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Unlocking the secrets of the latest iPhone is a time-honored tradition, since Apple rarely gives us the entire picture of what's going on under the surface. The iPhone 17 Pro is absolutely no exception, and the teardown experts at iFixit have put the phone through its paces to see what's going on under the hood.
Considering the iPhone 17 Pro (and Pro Max) has an all-new design, there's plenty to see once the phone is open. The least of which is the fact that Apple's new dual-entry repair system has been scrapped. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
iPhone 17 Pro Teardown: Fascinating Battery, New Vapor Chamber & Scratchgate! - YouTube
Opening up the iPhone 17 Pro
This system allowed the front and back glass to be removed safely, allowing easier access to components on both halves of the phone. This meant that an issue at the very front of the phone, such as a broken display, wouldn't force repair technicians to dismantle the entire phone from the back — as was the case on previous generations.
In the case of this phone, removing the back glass panel doesn't give you access to very much at all. That's not a huge surprise given the new aluminum unibody, though it does mean any internal repairs will need to access the insides through the screen. That said, the process of getting inside doesn't seem too difficult, and the teardown shows that Apple has utilized standard Torx Plus screws for the first time.
Further down are Phillips and tri-point screws, though Apple hasn't scrapped the special standoff screws in their entirety. While this change may have come about thanks to various right-to-repair laws around the world, the fact that Apple has ditched a bunch of the proprietary screws this year is a win.
Those screws are holding the battery tray in place, meaning it pops out very easily. Though the cell is held in place by Apple's electrically-bonded adhesive. Thankfully, that can be debonded with a small jolt of electricity, but iFixit speculates that Apple may end up selling new batteries in the tray, which can be screwed in place, rather than glued. We'll have to wait and see what happens there, though.
The new vapor chamber is quite sizable, though maybe not as big as the ones found in the likes of the Galaxy S25 series. But it sits right on top of the A19 Pro chipset, ready to siphon away excess heat and offer the sustained performance improvements we've already seen.
Sadly, the iPhone Air's 3D-printed titanium USB-C port doesn't make an appearance in the 17 Pro. In fact, the port is apparently primarily made of plastic. There's no C1X antenna either, with Qualcomm continuing to fill that role.
Scratchgate is real, and you should get a case
What about scratchgate? Well, iFixit tested the aluminum unibody with a level 4 hardness tester, which is the same hardness as a copper penny, and viewed the results under the microscope. They found that while the tester could scratch the flat surfaces, the colored aluminum could still be seen underneath. Sadly, moving that scratch to the corner of the forge plateau took away all the orange — and left us with a prominent silver-colored scratch.
But after speaking to experts, iFixit determined that the issue isn't a case of switching from titanium to aluminum. While the titanium oxide layer covering the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a little stronger than the 17 Pro's anodized aluminum oxide layer, it's apparently not enough to make a difference. As has been suggested elsewhere, the problem lies in the shape of the forged plateau and the sharp corners.
Basically, the anodization process, which produces the protective aluminum oxide layer that helps protect the phone, doesn't adhere to the plateau's edge as evenly as it does on the rest of the phone. That anodized layer is more brittle than aluminum, but when a scratch occurs on a flat surface, it ends up deforming into the aluminum underneath. But on a hard edge? The oxide layer ends up taking the brunt of the force, increasing the damage and exposing the bare metal beneath it.
Attempting to make the anodized layer thicker on the corner will only make the problem worse. Though because the Pro models are the only ones with these sharp corners, it seems the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air aren't affected in the same way. iFixit even points out that the glass backplate on both phones seems to offer more protection, which is kind of crazy when you think about it.
So be sure to pick up one of the best iPhone 17 Pro cases to help avoid ugly silver scuffs on your camera bump.
How repairable is the iPhone 17 Pro?
The iPhone 17 Pro gained a provisional repairability score of 7 out of 10 — noting that the design changes are "a bit of a mixed bag" where repairability is concerned. The new battery case was particularly noteworthy, and iFixit makes it clear that Apple's designers do seem to have considered repairability when building the phone.
However, we can't really ignore the fact that the two-way repair system has been scrapped. Which means all repair work has to go in through the display, increasing the time and effort needed to get things fixed. The USB-C port replacement was also called out for being tedious.
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