HTC One Gets iFixit Teardown, Reveals Low Repairability, High Durability
The HTC One looks like bulletproof phone, with a hefty aluminium – glass body and no removable back.
However, there is a price to pay for its robust unibody design. Teardown specialists iFixit found that the new phone is practically impossible to open up and repair. It got a score of one, one out of ten that is.
With the release of the HTC One, the manufacturer has bet a whole lot on the hardware as a proving point in their history. With this release, the company known as HTC says that they’ve done the best they’re able at the moment – this is the HTC One, and it’s named that for a reason. According to iFixit, this device is just about the most difficult smartphone to tear apart they’ve come across.
The process took 19 steps and ended with the handset being give a score of one (out of ten) in terms or repairability. Of course, these days we don’t see many people repairing their smartphones, but instead buying new. In that respect, a score of one flips nicely to mean that the One is a solid device. In fact, the teardown noted that the “solid external construction improves durability.”
The issues at hand? iFixit said it’s nearly impossible to open the One without damaging the back cover. Again, go figure, it’s a unibody phone. The battery is also stuck under the motherboard and is not replaceable and there’s a lot of copper shielding that causes issues while trying to remove parts. The screen can’t be replaced without removing the back cover, though, so you’ll want to make sure you don’t drop your One all over the floor.
[iFixit]
