the battery is good.

 

[Nekomichi]

Ffs just use screws. It doesn’t need to be this complicated.

It's not possible to put screws directly through a lithium cell, so the only way would be to add a frame around the cell with screw mounts. The cell would then be attached to the frame with adhesive, which would make it kind of pointless because now there's adhesive involved again and the frame is just acting as a middleman. The addition of a frame would also increase the size of the battery and when you're designing the internal layout of something as compact as a smartphone, space is at a premium.