With the iPhone 16 out in the wild, we’ve finally learned all the secrets of Apple’s 2024 lineup. We already have real-life battery tests that show how amazing the iPhone 16 battery life is and why the 16 Pro Max won’t necessarily win duels with its main Android rivals. The first drops hinted that the ultra-slim iPhone 16 Pro bezels need protection; otherwise, they’ll need repairs.
Speaking of fixing the new handsets, the professional iPhone 16 teardown from iFixit revealed they’re a lot easier to repair. The teardown also showed us the electric adhesive Apple is using to glue the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus batteries.
The same disassembly session also revealed that the iPhone 16 Pros have batteries enclosed in metallic cases. But there’s a brand new clip that shares more information about this technology.
Apple has indeed equipped the iPhone 16 Pro with a metal battery, but that’s it. The iPhone 16 Pro Max doesn’t have one. Moreover, neither Pro model features that new electric glue tech we’ve seen in iFixit’s videos.
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YouTuber JerryRigEverything is known for torturing all sorts of electronics, including most new smartphones. His videos are meant to show how durable and easy the new phones are to repair. The newest iPhones are always a big focus.
The YouTuber already released a durability video showing the iPhone 16 Pro Max passing a series of tests with flying colors. In the video, we see him scratching the glass, titanium frame, and sapphire Camera Control button, using fire on the display, and trying to bend the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Aside from the scratches that inevitably happen as he uses a tougher pick, the largest iPhone 16 Pro model survives the ordeal. It doesn’t bend, and you can still use the handset, as long as you don’t mind the scratches. You’ll see everything in the following clip.
However, his disassembly video is more interesting. JerryRigEverything gives us a look at familiar components, as the iPhone 16 Pros share some of the internal design of the non-Pros. If you’ve seen iFixit’s teardown, you know that Apple has made the iPhone 16 models more repairable than ever.
What’s different is the battery tech in the new phones. The iPhone 16 Pro has a metallic battery enclosure, but the 16 Pro Max doesn’t. The YouTuber speculates that Apple is testing the metallic case to prepare for the imminent new battery laws in the EU.
Rumors that preceded the iPhone 16 launch said metallic batteries would dissipate heat better and help Apple deploy higher-density batteries.
We still don’t have an answer, but I’ll point out that the iPhone 16 Pro saw the biggest percentage increase in battery capacity compared to last year’s models. The iPhone 16 Pro has a battery that’s 9.4% larger than its predecessors. The other three iPhone 16 models also feature larger batteries, but the increase sits between 6.3% for the iPhone 16 and 6.6% for the 16 Plus.
Also, we have no idea why the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max batteries do not feature electric glue.
The teardown process is more brutal than iFixit’s, but we still get a good look at all the other components, including the main board, the thermal layers, and the insides of the cameras. The full video follows below.
