Sensitive camera blades and thermal chainmail surface in iPhone 18 Pro teardown
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are very repairable devices, but while the new variable aperture camera is interesting to look at, it does make for a tricky repair. iPhone 18 Pro has a variable aperture camera that is hard to repair After the introduction of new iPhone models on the market, the inevitable teardowns start to surface. In one of the more detailed of its type, repair outfit iFixit took…
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have been released, prompting teardown specialists at iFixit to reveal the inner workings of these latest iPhone models. The most notable upgrade is the variable aperture camera lens, which allows for adjustable light transmission through the lens. However, iFixit questions the validity of this feature due to the relatively small size of the camera sensors and the software-based depth of field effects.
The variable aperture blades introduce new failure points, making repairs more expensive and complex. While the appliance can be controlled with an external magnet, replacing the blades entirely is not feasible. Other changes include moving the facial recognition hardware for a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, relocating the A20 Pro chip to the outside of the logic board for better heat dissipation, and moving the U.S. version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max away from the Apple C2 modem to a Qualcomm modem.
The back panels of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max do not provide easy access to much, making repairs involving anything beyond the wireless charger complicated and potentially problematic. Apple has adopted a different approach to the USB-C port, using a significant amount of glue and screws, making replacement a challenging task.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Guide's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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