Apple’s new iPhone Air surprised repair experts by proving ultra-thin doesn’t have to mean harder to fix. Despite measuring just 5.6mm thick — making it Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever — the device earned a solid 7 out of 10 repairability score from iFixit in its iPhone Air teardown, matching the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro.
And the teardown reveals how they made it so thin in the first place.
iPhone Air teardown: Smart engineering makes thin work
Photo: iFixit
The key to the iPhone Air’s repair-friendly design lies in a fundamental shift in how Apple arranged iPhone Air’s components. Rather than stacking parts on top of each other, Apple moved the logic board into the camera “plateau,” iFixit noted. That’s the raised section housing the single rear camera. And that move leaves the rest of the phone’s interior dominated by a large, metal-encased battery.
“The middle of this phone is basically just a battery with a frame around it,” iFixit explained. This arrangement creates what repair experts call a “flat disassembly tree,” meaning fewer components are buried beneath others, making individual parts much easier to access and replace.
The design choice also helps protect the logic board from bending stress if the phone flexes, addressing the “bendgate” issues that plagued earlier thin iPhone designs. However, the titanium frame does have weak points at the plastic antenna passthroughs at the top and bottom, which could potentially add some vulnerability.
Battery replacement made simple
Photo: iFixit
One of the iPhone Air’s biggest repair advantages? Battery accessibility. The 12.26 watt-hour battery can be reached through the back glass using Apple’s dual-entry design, avoiding the need to remove the delicate OLED display. The battery features electrically debonding adhesive strips. It’s a technology Apple introduced the technology last year, allowing safe removal of the battery by applying 12 volts of electricity for about 70 seconds.
And in an interesting twist, iFixit confirmed that the iPhone Air uses the exact same battery cell found in Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack accessory. Users can actually swap batteries between the phone and the battery pack without any issues, though it’s not exactly a quick roadside tire change.
Modular parts and 3D-printed innovations
The iPhone Air maintains a modular USB-C port that can be replaced if it fails. But the process is more complex due to tight packaging. Apple used 3D printing to create the titanium USB-C port housing, reducing material usage by 33% compared to traditional manufacturing. The same 3D printing process is also used in the Apple Watch Ultra 3.
Inside the camera plateau, the phone packs Apple’s custom C1X modem, N1 WiFi chip and A19 Pro processor. This marks the first iPhone to feature so many custom-designed Apple chips, contributing to the device’s efficiency despite the smaller battery.
Watch iFixit’s iPhone Air teardown video
iPhone Air teardown: The repair reality
The iPhone Air’s 12.26 watt-hour battery is smaller than recent iPhones. But Apple’s efficiency improvements help maintain solid battery life. However, the smaller capacity could mean more charging cycles and potentially faster battery wear over time.
Apple continues supporting repairability through its self-service repair program. It provides parts and manuals for DIY fixes. The company also reduced software locks and parts pairing restrictions in recent years.
iPhone Air proves that thoughtful engineering can make even the slimmest devices last longer through easier repairs — a win for both users and the environment.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
