Introduction
Last year’s iPhone X had a weird name and the most advanced internals we’d ever seen in a teardown. This year Apple turns it up to eleven with the bafflingly-named iPhone XS and XS Max. In a teardown first, we’re taking apart both phones simultaneously—so grab ahold of your Roman numerals and let’s get started.
Huge thanks to our friends at Circuitwise for hosting us in Sydney, Australia, where iPhones launch early and all the Apple Stores are upside-down—and to our pals at Creative Electron, for their incredible imagery and appropriate use of the letter X.
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Vidéo d'introduction
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After its complete makeover last year, the new iPhone looks very familiar—looks like we're back on a tick/tock upgrade cycle for now. Here's what we know:
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Hexa-core A12 Bionic SoC with a "next-generation" Neural Engine
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5.8" (2436 × 1125) and 6.5" (2688 × 1242) 458 ppi Super Retina OLED displays with True Tone, wide color gamut, and 3D Touch
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12 MP rear cameras (wide-angle and telephoto) with ƒ/1.8 and ƒ/2.4 apertures and OIS, and 7 MP selfie cam paired with TrueDepth FaceID hardware
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64 GB of onboard storage (256 and 512 GB optional configs)
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Gigabit-class LTE (not 5G) as well as 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi w/MIMO + Bluetooth 5.0 + NFC
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Improved dust and water resistance with an IP68 rating
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We aren't one to judge a book by its Gorilla Glass cover, but these covers don't suggest that much has changed since the last X we saw on this table.
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... Besides the luxurious gold color and the new XL size option, that is.
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Thankfully, Creative Electron gives us a sneak peek at any hidden plot twists we might be in for. (Their high-tech technique still uses X-rays, which is still pronounced "ex-rays.")
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Here we have all our
exeserm, tens lined up. -
We notice an extra antenna band has moved in where our left-side mic-hole friends used to live. Rumor has it this is for "Gigabit LTE," and it seems to make a difference.
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Our teardown engineer doubles up on the drivers, demonstrating excellent dual-driver discipline as the teardown-ing commences.
Why is the speaker holes not symetrical like the old iphone designs?
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Outil utilisé dans cette étape :iOpener$17.99
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Apple may be changing up their naming scheme, but we're glad they left the opening procedure alone.
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Our iOpener pulls double duty to soften the hidden adhesive, and then a suction handle and a halberd spudger come in to free the display.
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Though we feared Apple might pile on more adhesive to achieve that new IP68 rating, we fared no worse opening these phones than we did with ye olde IP67-rated predecessors.
Didn't you skip the part of removing the 2 screws? Proofread your stuff
Did you miss step 3?
Dillan -
Patrick, it’s in the picture of step 3. Pay attention.
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We're a little short-handed in this 2-for-1 teardown, so we called in some local muscle to help kick things off.
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It turns out lack of opposable thumbs slows things down a little, but our drivers make it so easy even a kangaroo can do it.
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With the displays out of the way, we start to notice a few differences between the XS and XS Max.
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The Taptic Engine inside the XS Max has been resized—big phone, bigger vibrations?
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The XS Max also gets an extended logic board, with one of the display connectors moved to the bottom.
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The XS battery looks weird, and new, while the XS Max battery sticks to a familiar design.
I can't with the Wikipedia hyperlink. Thanks, Taylor.
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On the hunt for signs of improved ingress proofing, we turn our attention to the largest unsealed gap in the device—the SIM card slot.
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With the topside set of peripherals dispatched, we can finally turn our attention to the most important part of every S-series iPhone—the logic board!
Will a locked US phone be able to use a sim or an esim from a second (non-US) carrier?
From Apple support:
To use two different carriers, your iPhone must be unlocked. Otherwise, both plans must be from the same carrier. If a CDMA carrier provides your first SIM, your second SIM won't support CDMA. Contact your carrier for more information.
Does the sim slot on the board have contacts on both sides that would support the dual tray if it could fit through the housing?
Why my phone shows no service but i changed to another phone , its works fine
I have a china purchased xs max and a non functional USA xsmax ,i need the esim to get multiple lines ,can i replace the china sim part and with the usa sim part and get the china esim working?
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Having seen this kind of logic board once already, we've gotten pretty good at pulling this PCB sandwich apart. Let's see what's on top of the top layer (XS on left, XS Max on right):
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Toshiba TSB3243VB5275 64 GB NAND flash storage
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Apple/Cirrus Logic 338S00248 audio codec
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Cypress CPD2104 USB-C port controller
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NXP Semiconductor CBTL1612 display port multiplexer
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Texas Instruments SN61280E battery boost converter
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Bosch Sensortec accelerometer/gyroscope
Question: What the hack happened to the first pictures Kondensators on the right site? Was it like this when you got it?
melting a circuit board apart is hard, and stuff gets shifted.
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Computer, zoom in and enhance the under-side of the top board:
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Apple APL1W81 A12 Bionic SoC layered over Micron MT53D512M64D4SB-046 4 GB LPDDR4X SDRAM
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STMicroelectronics STB601A0 power management IC (possibly for Face ID)
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3x Apple/Cirrus Logic 338S00411 audio amplifiers, two for stereo and one for haptics
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Apple/Dialog Semiconductor 338S00383-A0 power management IC
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Apple 338S00456 power management IC
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Apple/Dialog Semiconductor 338S00375 system power management IC
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Texas Instruments SN2600B1 battery charger IC
Any ideas how the dual SIM support (physical SIM’s) will work for the China only model? In the presentation Phil stated the two SIM’s would be held in the carrier back to back.
For all the other’s I assume the eSIM would have the ability to support two SIM codes on the Xs. And on the Xs Max one physical and one eSIM is that correct?
It looks like one SMT Component was placed a little skewed in the upper left corner?
I'll bet that capacitor shifted while separating the top board.
who are Dialog Systems?
Dialog https://www.dialog-semiconductor.com/
Dialog used to provide PMIC for Apple iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and iPod. Apple processor-based system always uses Dialog’s PMIC solution. But, from iPhone XS Max, seems, Apple starts to uses its own design on PMIC just as Dialog said that before. refer to https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc...
JJ Wu -
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Digging a little deeper, we find the RF board (XS on left, XS Max on right):
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Apple/USI 339S00551 (XS) and 338S00540 (XS Max) WiFi/Bluetooth SoC
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Intel PMB9955 (likely XMM7560) baseband processor/modems
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ST Microelectronics ST33G1M2 32 bit MCU with ARM SecurCore SC300
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NXP 100VB27 (SN100V) NFC controller
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Broadcom BCM59355A wireless charging module
which one is the gps chip?
intel modem supports GNSS feature. It won’t have discrete GNSS chip in the iPhone XS.
JJ Wu -
Why would the modems be different between the two phones?
At least I’m glad Apple is finally selling one model of iPhone Xs/Xs Max for all carriers in the U.S. although I would prefer they had a Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 instead. The whole mess with Qualcomm chips on one model (A1865) and Intel chips on another (A1901) on the X last year was quite a childish call from Apple, IMO.
Does iphone xs max launched in china and hong kong have embedded sim with yellow marked?
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RF board part two:
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Avago AFEM-8092M high/mid band power amplifier duplexer (PAD)
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Murata 500 4x4 MIMO duplexer
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Skyworks 206-15 and 170-21 power amplification modules
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Intel PMB5762 RF transceiver
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Skyworks S775 RF switch
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Skyworks 5941 GPS low-noise amplifiers
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Intel PMB6829 power management IC
Whats happening with those caps in the centre top?
It stands for power amplifier duplexer—I updated the teardown with it spelled out.
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Time to talk cameras! The S-year often comes with a camera upgrade, and Apple had a lot to say about these new sensors.
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The wide-angle sensor size has been increased by 32%.
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Pixel size has also been bumped, bringing better low-light performance and contributing to the new "Smart HDR" feature.
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There was one thing Apple forgot to mention about the new camera: all that 32% had to go somewhere, and it turns out the camera bump had to grow a little—your iPhone X case may not fit your iPhone XS.
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Teardown Update: We did a little testing, and the XS and XS Max camera modules appear to be identical—meaning you can swap the same camera between models with no problem.
What are the dimensions of the new vs old camera modules?
And what make and type have they used please
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After dissecting the brains and the eyes, we take a look at the brawn powering these phones.
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The XS packs a 10.13 Wh battery (2,659 mAh at 3.81 V), weighing 39.5 g—slightly downgraded from last year's X.
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But this decrease in capacity comes with a wild new battery configuration. Rather than using two cells to fill this L-shaped recess, Apple has constructed an all-new single-cell battery.
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The XS Max battery unsurprisingly comes out on top capacity-wise, with 12.08 Wh (3,179 mAh at 3.80 V), and weighing 46.6 g. No single-cell here, though!
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Let's take a deep dive into Apple's battery origami:
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Since 2015 when the 12" MacBook was announced with a terraced battery, Apple has increasingly sought to take advantage of every bit of space in the chassis of their devices using contoured batteries.
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These patents show solutions they have found to get around tricky problems like thermal expansion, using different layer sizes and precisely folding electrode sheets cut into complex shapes to fit those contours.
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The extra corners and edges of the single-cell battery in the XS will be prone to extra stress—it will be interesting to see how this new battery performs as it ages.
The single L shape has me concerned. Especially in low degree countries where temporal heat plus use could make expansion an issue. How did they manage to reinforce the 90 degree angle so as to not break the line and cause a runaway?!?
Maybe some crazy could dissect the battery and see what they did
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What was revolutionary last year is quickly becoming standard equipment—both the XS and the XS Max come equipped with a sensor array for Apple's fancy Face ID technology.
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Time to fish out the noisemakers! The Taptic engine and loudspeaker come out in an assembly, but easily separate for modular replacement.
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Speaking of same, the earpiece speaker assemblies match almost identically across the XS and XS Max, with just a bit of extra speaker volume for Max.
Nice to have more FPC connectors.
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As we scrape the bottom of the phone we find some tasty display chips, and a barrel of tiny cables in the body.
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It looks like the rear glass is still sandwiched between the camera bump and the frame with dozens of tiny welds.
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Our synchronized two-phone teardown has come to a tidy conclusion.
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We suspect this marks the beginning of a new era in iPhone battery design—the carefully contoured single-cell concept is limited to the smaller XS for now, but we expect to see it again soon. iPhone XR, perhaps?
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Huge thanks again to our gracious hosts at Circuitwise in Sydney, Australia, and to our best buds over at Creative Electron for their stunning X-ray photography.
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Oh, and one more thing: it's time to assign an overall repairability score.
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- Critical display and battery repairs remain a priority in the iPhone's design.
- A broken display can be replaced without removing the biometric Face ID hardware.
- Liberal use of screws is preferable to glue—but you'll have to bring your Apple-specific drivers (Pentalobe and tri-point) in addition to a standard Phillips.
- Waterproofing measures complicate some repairs, but make difficult water damage repairs less likely.
- Glass on front and back doubles the likelihood of drop damage—and if the back glass breaks, you'll be removing every component and replacing the entire chassis.
Dernières pensées
Indice de réparabilité
(10 étant le plus facile à réparer)
94 commentaires
This phone is really similar to the X, but the battery thing is interesting.
I'm guessing they are released a little earlier in New Zealand than Australia, I'm surprised you don't go there to tear them down?
They did! they where in Sydney, Australia
Dan -
But they were beaten to the punch by a Dutch company because the provider started to sell the devices 1 day too early
FD Tech -
iFixit still is the #1 on teardown - the Dutch guys were first, but no way as detailed as iFixit guys always are.
Why Xs and Xs Max have different types of battery?
Slightly different phones. I’d think the two piece of the max, a larger and thus hotter display, is actually safer.
Wonder how long it takes to charge that XS Max battery on the included 5W brick (it’s not 12/5 exactly, since it slows down towards the last 20%). Come on now Apple, it’s time to include fast chargers.
Considering there is three stages of charging 5w 12w and USBC brick USBC to lighting , At least the could supply the abundant 12 watt chargers. I Also always felt ripped off on this. All I could put it down to was space saving in the packaging for the short changing
Considering the battery brouhaha I find it not surprising at all - after all, faster charging creates higher heat which can result in premature battery death.
vernea -
Is the display from LG or Samsung? They still using the modem from Qualcomm? Thanks
I was wondering the same thing on the display.
The modems are intel
Dillan -
LG makes Apple screens buddy, the days of Samsung and Apple for screens been over since 2017 - as well as Apple & Qualcomm for modems - they are all at “war” - all modems are made by Intel, even though Intel modems can’t beat Qualcomm, nor LG’s screens cant beat Samsung.
I guess like last year Samsung. In the Oled segment Samsungs ycreens aren't as likely to burn in.
XS displays are from Samsung, XS-Max are from LG, but they are both designed by Apple. Apple actually uses their own OLED display design and I’m not talking about the dimensions, I’m talking about the actual display technology. Apple’s just using Samsung and LG to mfg. Apple’s display designs.
To mbc2302000,
This is incorrect.
The manufacturing process of OLEDs is extremely complicated and the underlying technology of the display comes from the manufacturer so that customers can benefit from economies of scale. This is why Apple is never specific about the technology behind the display except using the word “custom” because they are neither the designer of the technology nor the inventor; they are merely the customer and do not understand the technology (But they sure love tricking their customers into thinking they played a role in the tech’s development.
Apple just picks which display they want to buy and customize it a bit like how you would customize a pizza from dominos. None of the customizations are about the underlying technology; it’s just simple things like dimensions and color gamut.
The display from Samsung’s AMOLED, it is the best smart-phone display in the world before S10 at the next year, but modems are intel,beacuse the lawsuit between Apple & Qualcomm,i think.
Are the XS and the X screens interchangeable? Or did apple make enough of a change to make them different?
I am wondering the same!
the screens are not interchangeable b/c the size dimensions are different - 5.8” vs 6.5” screen sizes
Troy - re-read the question. Brandon said X & XS - they are both 5.8
I believe they are as I counted the number of pins for the display Connectors. They both match up evenly. The OLED connector has 17 pins and the Digitizer Connector has 14 pins on both phones (X and Xs) .Ovousally the X and XS Max wont work because of size differences, but the X and Xs should work. The only reason these screens wont work together is if apple put some software implication to stop users from switching the screens out.
Yes, you can see this on the product page.
Hmm. Sorry I was asking about the wifi antennas. The LTE sure has 4x4 antennas. But the wifi is still only 2x2!
DheerajR -
Is the new Broadcom GPS receiver with up to 30 cm precision in the iPone? This would be a very, very big deal.
I think it isnt the Broadcom 47755 or iFixIt would of called it out. iFixIt team, can you please let us know what the GPS chip is. Thanks.
Carl -
intel modem supports GNSS feature. It won’t have discrete GNSS chip in the iPhone XS.
JJ Wu -
From what I can find the L5 signal is still considered pre-operational as it won't have full coverage for several years due to the delay in Block III deployment. While I was also hoping for the same chip I can understand is not being a priority if the system won't be fully deployed until the iPhone 12 or 12s at the earliest.
I also wonder why modems are different on each board, different Intel part numbers…
Intel modems might be decent, definitely cheaper than Qualcomm, but they no way as fast or come near to being fast as Qualcomm ones.
No. Apple NEVER lets you get away with using previous year phone parts in the current year’s phones!! HAH!
Already did, the iPhone SE uses the display of 5S
I believe they are as I counted the number of pins for the display Connectors. They both match up evenly. The OLED connector has 17 pins and the Digitizer Connector has 14 pins on both phones (X and Xs) .Ovousally the X and XS Max wont work because of size differences, but the X and Xs should work. The only reason these screens wont work together is if apple put some software implication to stop users from switching the screens out !
It was stated that iPhone XS uses Micron MT53DS12 LPDDR4X SDRAM but not the amount. What was the amount?
Pretty certain I read the XS and XS Max have 4GB, and the XR will have 3GB.
iPhone XS Max: 3,174mAh / 4GB RAM
iPhone XS: 2,658mAh / 4GB RAM iPhone X: 2,716mAh / 3GB RAM
iPhone XR: 2,942mAh / 3GB RAM iPhone 8 Plus: 2,675mAh / 3GB RAM
information found on The Verge
eric -
It wasn’t stated on the teardown when I first posted, until now. And I never take rumors to be true until I see it in a tear down.
Josh -
Can you give us the measurement of the camera sensors? Everyone is saying 32% larger but I’d love to know the specific sensor sizes. Thank you!
How did this score better than the Note 9?!! Is there a bit of apple bias here? Considering that iFixit is the company that complains about pentalobe, tripoint, etc, it would seem like you give apple higher scores than warranted?
Note9 Assembly is glued shut, and harder to open (plus the display is virtually irreplaceable) whereas on the iPhone, its a way easier process to open up the device, and replace the display
^What Andrew said. It’s true pentalobes and tri-points are a bummer compared to standard screw types, but any screw is vastly preferable to glue. The two most common phone repairs are screens and batteries, and Apple’s designs make those repairs easy compared to late-model Samsungs.
No USB3.0 Data Speed again. Still USB 2.0
That’s the first thing I looked for when I got my XS Max lol
Love this so much! Thanks, Guys! My FixIt addiction has temporarily been fixed!
:)
Where are the new stereo microphones located on the exterior?
Does the iPhone X screen fit the Xs ?
I did the work my self (sorta) Please test out to confirm this.
I believe they are as I counted the number of pins for the display Connectors. They both match up evenly. The OLED connector has 17 pins and the Digitizer Connector has 14 pins on both phones (X and Xs) .Ovousally the X and XS Max wont work because of size differences, but the X and Xs should work. The only reason these screens wont work together is if apple put some software implication to stop users from switching the screens out.
Seems to be a lot more room for a headphone jack….
Ya I thought there would be one of you guys here. You realize no ones changing there mind even if you don’t buy there phone in protest, Right? Millions other will just buy it, cause they don’t give a crap about moving away from the past as you so pathetically continue to hold onto.
So keep complaining little one it means nothing to anyone, but it is funny for those self aware enough to laugh at your stupidity. In thinking anyone would change because your pathetic ass told them too. You won’t ever have that power but keep trying, it makes for an adorable scene thats for sure.
You mean if iFixit will be able to sell replacements likely yes but since its the OLED variant it will take time for them to get quality replacements out. Just be patient and don’t break your XS series phone that quick. lol
Are there any differences in the FaceID Sensors compared with the X? Still a STM ToF sensor and TI Flood Illuminator?
Same thing I was wondering, from this tear down it seems like there is no Flood Illuminator. @ValinV
The flood illuminator is mounted to the display, same as on iPhone X. It’s on the same flex as the ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and earpiece speaker.
M12 Motion Co processor? It seems like Apple forgot about this chip this year.
It is integrated inside of the A12 SoC.
Can someone please post what the BOM cost is or Bare materials cost. For both models of course we had it for them last year but no one seems to be talking about it hear or anywhere. So ya that info would be much appreciated
thanks
Charging coil is now made of copper for efficiency and shorter charging times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdMV7c0e...
Why didn’t iFixit include this?
Hello friend, many times the guides of iFixit shows the most acecible and primordial of the team in the disarmament guides, without detracting from the contributions of the users which are very important for the iFixit community of repair, we appreciate your very important contribution Thank you very much for your feedback.
Miguel -
Thanks you all for your work.
I have just a comment : the stereo tracks seems to be reversed on Youtube videos with 2 girls on “iPhone XS Max Teardown LIVE with BEER!”
It was rumoured that the 512GB iPhones will have more RAM than the lower versions. Is this true?
Nothing about the new wireless charging coil changes?
Can iPhone Xs rear camera fit on the X? Assuming we also change the camera glass bump.?
Anyone able to confirm if displays can be swapped with any loss of functionality? IE Face ID breaking or loss of ALS?
Have you guys given up answering questions? Usually you’re quick to respond! Does the FaceID/TrueDepth look to be the same as in the X? TechInsights is claiming that there are new components, but the pictures don’t necessarily justify that…
@nostrathomas We didn’t tear down the individual Face ID components (nor did we on last year’s model), so we can only speculate. There certainly don’t look to have been any major changes. I would guess the increased speed is mainly thanks to the A12/neural engine rather than changes to the Face ID hardware itself.
Hi you all. As i dont find any hint about this.
Step 7 Logic Board 1. Picture: What the hack happened Kondensators on the right site? Was it like this when you got it? As you clearly see there are huge soldering issues. Usually i exspect this failures when design is not optimized for SMD Oven. But i hope that 1. ppl on ifixit had to apply a lot of heat (up to 270°) or 2. this Iphone was not working before and therefore was taken for a teardown?
Would love to get some clarification on that. Thanks !
Hi Jan! That bit of carnage was our fault, and not a manufacturing issue. We’re a small team trying to get a lot done in a very compressed timeframe, and sometimes we slip up! Nothing to worry about, just got clumsy separating the board layers. We have a better procedure in place so that shouldn’t happen next time. Thanks for keeping a sharp eye!
What was the final Beer Time!?!
Can you teardown XS and XS Max battery(pcb part only) too ? I really wonder how apple handles dual cell battery pack. As far as i know dual cell will have dual resistance profile so you cant handle it with single Fuel Gauge. According to XRay there seems 3 wlcsp chips. So maybe 2 piece fuel gauge and 1 controller to merge cell states (voltage , remaining capacity etc.) to single I2C or HDQ line. I really wonder this
Curious about the size of the depth sensor & camera assembly. Slim enough to fit into a macbookpro screen as frontfacing?
If so, I wonder why they kept it out of the new airs.
Will a iPhone 8 motherboard work with a iPhone XS Max if hook camera up too
Anyone know where the Apple Pay Chipset is located at?
Is there anyway I can convert my iPhone XS to an iPhone XS Max. I am thinking about purchasing a cloud locked iPhone XS Max if I’m able to input the necessary XS hardware into the XS Max. What hardware would I need to take out of my XS if this does work? Can’t find information on this anywhere.
Can you repair the front screen and the back glass?
Ok what are the screw driver sizes needed for the XR cause the ones I bought that came with the screen from you guys is the wrong one an I can not for the life if me find what size is actually needed please help
Hello! If you think you got the wrong screwdriver size from us, please contact our customer support and we will get it sorted for you! To work on the XR, you will need a Pentalobe P2, Tri-point Y000, and Phillips #000. You can find all of our iPhone XR guides here.
Were you guys able to figure out the vibration frequency (Hz) of the taptic engine? Looking for this info everywhere but I can’t find it.
If xs turn into iphone xs max, will it work?
Where is the proper teardown instructions? The details of bolts and how to remove each modules? Why has it become so simplistic and entertainment-centric, what it once used to be a great resource for repairs? Am I the only one feeling that the teardowns have become dumbed down?
These are not “steps” as they do not contain any valid instructions, it’s misleading. Should be named “tour of iPhone components” instead.
Hi! You're right—iFixit teardowns are educational first-looks into a device, so in a way it is a "tour of the iPhone components". For actual details on how to remove and replace components, you should look to our guides instead!
my flashlight and camera stop working, what could be the problem? I have replaced the camera multple times but i dont think thats the problem
what is the material of the tray and volume buttons?
Is the screen made by Samsung or LG
Johan Khan - Réponse
You people wrongly understood the ip rating , 2 metres in a narrow tube can’t make a commendable pressure to break through the ingress protection. Same will not withstand in a higher volume tank or pond where the pressure is relatively higher than this thinner tube
Jacob C - Réponse
I have this phone and forgot it was on my patio table when I lightly hosed it off, it barely got wet and there was no water under the cover but then bright green lines appeared on the screen from top to bottom, it shut itself off and won’t turn back on. Used blow dryer lightly, left it in rice, tried to force restart but phone does not respond to anything, its completely dead. On youtube it’s submerged in water and they get it to work. Mine barely got wet and it’s dead.
julie halliburton - Réponse
Same for me …. and that’s when Face ID stopped working
nkivell -
My Face ID doesn’t work anymore on my Xs , told unfixable by apple
nkivell - Réponse