iPhone 17 Pro Teardown Video Shows New Vapour Chamber, Explains Reason Behind 'Scratchgate'

The iPhone 17 series was launched at Apple's ‘Awe Dropping' event on September 9, and the latest Pro models from the Cupertino-based tech giant have undergone a major redesign. A teardown video for the iPhone 17 Pro has been released by gadget-repair site iFixit to give a glimpse of its internals, including the all-new vapour chamber for thermal management, and rate its repairability. The loss of the dual-entry design and the use of multiple types of screws made the self-repair a bit tricky, although battery replacements could become easier than before.

iPhone 17 Pro Teardown

The repair process of the iPhone 17 Pro is similar to that of the iPhone Air, which was also shared by iFixit recently. However, there are a few major differences. The iFixit team begins the nearly 11-minute teardown video by removing the two Torx screws at the bottom of the iPhone.

Removing the back glass requires the usual prying and suction cups, which also reveals the new unibody design. Instead of the entire back glass being removable like previous iPhone models, only a small glass panel at the back of the iPhone 17 Pro can now be removed, which provides access to the battery, although you won't be able to replace it directly from here.

There is a single ribbon connector attached to the back plate for the MagSafe coil. For all major repairs, the iPhone 17 Pro's screen has to be removed. Once done, a new protective plate can be seen, which has the battery attached to it. Interestingly, Apple has used more screws for holding down the battery than before.

While the entire tray can be removed with a screwdriver, separating the protective plate and the metal-encased battery will require the user to run a 12V current through it for the electrically-debonding adhesive. Upon finishing this process, we can have a look at the internal components of the iPhone 17 Pro.

Internal components of the iPhone 17 Pro
Photo Credit: iFixit

Similar to the iPhone Air, the logic board is tucked in the top half of the iPhone using press connectors, although the larger camera plateau provides more room for the components. There are other components at the bottom, too. The Taptic Engine and speaker module are placed beneath the battery, held by tri-point, Phillips, and standoff screws, requiring three different types of screw drivers.

As per the video, there were a total of 22 screws in the way of releasing the USB Type-C port on the handset. The front sensor array is secured by two press connectors, while three cables hold the rear camera portion in place — both of which are fairly easy to replace.

iFixit also shared a 3D X-ray scan, providing a detailed view of the internal layout of the iPhone 17 Pro. The handset's new vapour chamber has a lattice sandwich and is attached to the new battery plate. Its top part covers the A19 Pro chip, driving heat away from the processor, while the bottom part does the same for the battery. It can potentially help the iPhone run cooler than previous models.

Reason Behind ‘Scratchgate'

In recent days, multiple videos of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max have surfaced, which show the phones scratching easily. This is especially seen around the new camera plateau, which has sharp and unchamfered corners.

The iFixit team put the iPhone 17 Pro under a microscope and discovered that the anodisation process around the camera island has another anodised layer beneath it, instead of aluminium. This brittle nature of the anodised layer allows it to come away, due to an effect known as “spalling”.

iPhone 17 Pro Repair Score

The gadget-repair site said that the repairability score of the iPhone 17 Pro is a mixed bag. While the new battery plate-attached battery makes it easy to swap, the loss of the dual-entry design and the presence of many screws make the iPhone 17 Pro repair a tedious process.

Overall, it was found to be slightly less repairable than the iPhone Air, scoring 7 out of 10 on iFixit's repairability scale.