so is the next generation of iPhone
really worth the 8 I just upgraded from
an iPhone 5 to an iPhone 7 plus just
under a year ago and there's no way that
I'm gonna upgrade anytime soon something
tells me that the iPhone 8 plus is
really just suspect bum 7 plus but you
never know what you might find until you
get inside so let's get this teardown
started and find out episode the iPhone
8 plus was microscopically sealed to
which we said challenge accepted the
opening procedure hasn't changed much
from the 7 plus and has promised the 8
plus is loaded with adhesives and rubber
gaskets to protect your phone from water
and dust down to the microscopic level
but the iPhone 8 plus is just as
water-resistant as the 7 plus with an IP
rating of 67 which still doesn't beat
the galaxy s 8 IP 68 score so to remove
the display I first got to remove this
bracket I'm happy to see that there
aren't any triploid screws in here like
there were in the 7 plus but it looks
like we're gonna have to deal with those
later on the display on the iPhone 8
plus has the same resolution in pixel
density as the iPhone 7 plus but the 8
plus now has true tone technology which
makes it easier for you to read what's
on your screen in bright sunlight the
true tone technology works at the
ambient light sensors in the 8 to detect
the color temperature of the lighting
around you and then changes the color
temperature of the display to match
Apple's website literally says that the
charging capacity of the iPhone 8 plus
battery is about the same as the iPhone
7 plus but what we're really excited
about are these four pull-tab adhesive
strips that should help you easily
remove the battery if and when you need
to replace it I didn't have such good
luck with the adhesive strips on the
iPhone 8 hopefully have a little better
luck of these next this time
[Music]
well apparently my luck has run out I
had to pull tabs break off before I
could even start pulling them one that
broke off mid pole and one that was a
relative success if this happens to you
you might have to pull out your tweezers
to dig out the adhesive and if that
doesn't work you're gonna have to resort
to heating and prying I'm gonna use my
tweezers to try to get these things out
one more time
let's see what happens so I had to
resort to a little heating and trying to
get the battery out but what I ended up
with was a three point eight two volt mm
691 milliamp hour cell providing ten
point two eight watt hours of power to
remove the two rear facing cameras we
had to remove to try points one Phillips
and a stand off screw the pair of 12
megapixel cameras are fixed together so
that way the software useful portrait
mode can combine the images from both
lenses the dual cameras on the iPhone
eight have the same number of megapixels
as the iPhone 7 plus but more megapixels
isn't necessarily better the sensor
here's the key the 12 megapixel sensor
provides eighty percent more light and
is more power efficient than in the
previous model removing the logic board
is a bit of a mini mission you've got
tons of cables and brackets and Phillips
screws and Apple has seemed to fall in
love with the stand off screw they even
included a hidden one in there for you
to find but once you find that when the
logic board lifts right out we've got
the full chip ID over on the teardown
but on it you'll find the a11 Bionic
chip which feels directly aimed at
augmented reality remember not too long
ago when you could swap your speaker
without first removing the logic board
we remember how about when you could
remove the taptic engine without first
removing the speaker yep we remember
that - while we're happy that many
components form a modular the new layout
and placement seems like a near
impossible game of pick-up sticks so the
new glass pack is interesting not only
is it home to the qi wireless charging
coil but underneath the coil is the
Apple logo that's embedded in the
middle of the glass so minor scratches
well far the logo at all backing the
glass is a metal frame that provides
structural support and should make it
more durable based on Apple's patent
filings I think they might be using some
kind of liquid metal nano coating which
would be pretty sweet but unfortunately
we don't have the equipment to verify
that but regardless of whether they're
using liquid metal the back is glass and
it's going to break as you can see here
here and here
repairability for this phone is more
important than any phone since the
iPhone 4s which is why we've got one
more thing the score the iPhone 8 plus
earned a 6 out of 10 on our
repairability scale and here's why the
display and battery are straightforward
to access with the proper knowledge and
tools wireless charging means less wear
on the all purpose lightning port a
common point of failure water and dust
seals complicate repair but make the
need for difficult liquid damage repairs
less likely the battery connector still
uses common Phillips JIS fasteners but
you'll still need up to four different
drivers for many repairs and despite
alleged durability the back glass is
breakable and next to impossible to
replace when cracked and lastly the
iPhones lower components once readily
removed now light trapped under a fussy
combination of brackets and delicately
folded flex cables so was the iPhone 8
plus everything you thought it would be
all of our Apple tear downs are just
getting started so if you haven't
already click that subscribe button
follow us on Twitter at iFixit and give
us a like on facebook at facebook.com
slash iFixit we'll see you soon
[Music]