iPad Mini Makes Two Common Repairs 'Unnecessarily Difficult,' Says iFixit (cnet.com)

Apple has released the fifth-generation iPad Mini. So, of course, the repair experts at iFixit needed to tear it apart. From a report: The new 7.9 inch tablet, launched two weeks ago, sticks to its roots as a revamp of the iPad Mini 4, according to iFixit's teardown published Tuesday. One notable change is the battery connector design, which could prevent people trying to fix a device from accidentally killing the backlight during a repair, according to iFixit. The iFixit team calls this tweak "nifty!"

iFixit also noted that both the screen and battery are difficult to remove. The removal of the display, in particular, if not done carefully, could compromise the Touch ID technology. "Battery and screen replacements are the two most common repairs, and the iPad Mini makes both unnecessarily difficult," iFixit said. "The battery lacks pull-to-remove adhesive tabs, and the display requires a tricky removal of the home button if you want to keep Touch ID after your repair."

Comments

Re:Why does Apple get a pass?

[guruevi]

Obviously we're not getting articles about the Dell, Samsung etc primarily because they're irrelevant to most of us, any of the thousands of models they have gets barely a percentage of the market whereas apple has 2 or 3 models take up 50% of the market.

But yeah, they're not at all serviceable, you can't even find an iFixit tear down or parts for many. Apple gear is surprisingly fixable even though iFixit says it's getting harder as they cram more and more parts, you can typically replace a battery or screen in less than an hour with the right tools and minimal experience.