When the devices’ parts are glued together, repairing them is a nightmare.
These days, smartphones are already an essential part of human life. We use it as a companion in our everyday lives. We bring it everywhere we go which makes it prone to damages and accidents. But it’s okay because it can get repaired. However, not all gadgets are created equal.
iFixit, the popular resource for anything gadget repair and maintenance related issues, has teared down tons of handsets this year. They rate these smartphones a score between 1 to 10, based on several factors.
Without further ado, here’s the list of 2016 smartphones based on repairability.
As you can see, it’s certainly not a good year for Samsung. Not only because of the worldwide recall of the Galaxy Note 7, but also for the repairability scores that their handsets got. The Note 7 got a score of 4 while the S7 got the lowest rating – 3. Fortunately, both the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have been well received by the consumers despite some issues that it encountered along the way.
Topping the list is LG’s flagship smartphone G5 with the score of 8 out of 10. It’s actually no surprise given its modular design which is easier to tear apart than most phones, but it’s an interesting feat nonetheless. Despite the high score in repairability, it didn’t translate to sales as the Korean still struggled to compete in the high-end market.
The iPhone 7 / Plus and Google Pixel / XL came in tied at 2nd place with a rating of 7. The iPhone 5S reincarnation SE was third in the list because its battery and screen are also fairly easy to replace. Official service centers usually charge an arm and leg to repair a gadget, so having a high repairability score is an added peace of mind to those who don’t mind to do the fixing themselves.
Hopefully, mobile manufacturers would make smartphones easier to repair in 2017.
Source: iFixit