With just a day until the Samsung Galaxy S7 goes on sale, you’ll want to give this a read.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 is very difficult to repair, it turns out. The prolific tinkerers at iFixit have had their way with the new handset, and they weren’t impressed with how the handset is put together.
Consequently, the Galaxy S7 got a paltry repairability score of 3/10, which means it’s a tough cookie to crack.
What’s more, that’s a worse rating than the 7/10 achieved by Apple’s iPhone 6S, which launched last September.
Check out the teardown video below:
Related: Samsung Galaxy S8
So what is it that makes the Galaxy S7 hard to repair? A multitude of reasons:
1. Hard-to-reach battery
“Unlike the S6 Edge, the battery can be removed without first ousting the motherboard, but tough adhesive and a glued-on rear panel make replacement more difficult than necessary.”
2. Fixing USB port is risky
“The display needs to be moved and likely destroyed if you want to replace the USB port.”
3. Extreme crackability
“Front and back glass make for double the crackability, and strong adhesive on the rear glass makes it very difficult to gain entry into the device.”
4. Replacing glass is difficult
“Replacing the glass without destroying the display is probably impossible.”
It’s not all bad though. The iFixit team note that “many components are modular and can be replaced independently”.
Do you give two hoots about repairability? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
