OnePlus 9 Pro Teardown Video by iFixit Shows What’s Most Difficult to Repair on the Flagship Phone

OnePlus 9 Pro teardown video has been released by gadget-repair site iFixit to give a glimpse of its internals and rate its repairability. The flagship OnePlus phone has a curved AMOLED display backed by low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology and quad rear cameras that are supported by Swedish camera maker Hasselblad. The OnePlus 9 Pro also carries 5G support for which there are multiple antennas on board. The teardown video shows those antennas while dismantling the phone. You'll also see the dual-cell battery of the OnePlus 9 Pro in the teardown coverage.

The iFixit team begins the nearly four-minute teardown video by removing the back panel of the OnePlus 9 Pro. The phone is said to have an opening procedure similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. It includes a tough adhesive near the camera bump.

Once the rear covering is removed, the OnePlus 9 Pro shows a black mid-frame along with wireless charging coil. The phone also has various cables to disconnect before reaching its battery pack.

The teardown video shows that while the built-in battery is disconnectable, it requires a few disassembly steps. This means that users won't be able to replace the battery of the OnePlus 9 Pro by their own.

However, the iFixit team notes in the video that OnePlus offers large pull tabs on the batteries of its smartphones to make removal “slightly easier than some other manufacturers.”

The OnePlus 9 Pro is also seen to have multiple 5G antennas that crisscross the internals. Further, the video shows the 6.7-inch AMOLED display that is firmly glued to the frame.

At the end, the teardown video gives the OnePlus 9 Pro a repairability score of four out of 10, with 10 being the easiest to repair. This is identical to what was received by the OnePlus 8 Pro last year. It is also one point higher than the repairability score of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra that got three for its difficult-to-remove construction.

“Its easily removable battery and relatively modular construction are always great to see, but its glued on rear panel is a barrier to entry and repair — making matters worse. Its display requires a lot of disassembly to access and will be a pain to remove if it breaks, thanks to tenacious adhesive and curved edges,” the iFixit team said in the concluding remarks.

Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, has a double bill this week: the OnePlus 9 series, and Justice League Snyder Cut (starting at 25:32). Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.