-
Opening the iPhone 12 mini. Samuel Axon
-
Here is the battery. Samuel Axon
-
And the motherboard.
Samuel Axon
-
Complete disassembly.
Samuel Axon
iFixit has released its iPhone 12 mini teardown, and it has found inside what looks clear from the outside: a smaller version of the iPhone 12, with no missing features or components. However, some of those components, especially the battery, are a bit smaller than those on this phone’s 6.1-inch big brother.
iFixit found the battery to measure 8.57 Wh. For comparison, the iPhone SE – which actually has a larger body – has a smaller 6.96 Wh battery, while the much larger iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro both have batteries. of 10.78 Wh. This matches up pretty closely with what battery tests found: The iPhone 12 mini offers better battery life than an iPhone SE or iPhone 8, but it can’t beat its big brothers.
Other shrunken components found by iFixit include a smaller Taptic motor and a speaker. Also, some display related components have been moved, and there are only two display cables (compared to the iPhone 12’s three).
However, one thing is not much reduced: the camera. iFixit suggests that the decision to maintain camera parity between the mini and the 12 surely came at the cost of some battery life. An even smaller camera system could have made room for a little more battery volume.
As always, the iFixit teardown focuses on the repairability of the device. iFixit gave the iPhone 12 mini a score of six out of 10 for repairability, noting that the two most common repair topics – the screen and the battery – are easily accessible. However, the glass back is difficult to maintain, suggesting that a bad fall might require “replacing the whole body of the iPhone”.
For a more in-depth look at what’s on the motherboard, a look at some of the differences between the US and EU versions of this phone, and more info on repairability, check out the full iFixit teardown.
Ad image by Samuel Axon
