Disassembling XS / XS Max iPhones Reveals Few Differences for X

As has become tradition, the repair firm iFixit He traveled to the other side of the world to put his hands on the new iPhones first and dismantle them first, revealing the secrets and mysteries of their interiors. Now with the XS / XS Max iPhones, the dose of discoveries is not the highest, but also keeps your surprises.

The two handsets are very similar internally and hold (as expected) high similarities to the iPhone X, but differ on one basic point: the drums. While XS Max retains the double-cell component, forming an “L” from two rectangles, the ordinary XS innovates with a “L” -shaped single-piece battery, which is very rare to see, by the way.

IFixit Unmount of New XS and XS Max iPhonesLooking closely, you can see the notch in the inner vertex of the XS battery.

The rarity is explained: battery manufacturers often choose rectangular shapes because the components in these components have to be sealed to prevent stress from thermal expansion; The fewer walls, then the simpler the construction and the safer the battery. For the iPhone XS cell, Apple has put in place some patents registered a few years ago and places, right on the “L” inner vertex, a kind of notch that has the purpose of reducing the voltage of thermal expansion; because of this notch that the XS battery has slightly less capacity than the X.

Other parts of the disassembly followed without much news: the iFixit impression that the new iPhones have the same level of resistance to open compared to the iPhone X this is not just handsets that are easily disassembled, but with a little dedication and some tools this can be done at home.

Moreover, it is interesting to note that even though the XS / XS Max was the first IP68 certified water resistance, the firm did not notice any differences in the construction of the appliances or the seal applied to doors and openings, so perhaps the iPhone X could already be stamped. this differential, but Apple decided to leave the deepest tests for the following year. Maybe to have some extra news to announce this year?

Other interesting findings include small differences in the iPhone XS Max: the vibration engine Taptic engine (which is natural, since it needs to cause movement at a higher volume) and the logic board extends slightly beyond that of the X / XS iPhones, with at least one component swapping one of the OLED panel connectors if moved to the bottom.

Ma's new smartphones bring even more components designed right there in Cupertino. We each have a new Apple own power management chip of code 338S00383-A0 (XS) and 338S00375-A1 (XS Max).

Overall, iFixit gave both handsets a score of 6 (out of 10 possible points) in their repairability index, praising the relative ease of change of the screen and battery of the new iPhones, and the fact that the front panel can be replaced. keeping Face ID components intact. The criticism, as usual, was for the use of glass surfaces on the front and the rear, and the fact that if the back of the devices breaks, it will be necessary to replace basically all of your bowels because of their construction.

That is, nothing new in front.