LG G4 gets the tear down treatment including X-ray blasts

LG’s latest flagship, the LG G4, is bucking a recent trend among smartphone manufacturers in continuing to give users access to the battery via a removable back cover. That in itself should help the smartphone achieve a good iFixit teardown score. The question remains though as to whether the rest of the device would be as easy to work on. The iFixit team has their answer and in the process they blast a G4 with some X-rays.

Starting out on their teardown, the iFixit team starts with removal of the back cover and battery, easy steps in a world of increasing complexity. The team did decide train some X-rays on the back cover to get a view of the NFC antenna encased in the plastic. Unfortunately, for owners hoping to use a wireless charger, this mean getting a special case to handle that function.

As the team continued, the process of removing the midframe was the first step that required the use of a tool, a standard Phillips #0. Continuing on with removal of components like the cameras or the headphone jack just requires simple tools like a spudger or tweezers. iFixit found everything came out relatively easy as LG stayed away from glue and adhesives, opting for spring contacts.

In the course of the teardown, the team trained the X-rays on the LG cameras to get a little look at what the inside of one of these units looks like. This provided an interesting view of the frame for the camera and the circuits used to power it.

Overall, the iFixit team awarded the LG G4 an 8 out of 10 for a Repairability Score. The modular nature of the components and lack of adhesives helped the smartphone achieve a good score. The one negative the team found was the display assembly which has the glass and LCD fused together, meaning the entire unit will have to be replaced if damaged.

source: iFixit

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