Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • In front of me I have the iPhone XRApple'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 batteryit 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 sensorsthree 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.

In front of me I have the iPhone XRApple's more colorful iPhone option. Today we'll be

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it