we spend a lot of time tearing down
flagship devices
but this year there were a compelling
number of mid-range devices that we
thought deserved the full teardown
treatment
so we put together a list of the most
repairable mid-range devices released in
2020
or at least the most repairable
mid-range devices that we were able to
get our hands on
while almost all of the mid-range phones
we've torn down scored a perfectly
mid-range 6 out of 10 on our
repairability scale
there was one outlier that scored lower
that outlier is the samsung a51
with the glued on plastic back cover and
both a battery and display that require
a ton of disassembly to replace
the a51 comes in at the bottom of our
list earning a 4 out of ten
but if you do decide to pick up an a51
you can take some comfort in the fact
that it only uses a single screw type
and there are quite a few modular
components
the a51 is also part of samsung's new
push to bring three years of software
updates to their phones
which is great google's pixel 4a would
have been a strong contender for one of
the most repairable phones of 2020
but some puzzling design choices killed
those hopes the screen is the first
thing to come off
and it comes off easily thanks to some
foamy adhesive like we saw in the pixel
3a
but once you get past the screen repair
gets a little tricky thanks to some
crisscross
fragile flex cables which connect the
rear case to the rest of the internals
getting your motherboard or any of the
components on the mid frame
requires some precarious positioning
during disassembly and reassembly
that doesn't mean repairs are impossible
for the foray though it still earns a
very respectable six
out of ten the screen comes off first
which makes screen repairs easy
the battery uses some pretty ingenious
pull tabs even if they are hidden
and all of the screws are standard t3
torx like samsung
google has also committed to three years
of software updates for all of their
pixel phones
including the 4a one other thing to
point out about the first two phones in
this lineup is that the rear cases are
both plastic and not
glass and though this might make them
feel cheap to some people
it actually goes a long way to improve
their durability oneplus nord has yet to
make it to the us
but our european counterparts were able
to secure one and their teardown
revealed
a fairly repairable phone not only do
you need one driver to complete a full
disassembly but most of the components
are modular and can be individually
replaced and the battery can be removed
with a decent but not perfect pull tab
combine that with the fact that oneplus
is offering replacement parts right on
their website for almost all of their
phones
and you've got a mid-range phone we can
get behind the oneplus nord is notably
the only 5g phone in this list
so if you're looking for 5g connectivity
this phone is the only option for you
and finally our top pick for the most
repairable mid-range smartphone is the
2020 iphone
se not only are the two most commonly
repaired components
the display in the battery the easiest
to replace of all the phones in the
lineup
the iphone sc also has a ton of
components that are modular and
cross-compatible with the iphone 8
which means replacement parts are
extremely easy to find and will probably
be available for a long time
on top of all of that the iphone sc has
the fastest most efficient processor of
the group
that means it will perform well for
years to come but wait there's more
no budget phone comparison would be
complete without also considering some
used and refurbished options
buying used refurbished helps keep
phones out of landfills and you can get
a great deal on an upgrade
right now you can find a refurbished
iphone 10s for about 500
on backmarket which is one of our
favorite marketplaces for buying
refurbished devices
and keep in mind that phone prices will
drop even more after the new iphone 12
comes out this fall
so even though it's a couple years old
now the iphone 10s still beats or
competes
with all the other phones on this list
and scores a respectable 6 out of 10 on
our repairability scale
and that's the end of our budget 2020
phone roundup so if you're looking for a
new smartphone
be sure to consider more than just the
price it's just as important to take
into consideration how repairable the
phone is and how long it will last
and if you're looking for more details
on any of the phones that we covered in
this roundup
we have links to the full teardown in
the description below
thanks for watching and happy fixing