The OnePlus 6 smartphone is the economical alternative for flagships like the Apple iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus or the iPhone X along with the likes of Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. This is the first OnePlus smartphone to feature a ‘notch display’ (like in the iPhone X) and a glass back. While for OnePlus 5T users, the smartphone appears as just an incremental update, for the rest, the OnePlus 6 is an attractive deal for its price of Rs 34,999.
Wondering how easy or difficult it is to repair the new OnePlus 6? DIY repair experts at iFixit have done a teardown of the new OnePlus 6 to reveal the innards. They have given the smartphone a ‘repairability’ score of 5 out of 10. A score of 10 suggests that a device is the most easiest to repair.
Here we look at six things revealed that the teardown reveals about the ‘flagship killer’ OnePlus 6:
* OnePlus has added some waterproofing in the OnePlus 6
While the OnePlus 6 has no official IPXX rating, the teardown reveals that OnePlus has indeed added some gaskets and silicone seals inside the device to prevent the inner circuit of the OnePlus 6 from accidental water splashes. This was also there on the older OnePlus 5. However, this doesn’t make the device completely waterproof and liquid damage is not included in the warranty terms either.
* Rear glass panel is brittle but easy to replace
With the introduction of a glass panel at the back in the OnePlus 6, the smartphone automatically will be more fragile when compared to metal-encased OnePlus 5 or 5T. The glass will be prone to scratches and accidental falls could shatter the rear panel of the OnePlus and you will have to replace it. Thankfully, OnePlus has reportedly made it super easy to replace the glass back panel.
*Long fingerprint sensor cable
OnePlus has added a relatively long cable to connect the fingerprint sensor (on the back panel) to the motherboard inside. This means if someone opens the rear panel of the OnePlus 6 they are less likely to break the cable and render the fingerprint sensor unusable.
* Easy to replace battery
While the battery inside the OnePlus 6 is non-removable, if by any chance you need to change the battery, the process is very simple. There is a plastic flap to pull the battery easily. The iFixit teardown report reveals that the OnePlus 6 battery “falls behind its peers in capacity, with 12.70 Wh—slightly under the Galaxy S9+ (13.48 Wh) and Google Pixel 2 XL (13.6 Wh).”
* Difficult to repair or replace the display
The OLED notch display in the OnePlus 6 is difficult to repair has it firmly glued in place. The report states that “the display probably won’t come out undamaged. You’ll likely only be removing a broken display of course, but the procedure for doing so sure isn’t repair-friendly.”
