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iPhone XS and XS Max reveals some battery surprises

A teardown of Apple's new iPhone XS reveals a battery that's smaller than in last year's iPhone X.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer
​iPhone XS and XS Max, torn down

iPhone XS and XS Max, torn down

iFixit

It's once again that time when the iFixit team get their hands on the new iPhones and carry out their usual detailed teardown. And as is the case, the teardown of the new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max has revealed some interesting details that Apple didn't tell us about during the unveiling.

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The first interesting revelation is that the iPhone XS has a smaller battery than the one found inside last year's iPhone X -- 10.13Wh compared to 10.35Wh. According to iFixit, the reason for this is that in moving from a design that featured a dual-battery, the iPhone XS uses a single-celled L-shaped battery. In order to create a battery with six corners, Apple had to add notches to the corners to handle thermal expansion, and this in turn reduced the capacity of the battery.

The iPhone XS Max continues to make use of a dual-battery system, and this has a capacity of 12.08Wh.

​iPhone XS battery removal

iPhone XS battery removal

iFixit

This gives the new iPhones battery capacity that's similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, but nowhere near that of the Galaxy Note 9.

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As for the waterproofing of the new iPhones being bumped up from IP67 to IP68, the iFixit team couldn't find any signs of additional seals or gaskets compared to last year's models, leading them to believe that Apple may have erred on the side of caution and undersold the waterproofing capabilities of the handsets.

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iPhone XS front camera array

iFixit

iFixit also found a new Apple chip inside the iPhone XS Max -- the Apple 338S00456, which is a new power-management chip.

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iFixit gave both the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max a 6 out of 10 on the repairability scale, down in part to how easy it is to replace the display and battery, but breaking the back glass still leaves you in a world of hurt.

Best accessories for your iPhone XS or XS Max

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