As soon as the Phone 16 series arrived, the folks at iFixit started taking them apart, and Apple’s day-one repair manual made the process easier. The teardown revealed that the camera control is an actual movement button, as well as a flex cable that may measure force, and a heatsink that appears to keep the A18 chip’s Neural Engine cool while handling artificial intelligence workloads.
After disconnecting the battery from the circuit board and applying current from the power source (90 seconds for a 9 volt battery will do the trick), the battery that was previously glued in will easily slide off and gravity alone will do the job. Then, to get the new battery to adhere to the adhesive, just apply pressure.
Apple notes that release times may become longer over time, but on these new phones, iFixit found that using 20V was enough to debond in five seconds, and Apple says up to 30V can be used. iFixit also brought some microscopic close-ups of the frame that holds the battery in place, as well as the machined ridges that provide adhesion for the battery.
