Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge, along with the standard Galaxy S6, is set to hit the stores on Friday, April 10. As you probably know, the devices feature a stunning glass and metal construction. But they come with a non-removable battery, and there is no microSD slot. That’s not all. The Galaxy S6 Edge is an extreme pain to repair, according to an iFixit teardown.
iFixit praises the Galaxy S6 Edge’s modular components
iFixit, which offers free online repair guides and sells repair parts, forced open the Galaxy S6 Edge, removing every part carefully for all to see. The phone is so tightly packed on the inside that it’s nothing less than a nightmare for DIYers to replace the battery. The teardown shows that most of the major components in the S6 Edge are made by Samsung.
The NFC, 64-bit octa-core processor and storage chips are all made by the Korean company itself. According to iFixit, the phone does feature some components from Avago, Skyworks, Invensense and a few other companies. Experts at iFixit praised the Galaxy S6 Edge for its “modular” components that can be replaced easily.
But they said that the glass on both the front and back panels makes it very hard to get inside the phone without breaking anything. Samsung probably didn’t keep fixes in mind while designing it. The battery is glued to the back of the display. iFixit noted that replacing cracked glass on the display may damage the screen altogether.
Galaxy S6 Edge tougher to repair than the iPhone 6 Plus
Overall, iFixit said the Galaxy S6 Edge scored just 3 out of 10 for repairability. By comparison, Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus scored an impressive 7/10 for repairability last year. Low repairability score doesn’t mean the S6 Edge is a bad device. The phone has been praised by almost every critic for its sleek design, superfast processor, an improved camera and better battery life.
However, the phone has garnered some negative publicity in the past few days. A recent bend test conducted by SquareTrade showed that the Galaxy S6 Edge is more vulnerable to bending than the iPhone 6 Plus. Samsung has questioned the test’s credibility and defended its product. Notably, the Korean company was the first to attack Apple when the iPhone 6 Plus bendgate surfaced in September last year.
