iFixit teardowns of Galaxy S8/S8+ show that the handsets aren't easy to repair

[midian182]

The Galaxy S8 gets its worldwide release this Friday, and reviews for the device are excellent. Barring the mysterious red tint issue experienced by some South Korean early owners, it looks to be Samsung’s most impressive smartphone to date, with many calling it the best Android device you can buy. As is the tradition with new gadgets, iFixit has performed one of its famous teardowns on both the S8 and S8+.

Much like the handsets’ predecessor, the S7 Edge, the flagship phones may be fantastic devices but repairing them is no easy feat. Both get a repairability score of 4/10; a small improvement over the S7 Edge’s 3/10.

The only positive point iFixit could find with both phones is that they contain many components that are modular and can be replaced independently. The battery, however, is not one of them.

Considering what happened with the Note 7, it’s somewhat surprising that technicians would find it difficult to remove the S8/S8+’s batteries due to the strong adhesive and glued-on rear panel. The iFixit team also discovered that the battery in the S8 Plus uses almost the same design as the one found in the Note 7, though it will have doubtlessly gone through extensive, improved testing procedures. It even has the same capacity of 3,500 mAh at 3.85 V (13.48 Wh).

With strong adhesive used on both the front and back of both phones, getting inside them is far from simple. Additionally, because the front screen is curved, replacing the glass is extremely difficult without destroying the display.

Check out the full teardown of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ on iFixit.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/69008-tifixit-teardowns-galaxy-s8s8-show-handsets-arent-easy.html

 

[Greg S]

Not surprising that it's hard to repair. The thing looks impossible to open without special tools in the first place.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Not surprising that it's hard to repair. The thing looks impossible to open without special tools in the first place.

You don't consider a 4 lb hammer, cold chisel & a crowbar to be special tools? Damn man! There's not much I can't quickly take apart using them. To me they're essential.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

It's high time Tim gets his butt into gear and gives us the nitty gritty on this device. In the meantime I'll fire up some YouTube and get some lowdown about it but it's next years S9 that I'll really be casing from top to bottom because that's going to be the device that'll be at the very top of my list when upgrade next year.

 

[ForgottenLegion]

Shocking.

 

[Timonius]

Not surprising that it's hard to repair. The thing looks impossible to open without special tools in the first place.

I used to work in a repair shop. In order to do warranty (or authentic) repairs for Samsung you had to purchase their special equipment for both opening and sealing their devices. They, like other companies, design new devices deliberately to be used with special equipment so that all purpose handypeople have a harder time with making electronics last longer than their designed obsolescence.