New research is shedding light on modern smartphone designs and their ability to be repaired.
Before modern smartphones came into existence, many manufacturers allowed owners to replace batteries by themselves. But as days go by, the designs and interfaces of smartphones are getting more complex, thanks for business monopolies and planned obsolescence.
This is why tech giants such as Apple are going out of their to explain to users that you can no longer repair your device alone at home safely. It requires experts to analyze the situation and offer replacements when a switch is needed. Other than tools, a lot of repairs need third-party tools to get the job done right.
As per one device repairing platform, iFixit, modern devices make use of specific materials like strong glue and screws. This is why tech giants Apple and Samsung rank pretty low in terms of the repairability factor. Shockingly, iFixit experts in their index gave Pixel 8 and 8 Pro scores of six out of 10.
The score comes after looking at several factors. For instance, how readily available documents are for a repair and if any parts are needed that cannot be found easily. Is the battery glued in areas that can be reached easily? Do you need an expert’s help to unscrew the device to access a certain site on the device?
There are a lot of questions to answer and based on how well a device answers them, the better their ranking on repairability indexes. You’ll be amazed to learn how the Samsung Galaxy device received just a score of four out of 10. But it was praised for using normal screws from Phillips.
When you take a look at iPhone devices, they also got a low score of just four out of 10. Still, iFixit says the latest range of iOS phones ranks high in terms of easy battery replacements. The same goes for the screen that can be replaced swiftly.
In terms of spare parts, Apple loses out. The pairing of parts is complex with iPhones as each part is paired against a digital serial number. Hence, you can’t land up at any repair shop but a specific software one to get the job done. This means repairability gets more challenging.
The score factors in 10% for the service manual, 10% for replacement parts, and 80% for the ease and time required to replace the most critical components.
Read next:
• How We Can Save The Environment by Extending The Smartphone Lifetime
Before modern smartphones came into existence, many manufacturers allowed owners to replace batteries by themselves. But as days go by, the designs and interfaces of smartphones are getting more complex, thanks for business monopolies and planned obsolescence.
This is why tech giants such as Apple are going out of their to explain to users that you can no longer repair your device alone at home safely. It requires experts to analyze the situation and offer replacements when a switch is needed. Other than tools, a lot of repairs need third-party tools to get the job done right.
As per one device repairing platform, iFixit, modern devices make use of specific materials like strong glue and screws. This is why tech giants Apple and Samsung rank pretty low in terms of the repairability factor. Shockingly, iFixit experts in their index gave Pixel 8 and 8 Pro scores of six out of 10.
The score comes after looking at several factors. For instance, how readily available documents are for a repair and if any parts are needed that cannot be found easily. Is the battery glued in areas that can be reached easily? Do you need an expert’s help to unscrew the device to access a certain site on the device?
There are a lot of questions to answer and based on how well a device answers them, the better their ranking on repairability indexes. You’ll be amazed to learn how the Samsung Galaxy device received just a score of four out of 10. But it was praised for using normal screws from Phillips.
When you take a look at iPhone devices, they also got a low score of just four out of 10. Still, iFixit says the latest range of iOS phones ranks high in terms of easy battery replacements. The same goes for the screen that can be replaced swiftly.
In terms of spare parts, Apple loses out. The pairing of parts is complex with iPhones as each part is paired against a digital serial number. Hence, you can’t land up at any repair shop but a specific software one to get the job done. This means repairability gets more challenging.
Repairability Ratings for Smartphones (10=highest)
| OEM | Device | Date | Score** |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMD | Skyline | 2024 | 9 |
| Fairphone | 5 | 2023 | 10 |
| Nokia | G22 | 2023 | 8 |
| Pixel 8 | 2023 | 6 | |
| Pixel 8 Pro | 2023 | 6 | |
| Apple | iPhone 15* | 2023 | 4 |
| Apple | iPhone 15 Plus* | 2023 | 4 |
| Apple | iPhone 15 Pro* | 2023 | 4 |
| Apple | iPhone 15 Pro Max* | 2023 | 4 |
| Pixel 7a | 2023 | 4 | |
| Samsung | Galaxy S23 Ultra* | 2023 | 4 |
| Pixel Fold | 2023 | 3 | |
| Apple | iPhone 14 Plus* | 2022 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 14 Pro* | 2022 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone 14 Pro Max* | 2022 | 6 |
| Pixel 7 | 2022 | 5 | |
| Pixel 7 Pro | 2022 | 5 | |
| Pixel 6a | 2022 | 5 | |
| Apple | iPhone 14 | 2022 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S22 | 2022 | 3 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S22 Ultra | 2022 | 3 |
| Fairphone | 4 | 2021 | 10 |
| Apple | iPhone 13 Pro | 2021 | 6 |
| Pixel 6 | 2021 | 6 | |
| Pixel 5a | 2021 | 6 | |
| Pixel 6 Pro | 2021 | 5 | |
| Mi | 11 | 2021 | 4 |
| Apple | iPhone 12 Pro Max | 2020 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone 12 mini | 2020 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone 12 Pro | 2020 | 6 |
| Pixel 5 | 2020 | 6 | |
| Pixel 4a | 2020 | 6 | |
| Apple | iPhone SE 2020 | 2020 | 6 |
| Huawei | Mate 40 Pro | 2020 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy A51 | 2020 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Note 20 Ultra | 2020 | 3 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S20 Ultra | 2020 | 3 |
| Microsoft | Surface Duo | 2020 | 2 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Z Flip | 2020 | 2 |
| Motorola | razr | 2020 | 1 |
| Fairphone | 3 | 2019 | 10 |
| Shift | 6m | 2019 | 9 |
| Apple | iPhone 11 | 2019 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone 11 Pro Max | 2019 | 6 |
| Pixel 3a | 2019 | 6 | |
| Pixel 3a XL | 2019 | 6 | |
| Pixel 4 XL | 2019 | 4 | |
| Huawei | Mate 20 X 5G | 2019 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Note10 Plus 5G | 2019 | 3 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S10 | 2019 | 3 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Fold | 2019 | 2 |
| Nokia | 8110 4G | 2018 | 8 |
| Apple | iPhone XR | 2018 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone XS | 2018 | 6 |
| OnePlus | 6 | 2018 | 5 |
| Huawei | Mate 20 Pro | 2018 | 4 |
| Pixel 3 XL | 2018 | 4 | |
| Pixel 3 | 2018 | 4 | |
| LG | G7 Thin Q | 2018 | 4 |
| Huawei | P20 Pro | 2018 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S9 Plus | 2018 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S9 | 2018 | 4 |
| OnePlus | 5 | 2017 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone X | 2017 | 6 |
| Pixel 2 XL | 2017 | 6 | |
| Pixel 2 | 2017 | 6 | |
| Apple | iPhone 8 | 2017 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone 8 Plus | 2017 | 6 |
| LG | G6 | 2017 | 5 |
| Huawei | Mate 10 Pro | 2017 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Note8 | 2017 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Note Fan Edition | 2017 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S8 Plus | 2017 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S8 | 2017 | 4 |
| Essential | Phone | 2017 | 1 |
| LG | G5 | 2016 | 8 |
| Pixel XL | 2016 | 7 | |
| Pixel | 2016 | 7 | |
| Apple | iPhone 7 | 2016 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 7 Plus | 2016 | 7 |
| Moto | Z | 2016 | 7 |
| Meizu | MX6 | 2016 | 7 |
| Vivo | X7 Plus | 2016 | 7 |
| Huawei | P9 | 2016 | 7 |
| Oppo | R9m | 2016 | 7 |
| Sony | Xperia X Compact | 2016 | 6 |
| Asus | Zenfone 3 Max | 2016 | 6 |
| Vivo | X7 | 2016 | 6 |
| Xiaomi | Mi 5 | 2016 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone SE | 2016 | 6 |
| Huawei | Mate 9 | 2016 | 5 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Note7 | 2016 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S7 | 2016 | 3 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S7 Edge | 2016 | 3 |
| Fairphone | 2 | 2015 | 10 |
| Xiaomi | Redmi Note 3 | 2015 | 8 |
| LG | G4 | 2015 | 8 |
| Wiko | Pulp 4G Phone | 2015 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 6s | 2015 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 6s Plus | 2015 | 7 |
| Nexus | 5X | 2015 | 7 |
| OnePlus | 2 | 2015 | 7 |
| Lenovo | K5 Note | 2015 | 6 |
| Huawei | Mate 8 | 2015 | 6 |
| Shift | 5.1 | 2015 | 6 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S6 | 2015 | 4 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S6 Edge | 2015 | 3 |
| Nexus | 6P | 2015 | 2 |
| HTC | One M9 | 2015 | 2 |
| Nexus | 6 | 2014 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 6 Plus | 2014 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 6 | 2014 | 7 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Alpha | 2014 | 5 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S5 Mini | 2014 | 5 |
| OnePlus | One | 2014 | 5 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S5 | 2014 | 5 |
| Amazon | Fire Phone | 2014 | 3 |
| HTC | One M8 | 2014 | 2 |
| Nexus | 5 | 2013 | 8 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S4 | 2013 | 8 |
| BlackBerry | Z10 | 2013 | 8 |
| Fairphone | 1 | 2013 | 7 |
| Motorola | Moto X 1st Generation | 2013 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 5c | 2013 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone 5s | 2013 | 6 |
| HTC | One | 2013 | 1 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Note II | 2012 | 8 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S III | 2012 | 8 |
| Nexus | 4 | 2012 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 5 | 2012 | 7 |
| Motorola | Droid 4 | 2012 | 4 |
| Motorola | Droid Bionic | 2011 | 9 |
| Motorola | Atrix 4G | 2011 | 9 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Note | 2011 | 8 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S II | 2011 | 8 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Nexus | 2011 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 4S | 2011 | 6 |
| Motorola | Droid 3 | 2011 | 6 |
| Samsung | Galaxy S 4G | 2011 | 6 |
| Apple | iPhone 4 Verizon | 2011 | 6 |
| Motorola | Droid RAZR | 2011 | 4 |
| Nokia | N8 | 2010 | 8 |
| Nexus | S | 2010 | 7 |
| HTC | Surround | 2010 | 5 |
| Apple | iPhone 3GS | 2009 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone 3G | 2008 | 7 |
| Apple | iPhone (1st Generation) | 2007 | 2 |
| * Provisional | |||
| ** 10 = Best |
The score factors in 10% for the service manual, 10% for replacement parts, and 80% for the ease and time required to replace the most critical components.
Read next:
• How We Can Save The Environment by Extending The Smartphone Lifetime
