In front of me I have the iPhone XR – Apple's
more colorful iPhone option. Today we'll be taking apart the Fluorescent Peach color,
and see what battery and screen replacements look like. The XR has the same basic guts
as the iPhone XS we took apart a couple weeks ago, but it's still good to see the insides
of each model. Let's get started. [Intro] Like with every other iPhone for the past
8 years, we encounter 2 proprietary pentalobe screws holding the screen and the aluminum
frame together.
Once those are out and set to the side in an organized fashion, it's
time to warm up the screen to soften the ip67 waterproofing around the edges. I'll use a
large suction cup to lift up on the screen while sliding my metal pry tool between the
metal edge of the phone and the plastic buffer of the screen. The adhesive runs along both
sides of the display. The important thing to remember while slicing is that there are
fragile ribbon cables very close to the top and right sides of the phone. I'll pull down gently on the glass and the
top of the screen unlatches from the phone frame. And the whole thing folds open, revealing
the same basic design we've been seeing in all the iPhone for the past few years with
minor variations in screw placement and complexity. I'll remove the metal plate over the LCD screen
connectors with it's 2 y triple zero screws.
Then I'll take off the plate over the battery
connector with it's 3 screws. I'll unplug the battery – it just unclips like a little
Lego. And then unplug each of the 2 ribbons running to the LCD. There's one more metal
plate over the earpiece connector. This has 5 screws: 3 y triple zero, and 2 Philips head.
If you're keeping track, that's 3 different screwdrivers we've needed so far just to remove
the screen. Thanks Apple. I'll dig deeper into the screen itself in
a second, but the good news is that the XR LCD will be much cheaper to replace than the
OLED screens of the X and XS by hundreds of dollars.
Now for the battery. The replacement seems
easy enough still. Apple's always been pretty good about putting in solid pull tabs under
the battery. These things are like magic. As they stretch out, they literally lose all
the grip on the battery – defying science and gravity at the same time.
There are 2 more pull tabs up at the top. These ones are a bit harder to grip, but
still have the same satisfying results. If one does happen to break, it's almost easier
to grab the remains and start pulling again, because prying the battery out manually is
a bit on the dangerous side since punctures are fatal to batteries. We try to avoid that. Finally the battery is released from inside
the phone. This is a 2900 milliamp little guy. I'll try linking replacements in the
video description as they become available. Up top we have the front facing camera, face
scanner and dot projector over there on the far right. Let's take a quick look at the
rear camera while we're here.
Two more screws, one of which is a stand off. This brings us
to 4 different types of screws in one single phone, and we've barely started taking it
apart. Apple does not want people messing around in here. With the metal plate off to the side, we can
unplug and pull out the camera unit – a 12 megapixel sensor with optical image stabilization.
This thing is a unit. The large surface area of the sensor is probably what helps the iPhones
maintain such good image quality. I'll put the camera back into place and plug it in
and get that metal bracket situated over top. Now let's take a look at the LCD display.
Yeah, it's resolution is quite a bit behind the times, but one massive perk of having
an LCD display over an OLED is the replacement pricing. Apple will probably charge you an
arm and a leg either way, but you can get a third part replacement for last year's iPhone
8 for $30 right now because it's an LCD.
Last year's iPhone X OLED replacement is $200.
Quite a big price difference. LCDs like the one here on the XR are way cheaper when it
comes to replacing. The back glass though still costs $399 to replace, and can only
be done through Apple. There were 4 screws holding down the earpiece
and front sensors – three were Phillips head and one was a y triple zero. Apple's
keeping us on our toes. These front earpiece contraptions are pretty simple. I'll link
as many parts as I can in the description, along with the tools I've been using.
Now that the screen is assembled, we can start
putting the whole thing back together to make sure it still turns on after all of our tinkering.
New battery replacements will come with their own adhesive, but I'll just use a little bit
of double sided tape for right now. The battery is set in place, but before I plug it in,
I'll get everything else connected, starting with the upper earpiece ribbon and working
my way down to the 2 LCD ribbons. And lastly, plugging in the battery. I'm always taking
very special care not to put any stress on the ribbon cables. They are about as fragile
as a piece of paper, and can tear pretty easily. There are 3 more brackets going in over the
battery, the screen ribbons, and the last one goes up top with it's 5 screws. Seriously
though, colored phones are a fantastic idea. The bright colors are a nice change of pace
from the normal boring, dull looking colors we see everywhere else. The top edge of the screen tucks back into
the frame first, and then gently sets down along both sides, finishing off with the final
2 pentalobe screws at the bottom.
And there we have it. Yeah, it's overpriced now at the
launch, but down the road, replacement parts for the XR will be much cheaper than the XS,
which is nice. For some reason Apple still isn't selling any cases for the XR right now,
so be gentle if you own one of these. The back panel still costs $400 to fix. Let me know if you have any questions in the
comments, and come hang out with me on Twitter and Instagram. Thanks a ton for watching.
I'll see you around..