The repair specialists at iFixit have gained some interesting insights from dismantling the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro and discovered the two iPhones have a lot in common, beyond the A14 Bionic processor.
The repair specialists, who are not particularly popular with Apple and therefore always have to buy iPhones themselves to dismantle them, have already disassembled the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro. During the live teardown that iFixit broadcast on YouTube (below), some interesting aspects came to light.
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro have a number of components in common, such as the display, which can be swapped from one device to the other, although the iPhone 12 Pro is a little bit brighter.
As could already be seen from the product pictures the camera recess on the back is identical on both iPhones, so the same covers can fit both the 12 and 12 Pro. However, the iPhone 12 Pro actually has two more components installed there: a zoom camera and a lidar. It turns out the iPhone 12 has a plastic placeholder in place of the latter!
Apple’s SIM card holder, which iFixIt notes can be easily repaired, has been installed on the other side to make space for the new logic board and is the same on both devices.
The video also confirms that the iPhone 12, with its 2,815 mAh, has a slightly smaller battery than the iPhone 11.
iFixIt’s video demonstrates how Apple has been able to make this year’s iPhone models thinner.
Overall, the new iPhones deserve a 6 out of 10 on the iFixit scale for repairability. That is the same score that the iPhone 11 was given.
You can see more about iFixIt’s teardown here.
Read our iPhone 12 review to find out more about Apple’s new iPhone.
This article includes original reporting from Macworld Sweden and Macwelt. Translation by Karen Haslam.
