IFixit Teardown Grades Samsung Galaxy S8 a 4 Out of 10 for ‘Repairability’

After the Galaxy Note7 debacle, Samsung “is hoping to bring a different kind of heat with the Galaxy S8,” iFixit said Monday in a teardown analysis of the new smartphone based on the ease with which it can be repaired. “Does the S8 have what it takes to blast off without blowing up?” iFixit asked. It rates the S8 a four on a “repairability” scale of zero to 10, with a 10 being easiest to repair. Its key takeaways: (1) “You'd think that after Samsung's less than stellar battery record, they'd have a quick eject system for these little packs.” Not so with the S8, iFixit said. “This cell is firmly (and we mean firmly) adhered. And it's not like it's especially hard to have a removable battery -- it's done all over the phone world.” (2) Lots of components in the S8 “are modular and can be replaced independently,” it said. (3) Front and back glass “make for double the crackability, and strong adhesive on both makes it tough to access the internals for any repair,” it said. (4) “Because of the curved screen, replacing the front glass without destroying the display is extremely difficult.”