Apple iPhone 8
Taking it apart to get at the core.
Time to find out whether Apple’s merely playing numerical catch-up to Samsung’s Galaxy S8 line, or if glass backing and wireless charging warrant skipping ahead an ‘S’ upgrade.
MAJOR TECH SPECS
A11 Bionic chip, with embedded M11 motion coprocessor 64GB or 256GB onboard storage 4.7-inch IPS multitouch 1,334 x 750 (326 ppi) Retina HD display 12MP camera with f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilisation and 5x digital zoom 7MP FaceTime HD camera with f/2.2 aperture and 1080p HD recording Support for fast-charge and Qi wireless charging 802.11a/ b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC
KEY FINDINGS
Features include a solid-state home ‘button’, with Touch ID fingerprint sensor and an IPS display, similar to the one in the iPhone 7 (but now featuring True Tone). On the back, we spy the snazzy new glass backing, with its seven-layer colour finish. Apple assures us that it is reinforced with “an internal laser-welded steel and copper structure”, but time and durability tests will tell if this phone will suffer from a snap, crackle, pop — or another Bendgate. As we crack open the display, we are greeted by the display cable bracket, but instead of the cursed tri-point screws, we’re met by friendly Phillips #000 screws! We decouple a few cables — battery, display and home button — and the display is free! We note a lack of gaskets on the display’s pentalobe tabs, previously seen in the iPhone 7. However, both the iPhone 7 and 8 have an IP67 water resistance rating. A new Lightning port bracket seems to reinforce the new peach-coloured port and trap the Taptic engine. ≠ In removing this bracket, we encountered our first tri-point screw. We suspect the coloured Lightning port could be made of a heattransferring plastic to allow for safer fast-charging. We take a stab at separating the rear glass, but instead shivved our way under the reinforcement panel. After more arduous stabbing, we get the seven-layer burrito glass sandwich off the midframe. This isn’t what we thought Apple meant when it said the glass was stronger. The process left the backing plate a bit bent. Repairability Score: 6 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair). The two most commonly replaced components — ≠ display and battery — remain straightforward to access with ≠ the proper knowledge and tools. Wireless charging means less strain on your Lightning port, a common point of failure. Water and dust seals complicate repair, but make the need for difficult liquid-damage repairs less likely. The battery connector sports common Phillips/JIS fasteners — but you do need up to four different driver types for many repairs. Replacements for the glass back ≠ are likely to be very difficult to come by. The iPhone’s lower components, once readily removed, now lie trapped under a fussy combination of brackets and delicately folded ≠ flex cables.