iFixit has done yet another one of its popular teardowns, this time on the Galaxy S5 Mini, Samsung’s miniature counterpart to its flagship. While it only shares the Galaxy S5 name, sporting significantly lower specs, apparently this mini smartphone scores the exact same mark when it comes to iFixit’s repairability index, meaning you might have tougher luck getting this thing repaired, at least on your own.
At first glance, the Galaxy S5 mini might look easy enough to take apart. After all, the back cover easily comes off and the battery is removable and not tied down, unlike the OnePlus One’s strange arrangement. And in truth, most of the parts are simply held together by screws, plastic enclosures and secret doors, but the real problem is that the smartphone is constructed in a way that makes things harder than they are supposed to be.
After the cover and the battery, the display is the next thing you’ll have to remove before you can get to any other internal component. If you will be simply replacing the display, then it makes this easier and faster. Otherwise, it actually increases the risks, since the display is glued rather strongly and requires a bit of coaxing and heat, hopefully without damaging the display in the process. The Galaxy S5 Mini also has two midframes inside, so that replacing any component requires an extra step of prying and un-screwing. There are also secret doors with hidden connectors that, if you don’t know about, run the risk of pulling out prematurely.
The Galaxy S5 Mini thus scores 5 out of 10, leaning a bit towards the “more difficult to repair” end of the spectrum. This is the exact same score that the Galaxy S5 got. While iFixit’s teardowns and guides are meant more to educate users how to repair things on their own, which they might not prefer to do, it does paint a rather disappointing picture of a device, or in this case, two devices, that won’t exactly be too easy or too safe to repair, even perhaps for a professional.
SOURCE: iFixit
