These days at the exorbitant prices that handset makers are asking from us, many of us are holding onto our phones longer than before, where instead of upgrading every year or every other year, we might be keeping them for as long as three years, if not more. This means that not only do we have to take care of our devices, but we have to make sure that they can be easily repaired in the event that they need repairing.
According to a recent teardown by iFixit, it seems that the Samsung Galaxy S10 will not be the easiest phone to repair. The teardown report has given the phone a dismal 3 out of 10 in terms of repairability, citing issues like the battery where it is “unnecessarily difficult” to replace, and a glued down glass on the front and back means it would be more prone to breakage.
They also point out issues like an excessive amount of adhesive which makes disassembly a lot harder. However they do note that unlike Apple which uses proprietary screws, the Galaxy S10 can be disassembled using a single Philips driver. They also note that the components are mostly modular which means that they can be replaced individually, as opposed to having to replace multiple components just for one part.
That being said we imagine that repair score might not matter for most people, but it’s definitely something to take into consideration if you plan on keeping the phone around for a long time.