DIYers, listen up: if you want to fix your smartphone, consider picking up an Android-based handset.
iFixit on Thursday released a list of the most repairable smartphones after tearing each of the devices down and putting them back together again. According to the company, the Motorola Droid Bionic is the most repair friendly, scoring a 9 out of a possible 10. The Motorola Atrix 4G and Samsung Galaxy S4 followed with a score of 9 and 8, respectively.
Related stories
- Best Phones Under $500 for 2022: Pixel 6A, iPhone SE, Galaxy A53 and More
- Motorola’s Back-to-School Sale Knocks Up to $600 Off Its Popular Smartphones
- Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold, Z Flip 4 May Soon Have More Competition
- Moto Edge 2022: First Look at Motorola’s $498 Phone
- Motorola’s New Edge Has a Cheaper Price, Increased Competition
“Points are docked based on the difficulty of opening the device, the types of fasteners found inside, and the complexity involved in replacing major components,” iFixit said of its scoring philosophy. “Points are awarded for upgradability, use of non-proprietary tools for servicing, and component modularity.”
Despite its success with some devices, Motorola’s Droid 4 and Droid Razr found themselves towards the bottom of the list, scoring 4 points out of 10. The HTC One was the least-repairable device, tallying just 1 point. Apple’s original iPhone received a score of 2.
Speaking of Apple, the company’s iPhones are all over the place in the iFixit study. While the original handset could only muster a 2, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S both nabbed a 6 for repairability. Even the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C were able to score 6 on iFixit’s scale. Apple’s most repairable handset is the iPhone 5, which earned a score of 7.