iFixit Teardown of the Gold iPhone 5s [Photos]

iFixit has begun its traditional teardown of the gold iPhone 5s.

An iPhone release means a trip to the future—the iFixit teardown crew has traveled 17 hours forward in time to get the iPhone 5s early.

Highlights:
● Apple continues the everlasting trend of locking users out with pentalobular screws.
● At the bottom of the phone, a cable connects the Touch ID sensor in the home button to the Lightning port assembly.
● Perhaps the "s" in 5s stands for "stuck," as in "this battery is stuck in with a lot of glue," or "I hope you didn't want to replace your battery, you're going to be stuck with this one."
● The 3.8V-5.92Wh-1560mAh battery in our 64Gb gold unit is manufactured by Desay Battery Co., Ltd in Huizhou, China.
● It appears different units sport different battery manufacturers; our 16Gb "space-gray" spare comes to us from Simplo Technology Inc.
● Murata 339S0205 (based on the Broadcom BCM4334) Wi-Fi module.
● Apple A7 APL0698 SoC (based on this MacRumors post, the markings F8164A1PD indicate the RAM is likely 1GB)
● Qualcomm MDM9615M LTE Modem
● As we search for a much-anticipated M7 coprocessor, we begin to wonder if it actually is a separate IC, or if it is additional functionality built into the A7. Maybe the "M" stands for "magical," the M7 is invisible, and Apple does use pixie dust to hold the device together. Or perhaps the "M" stands for "marketing"…


iPhone 5s Repairability: 6 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
● Just like in the iPhone 5, the display assembly is the first component out of the phone, simplifying screen replacements.
● The battery is still fairly easy to access, even though it's not technically "user replaceable."
● The battery has lost the 5's convenient pull tab, and gained more resilient adhesive—it now requires heat and prying to remove.
● The fingerprint sensor cable could be easily ripped out of its socket if a user is not careful while opening the phone.
● The iPhone 5s still uses Pentalobe screws on the exterior, making the 5s difficult to open.
● The front glass, digitizer, and LCD are all one component, thereby increasing cost of repair.

Take a look at a few photos below or hit the link for the full teardown.

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