iPhone XR Teardown
Duration: 45 minutes
Steps: 15 Steps
Not keen on dropping a grand on a smartphone? This year, Apple has packed impressive features into the iPhone XR, allowing you to enjoy all the bells and whistles without breaking the bank. Have they skimped too much? Is $750 even considered a bargain? The only way to find out is to dive in and take a closer look! Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for all the latest teardowns. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get your teardowns delivered right to your inbox!
Step 1
- The iPhone XR shows off a slick new look, but under the hood, it’s packing some familiar goodies:
- Six-core A12 Bionic chip with a turbocharged Neural Engine for all your multitasking dreams.
- 6.1-inch Liquid Retina LCD—crisp visuals, wide color support, and True Tone for that eye-candy effect.
- Rear camera’s rocking 12 MP with optical image stabilization at ƒ/1.8, and the 7 MP selfie cam comes with FaceID wizardry.
- Standard 64 GB storage (or go big with 128 GB or 256 GB—your call).
- Handles a bunch of cellular bands, eSIM ready, and loaded up with speedy Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and NFC.
- IP67 rating means it can handle dust and a splash—just don’t take it deep sea diving.
Step 2
- There were tons of color options, but we’ve got a soft spot for blue and black.
- Let’s be real—colors aren’t a huge deal when you’ve got x-ray vision! Check out these sneak peeks inside the new iPhone.
Step 3
The XR picked up a lot of cool features from its XS siblings, but it left out the super-fast gigabit-LTE capabilities. That's okay though, because it's still a solid device!
- Let's kick off a little friendly competition by lining up the XR next to the XS to spot what’s different.
- We begin at the bottom edge—notice how the XR lacks the antenna band and sports symmetrical speaker grilles, giving it a vibe closer to last year’s X.
- Turning on the screens, it’s clear that the XR has slightly thicker bezels, and if you look closely, the curves aren’t as smooth as on the XS.
- The XR borrows plenty from the XS but only comes with a single wide-angle camera, leaving the telephoto lens exclusive to the XS.
Step 4
It’s a bit of a mystery where the XS managed to grab that extra IP point — opening the XR feels just about the same as the XS!
- Opening this device is pretty similar to the XS: pentalobe screws frame the charging port, which is now just a bit off-center. You'll want to bring along an iOpener to help with the opening process.
- What’s different here? The pentalobe screws don’t bother matching the device color, and the SIM slot has taken a little slide down toward the bottom of the phone.
Tools Used
Step 5
Apple nailed this design way back with the iPhone 5—and honestly, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
- The easy, display-first opening step is done—about as smooth as it gets for a water-resistant phone.
- Inside, the XR feels like a cool mix between the 8 and the X. We’re back to a rectangular battery, and the logic board is rectangular too.
- Now the big question: how many layers does that logic board actually have?
Step 6
Not only does this allow for speedy replacements of a faulty SIM reader, but it also saves you some cash on replacing the logic board! How great is that?
- As we work toward freeing the logic board, we’re faced with a surprising number of standoff screws—usually it’s just one or two per iPhone, but here we’ve got ten!
- Good thing we’re prepared and ready to tackle them.
- Look at that—a modular SIM card reader! That’s a first for an iPhone.
- The slim, straightforward, single-layer logic board is now free to make its exit!
- This setup is probably due to the Chinese market, where eSIM isn’t supported. To provide dual SIM functionality on those models, Apple uses a dual Nano-SIM reader. Having it modular makes removal way easier compared to previous models where it was soldered on.
Step 7
- With the logic board out in the open, let's check out the onboard silicon goodies:
- Apple APL1W81 A12 Bionic SoC, sitting on top of Micron MT53D384M64D4SB-046 XT:E 3 GB LPDDR4x SDRAM
- Apple/USI 339S00580 (probably the WiFi/Bluetooth module, kind of like the one in the XS)
- NXP Semiconductor SN100V NFC controller
- 3x Apple/Cirrus Logic 338S00411 audio amplifiers
- Skyworks 203-15 G67407 1838 (most likely a power amplifier module)
- Infineon (formerly Cypress Semiconductor) CYPD2104 USB type-C port controller
- Qorvo QM76018 RF Front End Module
Step 8
- Flip the logic board over and meet the chip squad hanging out on the backside. Let's see who's here...
- Toshiba TSB3243VC0428CHNA1: 64 GB of speedy flash storage, ready for action.
- Intel PMB9955 (probably the XMM7560 LTE Advanced Pro 4G LTE baseband), PMB5762 RF transceiver, and PMB5829: the connectivity dream team.
- Apple 338S00383-A0 and 338S00375-A1 power management ICs (likely from Dialog Systems): keeping the juice flowing.
- Texas Instruments SN2600B1 battery charging IC: your battery's best bud.
- Apple/Cirrus Logic 338S00248 audio codec: the chip behind all those crisp tunes.
- Skyworks SKY13768 front end module: ensuring smooth signal operations.
- Broadcom BCM59355A2IUB4G (looks like a BCM59350 wireless power receiver variant): powering up wirelessly, like magic.
Step 9
- Let's dive into the world of components! First up, we have the 'Texas Instruments LM3539' backlight driver – it's the one that keeps things bright and shiny.
- Next, we might just bump into the 'NXP Semiconductor CBTL161x' display port multiplexer. This little guy is likely handling some serious display duties.
- Don't forget about the 'STMicroelectronics STB601A0' power management chip; it's the unsung hero making sure everything runs smoothly.
- We also have the 'Texas Instruments TPS65730' display power management chip – another key player in keeping your screen looking fabulous.
- And let's not overlook the potential 'Texas Instruments LED driver'. It’s likely here to keep those lights blinking.
- Moving on, we have the 'Bosch Sensortec BMP282' pressure sensor. This tiny marvel helps with environmental awareness.
- Last but not least, we have the 'Bosch Sensortec accelerometer'. It's the one that keeps track of movement and orientation.
- If you run into any challenges and feel a bit lost, remember, you're not alone! You can always schedule a repair for a helping hand.
Step 10
- Let’s keep the logic board party going with two more boards to check out.
- Here’s the new XR board with SIM reader in the middle, looking kinda like a stretched-out iPhone X board on the right. Over on the left, we’ve got the sprawling iPhone 8 Plus board for a size comparison.
- This fresh new design fits perfectly into the iPhone logic board family tree evolution.
- A closer look at some X-ray shots shows that even this 'streamlined' iPhone logic board is still super complex underneath.
- There’s even more silicon packed under other parts, like the TrueDepth camera system, keeping things interesting.
Step 11
The XR skips 3D Touch, but it does have Haptic Touch—which is just a fancy way of saying it responds to a long press instead of a strong press. The haptic feedback comes from a trusty linear-oscillating vibration motor, keeping things smooth and responsive.
- Now that we've cleared the logic board, let’s go on a little treasure hunt for the renowned Taptic Engine!
- Next up, we’ve got that handy rectangle battery! Lucky for us, it’s got four nifty adhesive pull tabs, making our removal mission a total breeze.
Step 12
- All four tabs are performing their duty flawlessly, and guess what? The 11.16 Wh battery comes out without a sticky situation!
- We all know the XR boasts the best battery life of any iPhone, but let's dive in and see how it truly measures up! Time for a battery showdown!
- While we’re at it, let’s take a peek at some X-series X-rays. From left to right, we’ve got the iPhone X, the XR (sporting its lightweight aluminum frame), and the XS Max!
- Left to right, we’ve got: iPhone 8 (6.96 Wh), the triumphant iPhone XR, iPhone 8 Plus (10.28 Wh), and iPhone XS (10.13 Wh).
- The XR battery may seem a tad smaller compared to the 8 Plus, but don’t let appearances fool you! The XR battery is thicker and packs a punch with more power, not less.
- For a fun comparison, while the XR shines, Android is still the reigning champ in pure capacity. The Galaxy S9+ leads the pack at 13.48 Wh, followed closely by the Pixel 3 XL at 13.2 Wh.
Step 13
- Here’s the single rear camera—the same freshly updated wide-angle module from the XS and XS Max.
- Next up, we line up the camera with the TrueDepth system that powers FaceID—which looks pretty much the same as when it debuted with the iPhone X.
- Don’t forget the lower speaker—it’s still super easy to remove, which is great since you’ll likely want it out of the way when swapping the battery.
- The single-sensor XR is a solid contender in the camera department, but sometimes having more cameras can make a difference.
Step 14
Since an LCD display assembly requires a backlight, it will always need a bit more space than an equivalent AMOLED assembly. Just a little extra room for that glow!
- Now let's take a closer look at Apple’s much-talked-about Liquid Retina display.
- The XR’s LCD is a playful 0.3” bigger than the XS’s AMOLED, but it’s also a bit thicker and heftier—just what you’d expect from an LCD.
- Back inside the case, we’re pulling out the wireless charging coil for some quality inspection.
- Surprise! We’ve uncovered copper! Thanks to copper’s lower resistance (compared to the FPC in the X), we’re in for quicker charging with less heat.
- From what we gather, this chunkier display assembly is the reason the Lightning connector is sitting a little off-kilter.
Step 15
- Now that we've uncovered all the secrets of the XR, let's share the fun details from our exploration:
- Taking a closer look inside, we noticed some design features that nod to the iPhone 8 (like that rectangular battery and single-layer board) and the X (hello, square-ish logic board and Face ID). It's almost like the XR is the cool 'iPhone 9' we've all been waiting for!
- But don't think this phone is just a blast from the past—it's packing the newest tech and includes some features that are fresh to the iPhone lineup. For instance, we stumbled upon Apple's very first modular SIM reader, which might be there to support their exciting multi-SIM plans.
- And before we wrap things up, here's a little humor to keep the spirits high:
- What's a pirate's favorite iPhone?
- The X- ARRRrrrrr!
