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Video Overview

Step 1 iPhone 6s Teardown

The 6s may look the same as last year's iPhone, but there are plenty of new features in this phone:

• Apple A9 processor with embedded M9 motion coprocessor

• 16, 64, or 128 GB of storage

• 4.7-inch 1334 × 750 pixels (326 ppi) Retina HD display with 3D Touch

• 12 MP iSight camera supporting 4K video recording with 1.22 µ pixels, and a 5 MP FaceTime HD camera

• 7000 Series aluminum enclosure and Ion-X Glass

• 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO + Bluetooth 4.2 + NFC + 23-band LTE

• Taptic Engine

Step 2

• It’s finally time to see what this revolutionary new iPhone has in store for us.

• At a glance, the 6s is the spitting image of its older sibling, but there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Here's some of what's under the hood:

• Improved Touch ID home button

• 5 MP FaceTime HD Camera

• Retina HD Display with 3D Touch

• Laid out side-by-side, there are few notable differences between the two—sans the new Rose Gold enclosure.

• Upon closer inspection, the 6s is a hair larger than the 6 (138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm vs. 138.1 x 67.0 x 6.9 mm), and it's stamped with a new model number: A1688.

• The 6s has also packed on a bit of weight when compared to its older sibling, weighing in at 143 grams vs. the 6's 129 grams.

Step 3

• Roll your mouse over for superpowers—we've got X-rays on tap, thanks to our plucky cohorts at Creative Electron.

• Together we trekked all the way to Australia to bring you the first-ever glimpse of the latest iPhone innards.

• Our teardown is coming to you live from Macfixit and Circuitwise. Kudos to them for their hospitality and their 17-hour timezone advantage!

• It's just a taste of what's to come! Let the teardowning begin.

Step 4

• We've said it before and we'll say it again: Apple is all about the little things. The color of the Pentalobe screws at the bottom of the case match the color of the case. Oh, Apple.

• It seems the iPhone display assembly has toughened up a bit since we last met. It now features four adhesive strips lining the perimeter of the phone.

• Still, this strong adhesive is no match for our handy-dandy iSclack.

• Talk about the little things—it seems even the adhesive strip is color-matched to the display: white for white, and black for black.

• iPhone displays of yore weren't exactly in danger of falling out of the phone, so why the need for adhesive—or could this be a waterproof gasket?

Step 5

• With the display assembly popped up, we can already spot some internal differences between the 6s and its predecessor.

• The all-new Taptic Engine takes up a large chunk of space below the battery, which might explain the slight reduction in battery size.

• Apple has also condensed the display assembly connections into three cables, as opposed to the four seen in the iPhone 6.

Step 6

• A quick twist and the battery connector isdisconnectored.

• Despite the Coriolis effect, for screwdrivers it is still righty tighty and lefty loosy—even down under. So for those who were wondering—yes, we still twisted to the left.

• Once inside, we find, as we hoped, Phillips screws. We're glad Apple limits the inclusion of Pentalobe screws solely to the bottom of the rear case.

Step 7

• After some careful spudgering, the display assembly comes free without much of a fight.

• The display assembly weighs in at a whopping 60 grams—a 15 gram increase over the one found in the iPhone 6. In fact, that's the same weight as the much larger display on last year's 6 Plus! The additional capacitive sensors that Apple integrated into the display backlight have really beefed this thing up.

• Save for the reduction in cables, and a slightly different LCD shield plate design, the old and new display assemblies seem pretty visually similar.

Step 8

• In order to take out the shield plate we first have to remove a bracket, speaker, and the FaceTime camera.

• While the FaceTime camera has jumped from 1.2 MP all the way up to 5 MP, its overall form factor remains surprisingly similar.

• We have to take a moment to calm down as we get closer to unearthing the secrets of the new 3D Touch display assembly.

Step 9

• With the LCD shield plate removed, we get our first glance at what we believe is the 3D Touch IC:

• 343S00014 (Naming scheme is very similar to other Apple ICs, but the jury is still out on the manufacturer)

• 
  

Step 10

• Removing the shield plate allows access to the home button.

• Extracting the home button from its cozy cutout is a breeze. If issues develop with the home button, the absence of solder or adhesive will make it an easy fix.

• So far, no real evidence of any chip responsible for the "faster and better than ever" Touch ID, but hey, if Apple said so it must be true.

Step 11

• Back to rose gold tacks... It's time to take out the iPhone's new Taptic Engine.

• A blast of X-ray radiation reveals a peek at the linear oscillating mechanism underlying Apple's latest mechanical wonder, said to reach peak output after just one oscillation.

• That's not Photoshopped for contrast—dense materials like magnets absorb more X-rays, so the haptic feedback mechanism looks dark and crisp compared to other materials (like the aluminum frame).

• Once removed, there is not much showing what is going on inside—just a couple spring contacts, some cryptic markings, and big label complete with the Apple logo mark.

Step 12

• We breathe a sigh of relief every time we see those nice battery adhesive pull tabs. Hopefully they never go extinct.

• A quick pull and the battery pops right out for inspection!

Step 13

• It turns out the rumors were true—battery capacity is down a bit, likely in order to make room for new features like the Taptic Engine and slightly thicker display.

• The Lithium-ion pack comes in at 3.8 V, 6.55 Wh, and 1715 mAh. It's a small but notable decrease from the 1810 mAh battery in last year's iPhone 6.

• This iPhone's battery still has the same identity issues as last year's. It seems to think it's from Apple South Asia (Thailand) Limited, Apple Japan, and is made in Changsu, China.

• Nevertheless, Apple says battery life holds steady at up to 14 hours of 3G talk time and 10 days of standby—the same as in the iPhone 6. A lot of this is likely due to more efficient silicon, which we're eager to get a look at...

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