All the hype going on right now is about the new iPhone 4, all the great new features, and Apple raising the bar a notch to its competition.
We received our FULL, circuit board included, iPhone 4 quite early this morning and rather than playing with all the new features, we tore it down to its bare components. How it comes apart and gets put back together is determines the iPhone repair process and that’s what really excites us.
First thing we noticed is how solid it felt. It feels heavier, and definitely more durable (feels is the key word here).
Taking the back cover off reveals a battery, like most other phones on the market today. This battery actually comes out with ease. The iPhone 4 is manufactured in a way that is opposite of the 3G, and 3Gs, but similar to the original 2G iPhone. Let me explain what I mean here….
iPhone 2G/iPhone 4 – In the manufacturing process, the Glass is the first part that is assembled to the chassis/frame, followed by the internals, and last the battery then the back cover.
iPhone 3G/iPhone 3Gs – The back cover is the first part assembled, then battery followed by the internals. The glass is the last part that goes in.
With iPhone 4 Repair for screen damage, this makes the process a bit more difficult, time consuming, and costly as the iPhone needs to be completely torn down to change out the glass.
After removing the battery we moved on to other iPhone 4 parts, we removed the lower speaker, charging port, and gently removed the logic board. With the logic board removed, you have access to the cameras, power button, ear piece speaker, volume controls and all the screws that hold the screen in place. Once all the screws are removed, the glass has a bit of adhessive that holds the screen to the frame snuggly.
The frame is a piece to marvel at. The intricate design and how everything pieces together is quite amazing.
In addition to the manufacturing of the phone gearing back towards the ways of the original iPhone, Apple decided to go ahead and use a mass amount of new screws that we have not seen before. As if the tiny screws that were used before weren’t pain enough, now they threw in some washers that help in holding the glass in place.
The steel body, combined with the sleek glass on front and back, we’d say that Apple hit yet another home run with this one.
Repairs on this new phone should not be left to amateurs. The mass of new screws, connectors, odd shaped circuit board(to maximize real estate), make this a tricky repair. Any and all measures to prevent electrostatic discharge(ESD) should be taken when cracking this open. Our technicians are always grounded when working on phones, and are only permitted to work in ESD safe areas.
