iPhone 17 Pro Teardown Reveals Radical Redesign, Vapor Chamber, and New Battery Layout [Video]

Following the official launch of Apple's iPhone 17 Pro, the first teardown videos have surfaced, giving us a detailed look inside the completely redesigned device. The videos, from repair channels Phone Repair Guru and REWA, confirm the new aluminum unibody and reveal a radically different internal architecture that presents a new mix of challenges and opportunities for repair.

A key change with the new unibody design is that the device must now be opened from the front by removing the display, a departure from the back-glass entry of recent Pro models. While this reintroduces some risk to screen repairs, teardowns show the lower section of the back is a separate glass panel that can be replaced independently. This window is made from the original Ceramic Shield, while the front display is protected by the new, more scratch-resistant Ceramic Shield 2. A scratch test on the aluminum frame showed it held up well against keys but could be marked by harder objects like screwdrivers.




Inside, the layout has been completely reconfigured. A large metal shield covers the main components, and for the first time, the battery is attached to the back of this shield rather than directly to the housing. This adds steps to the replacement process and appears to incorporate the new vapor chamber cooling system.

The battery itself is rated at 5,112mAh for the Pro Max, confirming a previously leaked capacity, while the standard Pro gets a 3,998mAh cell. The teardowns suggest the battery uses a new electrically activated adhesive, though one video showed it failed to release as intended, forcing a manual pry.

A key finding for the repair community came when a front camera swap between two iPhone 17 Pro units was successful after being configured through Apple's software-based "Repair Assistant." This suggests that while parts remain serialized, authorized self-repairs for some components are possible.

The logic board is significantly smaller and mounted horizontally, a move that frees up space for the larger cameras and battery. It's also denser and features two extra flex connectors, making it trickier to handle. The teardowns also revealed Apple is using Torx screws for some internal components, which is unusual for an iPhone. A more integrated charging port assembly is now a single flex cable, and REWA rated its replacement as highly difficult.


Other changes of note include a substantially larger earpiece speaker and a subtle redesign of the MagSafe magnet array, which now has two cutouts in its alignment ring instead of one.

Take a look at the teardown videos below and please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for more iPhone 17 videos.