Apple iPhone 6S Teardown Confirms Weaker Battery

IFixIt has performed a comprehensive technical Teardown of the iPhone 6S to examine the handset’s build quality and overall construction. The iPhone 6S features an Apple A9 processor with embedded M9 motion co-processor, 4.7-inch 1334×750 (326 ppi) screen containing 3D touch functionality, 7000 series aluminium enclosure and Ion-X glass making for the best protection on the market today. Additionally, the device opts for a 12-megapixel iSight rear camera featuring 4K video recording. The front shooter is a fairly standard 5-megapixel sensor and you can choose between 16GB/64GB/128GB SKUs.

As with any modern Apple device, a range of tools and patience is required to do a component rundown. This is only a brief overview, and the complete guide can be found here. Apple utilized the usual array of ribbon flaps and hidden screws, but the new Taptic-engine takes up quite a large amount of space. Furthermore, the display assembly is rather hefty at 60 grams, and marks a 15 gram increase from the previous model. Rather surprisingly, the panel section weighs the same as Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus handset.On another note, the 3D touch sensor is labeled 343S00014 which doesn’t pinpoint to any major manufacturer but falls in line with Apple’s ICs. The battery capacity has been reduced from 1810 mAh to 1715 and comes in at 3.8V, 6.55 Whr. Apple had to reduce the battery size and capacity due to the Taptic Engine and thicker display. Finally, here is a complete rundown of the logic board ICs:

• Apple A9 APL0898 SoC + Samsung 2 GB LPDDR4 RAM (as denoted by the markings K3RG1G10BM-BGCH)
• Qualcomm MDM9635M LTE Cat. 6 Modem (vs. the MDM9625M found in the iPhone 6)
• InvenSense MP67B 6-axis Gyroscope and Accelerometer Combo (also found in iPhone 6)
• Bosch Sensortec 3P7 LA 3-axis Accelerometer (likely BMA280)
• TriQuint TQF6405 Power Amplifier Module
• Skyworks SKY77812 Power Amplifier Module
• Avago AFEM-8030 Power Amplifier Module
• 57A6CVI
• Qualcomm QFE1100 Envelope Tracking IC
• Toshiba THGBX5G7D2KLFXG 16 GB 19 nm NAND Flash
• Universal Scientific Industrial 339S00043 Wi-Fi Module
• NXP 66V10 NFC Controller (vs. 65V10 found in iPhone 6)
• Apple/Dialog 338S00120 Power Management IC
• Apple/Cirrus Logic 338S00105 Audio IC
• Qualcomm PMD9635 Power Management IC
• Skyworks SKY77357 Power Amplifier Module (likely an iteration of the SKY77354)

The Apple iPhone 6S has some rather subtle under-the-hood changes but feels quite iterative compared to its predecessor.

What do you think of the iPhone 6S hardware?

Thank you IFixIt for providing us with this information.