iPhone 12 teardown reveals simpler internal design, 5G radio details

AppleInsider

The customary teardown of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro reveals changes Apple has made to the design of the models to accommodate 5G support, as well as how strikingly similar the two models are internally.

iPhone 12 Pro

Apple's latest iPhone models started to arrive with consumers on Friday, so it wasn't long after release that the first teardown videos of the devices started to surface. In the first fully-detailed disassembly of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, iFixit indicates there's some changes in the design over the iPhone 11 generation, in order to add 5G functionality.

The initial stage of gaining access in the teardown hasn't changed much for 2020, with the use of Pentalobe screwdrivers, suction cups, picks, and heat used to lever open the display. Rather than opening on the left-hand edge, a routine that has been in play since the iPhone 7, the iPhone 12 opens from the right-hand edge.

An initial glance at the insides of both non-Pro and Pro models simultaneously has no indications one is better than the other, until the removal of the camera shield. It seems that the two were constructed so alike that Apple uses a plastic spacer in the iPhone 12 where the third camera and LiDAR sensor would be located in the iPhone 12 Pro.

The iPhone 12 and Pro cameras, as well as a camera spacer [via iFixit]

Another change for 2020 is the flipping of positions for the SIM tray, logic board, and battery, which is thought to be due to the larger logic board housing Qualcomm's 5G chips. The logic board includes the Apple A14 Bionic SoC layered with Micron memory, Samsung flash storage, Qualcomm's 5G and LTE transceiver, Qualcomm's 5G modem, Apple's U1 chip and power management controller, and an Avago power amplifier and integrated duplexer.

To make 5G work properly, the smartphones were found to have mmWave antenna modules embedded in the side of the frame and on the back of the logic board.

For other components, it was found that Apple had changed how the speakers were held in place, with it using Phillips screws and bright orange rubber gaskets instead of adhesive, which may aid repairs. The MagSafe charging arrays use 18 magnets to align the coils in place with the charger, with the polarity of the magnets thought to "expand the effective placement of the phone" while still maintaining proper alignment.

A side-by-side component view of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro [via iFixit]

In summing up the new models, iFixit suggests Apple has made "some serious design compromises" to add 5G components, with the loss of elements like the L-shaped battery and the smaller logic board. Though not "death by a thousand cuts," the concessions made by Apple makes the iPhones feel "the least inventive."

iFixit gave the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 a "Repairability Score" of 6 out of 10. While display and battery replacements stay as a priority along with modular components inside and the use of screws, the continued use of glue and the increased waterproofing measures "complicate some repairs," while a broken glass back replacement will requiring the removal of every component from the device.

retrogusto

It seems reasonable to require a lot of work if users want to replace a broken glass back, since almost anybody would just slap a case on and forget all about it.

MplsP

AppleInsider said:

In summing up the new models, iFixit suggests Apple has made "some serious design compromises" to add 5G components

This gives another example of why it makes sense to wait a year unless you absolutely need to upgrade. 

5G adds cost to the device, adds cost to your cell phone plan, adds compromises to the phone and doesn’t really give you any useful functionality over 4G. 

retrogusto said:

It seems reasonable to require a lot of work if users want to replace a broken glass back, since almost anybody would just slap a case on and forget all about it.

One doesn’t need to be able to swap a battery in a few seconds like one would for a drill, but it should be replaceable without an inordinate amount of effort and/or potentially damaging the device to get the old battery out (both of which we’ve seen in the past.)

lkrupp

MplsP said:

AppleInsider said:

In summing up the new models, iFixit suggests Apple has made "some serious design compromises" to add 5G components

This gives another example of why it makes sense to wait a year unless you absolutely need to upgrade. 

5G adds cost to the device, adds cost to your cell phone plan, adds compromises to the phone and doesn’t really give you any useful functionality over 4G. 

retrogusto said:

It seems reasonable to require a lot of work if users want to replace a broken glass back, since almost anybody would just slap a case on and forget all about it.

One doesn’t need to be able to swap a battery in a few seconds like one would for a drill, but it should be replaceable without an inordinate amount of effort and/or potentially damaging the device to get the old battery out (both of which we’ve seen in the past.)

Yes, remember the good old days when you dropped your phone and the back plate and battery flew off in different directions. It was always fun trying to retrieve them in crowded spaces like airports and hope no one stepped it and broke it.

rcfa

Stupid to measure innovation by silly stuff like an L-shaped battery! 

The real innovations are in chip design and algorithms, e.g. for computational photography etc.

If anything, simplifying the guts is a sign of higher levels on integration, which means innovation. 

Imagine someone calling a 88” OLED TV “not innovative” because it’s “simplified compared to an old black and white tube TV”

Sometimes I wonder what (if anything) people think...

p-dog

MplsP said:

5G adds cost to the device, adds cost to your cell phone plan, adds compromises to the phone and doesn’t really give you any useful functionality over 4G. 

5G doesn’t add any cost to my T-Mobile cell phone plan. I still receive unlimited data at 5G for the same price and on the same plan as last month.

bulk001

lkrupp said:

MplsP said:

AppleInsider said:

In summing up the new models, iFixit suggests Apple has made "some serious design compromises" to add 5G components

This gives another example of why it makes sense to wait a year unless you absolutely need to upgrade. 

5G adds cost to the device, adds cost to your cell phone plan, adds compromises to the phone and doesn’t really give you any useful functionality over 4G. 

retrogusto said:

It seems reasonable to require a lot of work if users want to replace a broken glass back, since almost anybody would just slap a case on and forget all about it.

One doesn’t need to be able to swap a battery in a few seconds like one would for a drill, but it should be replaceable without an inordinate amount of effort and/or potentially damaging the device to get the old battery out (both of which we’ve seen in the past.)

Yes, remember the good old days when you dropped your phone and the back plate and battery flew off in different directions. It was always fun trying to retrieve them in crowded spaces like airports and hope no one stepped it and broke it.

Right! Unlike now where you can find all the pieces but can’t just snap them together. And have to call insurance or send in to an Apple store and get a replacement. Not to mention backing it all up as they will probably send you a refurbished phone. I mean the inconvenience of having to pick up the battery and cover AND click it back all by yourself with NO support is a staggering inconvenience we should never have to go back to. 

sdw2001

Less inventive? That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. The MagSafe system is not inventive? Adding 5G and various features in the same package is not inventive? Protective front glass is not inventive?  If they think there is a problem with the internal design, they should say so.  

MplsP

lkrupp said:

MplsP said:

AppleInsider said:

In summing up the new models, iFixit suggests Apple has made "some serious design compromises" to add 5G components

This gives another example of why it makes sense to wait a year unless you absolutely need to upgrade. 

5G adds cost to the device, adds cost to your cell phone plan, adds compromises to the phone and doesn’t really give you any useful functionality over 4G. 

retrogusto said:

It seems reasonable to require a lot of work if users want to replace a broken glass back, since almost anybody would just slap a case on and forget all about it.

One doesn’t need to be able to swap a battery in a few seconds like one would for a drill, but it should be replaceable without an inordinate amount of effort and/or potentially damaging the device to get the old battery out (both of which we’ve seen in the past.)

Yes, remember the good old days when you dropped your phone and the back plate and battery flew off in different directions. It was always fun trying to retrieve them in crowded spaces like airports and hope no one stepped it and broke it.

I have plenty of devices that don’t fall apart when you drop them and yet somehow let you replace the batteries. Apparently Apple engineers don’t have any more vision of problem solving abilities than you do. 

MplsP

p-dog said:

MplsP said:

5G adds cost to the device, adds cost to your cell phone plan, adds compromises to the phone and doesn’t really give you any useful functionality over 4G. 

5G doesn’t add any cost to my T-Mobile cell phone plan. I still receive unlimited data at 5G for the same price and on the same plan as last month.

Yes T-Mobile is good that way. Verizon charges an extra $10 per month and yet they also have the worst coverage.

cornchip

iFixIt said:

Though not "death by a thousand cuts," the concessions made by Apple makes the iPhones feel "the least inventive."

I’m sorry what? 

lkrupp said:

Yes, remember the good old days when you dropped your phone and the back plate and battery flew off in different directions. It was always fun trying to retrieve them in crowded spaces like airports and hope no one stepped it and broke it.

Or just plain broke when the clip snapped off in on impact. Duct tape to the rescue!

sdw2001 said:

Less inventive? That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. The MagSafe system is not inventive? Adding 5G and various features in the same package is not inventive? Protective front glass is not inventive?  If they think there is a problem with the internal design, they should say so.  

Effing LIDAR?! 

CheeseFreeze

An overall lower battery capacity, stripped 5G features in Europe and an overall modest upgrade makes me think I should wait another year. The camera however, especially on the Max, is quite impressive.

spheric

Awesome that people are still arguing about removable batteries, thirteen years later.

lkrupp

spheric said:

Awesome that people are still arguing about removable batteries, thirteen years later.

And some politicians would love to mandate user serviceable batteries once again. There have been NO real advancements in battery technology since those days. We’re constantly teased with major battery advancements but they remain lab experiments to this day. Saw a video hosted by David Pogue a couple of years ago with the inventor of the lithium ion battery. He was developing a new battery technology that prevented these batteries from bursting into flames. His prototype could be pierced with nails, smashed with a hammer and yet continued to output power with no dangerous explosions. Where is that battery today? Still in the lab I guess.

CheeseFreeze

spheric said:

Awesome that people are still arguing about removable batteries, thirteen years later.

Yes, it's more relevant than ever. It's better for the environment.

Yet, Apple is soldering a monitor to a computer and an SSD drive to a motherboard (aka the iMac 27" 2020) and touting their efforts on 'reducing its environmental impact'. This is just hypocrite behavior. They know that with a phone, people will buy newer ones faster if their battery starts degrading, and only a small percentage actually recycles.

StrangeDays

MplsP said:

lkrupp said:

MplsP said:

AppleInsider said:

In summing up the new models, iFixit suggests Apple has made "some serious design compromises" to add 5G components

This gives another example of why it makes sense to wait a year unless you absolutely need to upgrade. 

5G adds cost to the device, adds cost to your cell phone plan, adds compromises to the phone and doesn’t really give you any useful functionality over 4G. 

retrogusto said:

It seems reasonable to require a lot of work if users want to replace a broken glass back, since almost anybody would just slap a case on and forget all about it.

One doesn’t need to be able to swap a battery in a few seconds like one would for a drill, but it should be replaceable without an inordinate amount of effort and/or potentially damaging the device to get the old battery out (both of which we’ve seen in the past.)

Yes, remember the good old days when you dropped your phone and the back plate and battery flew off in different directions. It was always fun trying to retrieve them in crowded spaces like airports and hope no one stepped it and broke it.

I have plenty of devices that don’t fall apart when you drop them and yet somehow let you replace the batteries. Apparently Apple engineers don’t have any more vision of problem solving abilities than you do. 

Absurd nonsense. Of course they could build a thick brick phone with removable batteries. But that would be stupid, because their customer base has voted for the thin design of iPhones. The phones with removable batteries were "candy bar" form factor, small, but almost no screen and of very limited usefulness. I much prefer these thin pocket computers that tuck into a pocket and fade away. If you want a smartphone with a removable battery you're going to pay a price is size and bulk. I'm sure there is some Android model out there somewhere...but it's niche, limited appeal. The market doesn't want them. But you do. Get one.

StrangeDays

lkrupp said:

spheric said:

Awesome that people are still arguing about removable batteries, thirteen years later.

And some politicians would love to mandate user serviceable batteries once again. There have been NO real advancements in battery technology since those days. We’re constantly teased with major battery advancements but they remain lab experiments to this day. Saw a video hosted by David Pogue a couple of years ago with the inventor of the lithium ion battery. He was developing a new battery technology that prevented these batteries from bursting into flames. His prototype could be pierced with nails, smashed with a hammer and yet continued to output power with no dangerous explosions. Where is that battery today? Still in the lab I guess.

Therein lies the problem with "Ain't it cool!" promo vids of vaporware tech -- it doesn't really exist. They haven't solved the real problems. These PR videos exist to generate buzz and funding. 

StrangeDays

CheeseFreeze said:

spheric said:

Awesome that people are still arguing about removable batteries, thirteen years later.

Yes, it's more relevant than ever. It's better for the environment.

Yet, Apple is soldering a monitor to a computer and an SSD drive to a motherboard (aka the iMac 27" 2020) and touting their efforts on 'reducing its environmental impact'. This is just hypocrite behavior. They know that with a phone, people will buy newer ones faster if their battery starts degrading, and only a small percentage actually recycles.

Incorrect. People rarely recycle their old batteries -- they sat in drawers, got tossed into the trash, and ended up in landfill seeping heavy metals. iPhones get resold, reused, recycled. 

Same with Macs, they're highly recyclable, unlike the plastic Dell junkers that get left on the sidewalk on garbage day. 

You're just going on about things you're ignorant about, is all.