iFixit has taken on the new Apple flagship iPhone and dismantled it using every trick in the book. The differences to its predecessor are immediately apparent.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is Apple’s latest top model and, as is the tradition, it has endured complete disassembly by the repair website iFixit.
Some differences to the predecessor are immediately noticeable, while other components have remained the same.
L-shaped battery
There is an L-shaped battery in the iPhone 12 Pro Max, just as there was in the Max version of its predecessor. Apple states the battery life of the two phones to be identical – although the older model’s capacity of 15.04Wh is slightly higher than that of the newer model (14.13Wh). The fact that Apple manages to keep the battery life of the devices the same despite the power-guzzling 5G modules is probably due to a lot of hardware optimisation and the new, power-saving A14 chip.
Larger camera module
Apple announced during the iPhone keynote that the iPhone 12 Pro Max camera delivers even better performance in poor lighting and at the teardown it becomes clear why: An X-ray shows that the wide-angle lens sits on an image sensor that is 47 percent larger than that of the iPhone 12. This allows more light to enter and as a result the image quality increases in situations with poor exposure.
There are also four magnets which implement Apple’s new system for image stabilization, from which video recordings in particular benefit.
Repairability
In the Reparability Index – iFixIts assessment of how easily the device can be repaired by the consumer – the Pro Max receives a mediocre six out of ten points.
However, iFixit praises some changes in the design of the iPhone 12 Pro Max that make it easier to repair.
Sealing against water is still a major hurdle making repair processes more difficult – but it is unavoidable for an IP-certified device. Read: Is my iPhone waterproof?
iFixit also deducts points for the proprietary screws that Apple still uses that make opening an iPhone impossible without special equipment.
iFixit has also taken apart the iPhone 12 mini, and the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro.
This article originally appeared on Macwelt. Translation by Karen Haslam.