Apple's iPhone 6, Samsung's Galaxy S6 and HTC's One M9 are the current flagship smartphones of their respective companies, gaining the attention of the market.
Consumers compare these smartphones according to their specifications and features. However, one factor that is often overlooked is how easy it is to repair these devices.
Being electronic devices, there is always the possibility of the smartphones requiring repairs for different reasons. For this reason, self-repair website iFixit carried out teardowns, which is what the website calls the process of disassembling devices to check their repairability.
How easy is it to repair the iPhone 6, Galaxy S6 and One M9?
Apple iPhone 6
The iPhone 6 earned a repairability score of a respectable 7 out of a maximum of ten, due to several factors.
The display assembly of the iPhone 6 is the first component of the device to come out when disassembling, which makes it simple to carry out repairs on the screen as seen in the iPhone 5 devices. The battery of the smartphone is easy to access, but its removal will require a proprietary pentalobe screwdriver and the knowledge on the technique for removing adhesives. The process, however, is not difficult.
The cable of the fingerprint sensor has also been re-routed, which fixes a major repairability issue found in the iPhone 5s and makes the smartphone safer to disassemble. Previously on the iPhone 5s, the cable can be torn easily if the device is not carefully opened.
However, despite the apparent high repairability of the iPhone 6s, Apple does not share information on repairs to third-party shops, which increases the learning curve in making repairs.
Samsung Galaxy S6
For the Samsung Galaxy S6, iFixit did not post a repairability score, but the disassembly looked simple.
Opening the battery cover is difficult, as it is glued onto the rear housing with strong adhesive, which means that it will take some time of heating before the cover can be safely opened.
Careful disassembly is also required so as not to cause damage to the wireless charging chip and flex ribbons.
Aside from these precautions, the steps were pretty straightforward and required minimal instruments.
HTC One M9
The One M9 scored a very low 2 out of 10 from iFixit, showing that the smartphone is very difficult to repair.
The battery of the device is underneath its motherboard and glued onto the midframe, which makes it hard to replace. Replacing the display assembly of the One M9 requires going through the entire assembly of the smartphone, which makes repairing one of the most common problems - a screen replacement - very hard to carry out.
The One M9 also uses intense adhesives, which makes it very hard, and sometimes dangerous, to remove or replace certain components.
Conclusion
Pending the repairability score of the Galaxy S6, it seems that between the iPhone 6 and the One M9, the iPhone 6 is much easier to repair.
