Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip launched alongside the Galaxy S20 series last week, offering a rather intriguing take on the foldable phone. But what if you want to repair the device yourself? Well, iFixit has conducted a teardown, and posted its findings online.
The repair website declared the Galaxy Z Flip teardown to be “considerably less complex” than that of the Razr, which scored an abysmal one out of ten. But it’s not much better, getting a repairability score of just two out of ten.
Read: How much does it cost to replace a foldable phone’s screen?
iFixit praised the device for requiring a single Phillips screwdriver for all the screws, as well as the modular nature of some components (allowing them to be replaced individually).
But the firm criticized Samsung for using glued-down glass panels, offering “unnecessarily difficult” battery replacements, and folding-related components that are likely to wear down as time goes on.
The Galaxy Z Flip also packs a brush along the hinge which is meant to trap dust, but iFixit said it performed “hilariously poorly” in its dust test. In fact, the phone made a rather disturbing sound when they tried to unfold it.
Otherwise, the website found that the Galaxy Z Flip has two batteries of drastically different sizes, with one weighing in at 2,370mAh and another coming in at 930mAh. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Fold offers two batteries measuring in at 2,135 mAh and 2,245 mAh. They added that the ultra-thin glass touted by Samsung is actual glass.
iFixit also discovered that the motherboard has a hydrophobic coating and is liquid-proof. They add that your phone is still vulnerable to a dunk in water, ostensibly due to the lack of similar coatings and tech elsewhere on the phone.
Either way, Samsung’s new foldable is clearly a step below most traditional flagships when it comes to ease of repair. But at least the Korean firm can say it’s easier to fix than the Razr.
