iPhone SE 2020 full iFixit teardown reveals a moderately repairable phone

iFixit earlier took a quick peek into the insides of the new iPhone SE. To its delight, it found that some parts are compatible and even replaceable with iPhone 8 spare parts. It wasn't the full story yet though and now iFixit has bared all, including how easy or difficult it is to fix the iPhone SE 2020 if it ever does break. Fortunately or unfortunately, the same things that make it difficult to take apart also make it harder to break as well.

It's never really easy to pry open an iPhone, especially one with lots of glue and seals to keep the water out. Fortunately, the iPhone SE 2020 on the outside is indeed so similar to the iPhone 8. The catch? It also needs the same number of screwdrivers to get to the meat of things.

iFixit already detailed the parts that could be swapped with some iPhone 8 parts but, of course, not all of them can be. The new iPhone SE, of course, runs on the A13 Bionic chip that the iPhone 11 uses but it also shares some parts with the iPhone XR according to some sources. In other words, this iPhone is quite the Frankenstein of iPhone parts.

Unfortunately, it also ends up being a confusing mix of features. For example, it has no 3D Touch support even if it's interchangeable with the 3D Touch screen from the iPhone 8. Despite the lack of that, however, the iPhone doesn't benefit from getting a larger battery anyway.

iFixit grades the iPhone SE 2020 with a 6 out of 10 when it comes to repairs. Its biggest advantage is that the most important parts that can be repaired can be accessed with minimum fuss and some of those modular components can be swapped with existing iPhone 8 ones. Unfortunately, it's still the same story when it comes to difficulty and fragility but at least you won't be crying too much over this $400 phone when it breaks completely.