The new Samsung Galaxy S21 phones have noticeable changes, such as a lack of a charger in the box and no microSD card slot, which raises some Samsung fans’ rumors.
Good news: Galaxy S21 changes on the inside can make it a favorite for repairers and DIY users. The technical channel PBKreviews gave the Galaxy S21 just a surprisingly favorable score for recoverability.
The breakdown of the Samsung Galaxy S21 was pretty quick and painless. The rear panel came off in one piece (nothing broke) with a candy bar after applying heat, and many of the components inside were as simple to take apart as removing a few screws and here and there ‘ loosen a flexible ribbon cable.
Once the back plate is removed, there are only 22 Philips screws that hold most things in place – that’s right, nothing too exotic to unscrew. Even if you remove the back plate, you can use a hair dryer rather than a dedicated heater, according to PBKreviews.
Many of the internal components come as a single unit, making it easier to replace them on an individual basis. PBKreviews explained the process of removing the screen, but did not go through it in the video, so we’ll have to wait for a few more tears to see if it’s sturdy enough to easily disassemble.
From one split to another
It is difficult to make a direct comparison with the recoverability of other devices as PBKreviews does not contain all of the reviews. It offers a 7.5 / 10 recoverability for the Galaxy S21. When disassembling the similar Galaxy S20 FE, the previous phone seemed to be easier to disassemble in some respects (especially the camera modules), but there was no explicit score to compare.
While there should not be too much weight in comparing scores from different sources on different devices, the Galaxy S20 Ultra only deserves a 3/10 score from iFixit for recoverability. So, perhaps Samsung is making a better effort to design repairable devices and to reduce products that go to landfills, an environmentally friendly effort that is equivalent to excluding a charging brick with the phones.
However, not everything was so simple to take apart. Notable were the camera on the front, the fingerprint reader under the screen and the battery – all of which were attached or glued.
Yet simplified repairability is a positive thing to see on a smartphone that is likely to come in many pockets this year.