The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are among Apple’s most repairable iPhones in recent years. The company made several internal design changes to make battery replacements and component swaps easier.
The changes will allow you to seamlessly swap the TrueDepth camera system between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro without issues.
New tech in iPhone 16 makes battery replacement easier
Slowly but steadily, and likely due to regulatory pressure from the European Union, Apple made its iPhones more repair-friendly in recent years. It made several internal changes to make the iPhone 15 Pro more repairable. However, parts pairing meant only Apple could carry out these repairs.
Apple is making further improvements in this area with the iPhone 16 series. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus debut a new way to remove the battery. A new “ionic liquid battery adhesive” holds the battery in place. Apple claims you can loosen the adhesive with a low-voltage electrical current, something that even a 9V cell can provide. This should make battery replacement on the iPhone 16 faster and less cumbersome. Interestingly, reports of Apple working on this technology to make iPhone battery replacement easier first popped up in late June this year.
While the TrueDepth Camera on Apple’s newest iPhones remains unchanged from their predecessors, it is now swappable. Apple revealed to Engadget that you can swap the parts between the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro without issues. Previously, only Apple technicians could do this.
Another significant repair-friendly change is that Apple’s technicians can now repair the iPhone 16 Pro’s LiDAR scanner if needed.
Repair Assistant and on-device device diagnostics
To make part replacement easier and end part pairing woes, Apple is introducing Repair Assistant. It will allow you and third-party repair technicians to configure new parts directly on the device. Previously, this required contacting Apple technicians.
Lastly, iOS 18 introduces on-device diagnostics for repairs, allowing you to identify which faulty component on your iPhone needs replacement.
Individually, all these repair-focused changes might not seem like a big deal. But they all point to Apple taking a more repair-friendly approach to iPhone designs.
