iFixit Tears Down the New 5G iPhone 12 Mini [Images]

iFixit has posted its teardown of the new iPhone 12 mini with 5G support.

The mini has landed! It’s iPhone 12 teardown time—again—and while the phone may be small, this teardown is bigger than ever. It’s so big, we had to split it into two parts! We even dished on all the chips and other 5G hardware differences between the US version and those sold to our friends in the EU. (Yes, we tore down both.)

Highlights:
● Two display cables instead of three
● A miniaturized battery, Taptic Engine, and loudspeaker
● Some migrated display silicon
● Upper sensor assembly, containing the speaker, Face ID, and sensors also got a rework
● So far, there's no sign that the mini shares the regular iPhone 12's problematic camera repair situation.
● 8.57 Wh battery
● Left and right sides of MagSafe circle have been cut off
● Qualcomm SDX55M 5G modem


Repairability Score: 6 out of 10
● The two most common smartphone repairs—display and battery—are well-prioritized here.
● Most major components are modular enough to be accessed/replaced independently.
● Specialized screws complicate repairs, but remain preferable to overuse of glue.
● Waterproofing measures make many repairs more difficult, but safeguard against (extremely difficult) water damage repairs.
● Glass covering the rear housing is fragile and impractical to replace—a single drop could necessitate replacing the entire body of the iPhone.

Check out a few images below and hit the link for the full teardown...

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