The Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G will be available online and in stores tomorrow. Just in time, the folks at iFixit are sharing a peek inside the new device. Most notably, the phone borrows one major design queue from the iPhone, and it won’t be super easy to repair.
Like the iPhone X, the Note 10+ positions the motherboard at the top half of the phone. While this allows the battery to be wider, it requires cables between mother and daughterboard. Those block access to the battery. They can be moved to the side, but they’ll add a challenge to repairs.
Speaking of repairs, iFixit points out that every repair requires un-gluing the fragile glass rear cover. Replacing the glued-down battery is difficult, and common display repairs “require either a complete teardown or replacing half the phone.” Overall, iFixit gives the Note 10+ a repairability score of 3 out of ten.
The device also has a new vibration motor, which breaks Samsung’s trend of using the same circular motor in all of its phone buzzers. As iFixit says, that could mean Samsung is taking haptic feedback more seriously — or not. And of course, there’s no headphone jack or Bixby button. You can take a look at the full teardown here and read our first take on the phone here.