iFixit teardown: LG G5 modular design earns it a high smartphone repairability score

Smartphones are expensive and important tools for our daily lives so millions buy cases to try to protect them from damage. However, sometimes they break and then we spend another couple hundred to get it repaired. The repair costs vary with design complications so the ability to repair it is something to consider when purchasing your next phone.

There are a few phones that you can repair yourself without too much effort and iFixit gives these phones high repairability ratings. iFixit just posted its LG G5 teardown and a score of 8/10 was awarded. It turns out the modular design makes it fairly easy to repair, making it more desirable as a device for the long term.

I posted my full review of the LG G5 last week and like what I see in the device. Like the LG G4, it's one of those phones that grows on me after not blowing me away at first. Also like the LG G4, it has an 8 repairability rating and looking through the iFixit teardown gives me confidence I could fix anything in the device.

Some interesting findings from the LG G5 teardown include:

• Use of LM201 aluminum alloy that was a custom designed in partnership with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology
• The X-ray view shows the LG G5 looks a lot like an iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
• Location and placement of three cameras in a single phone
• The LG G5 is Quick Charge 3.0 compliant
• While easy to teardown, the fused display design means it still may be costly if you break your display

LG G5 first impressions product image gallery

The more time I spend with the LG G5, the more I like it and things like this make me appreciate it a bit more too. The modular design is interesting and I'll be convinced it's a good strategy if we see more modules and continued support on future LG smartphones.

See also:

• LG G5 review
• First impressions of the LG G5
• LG G5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S7: Which is the new flagship Android smartphone?