iPhone 17 Pro Max Teardown: Apple’s Boldest Redesign Yet, But At What Cost?
Apple finally made some major changes. The new iPhone 17 Pro has a uni-body aluminum housing. And although it looks really cool from the outside, the big question is: what about the inside?
Previous Pro models were decently repairable because you could open them from the back without risking the front screen. With the new iPhones, that risk is back. And Apple didn’t mention that this is actually the thickest Pro model iPhone yet. That makes me wonder: what else did Apple fail to mention? Why make it so thick compared to past models?
Let’s tear it down and find out.
Disclosure
Apple provides an official repair manual for the iPhone 17 Pro Max through its Self Service Repair program. This manual includes technical instructions for replacing genuine Apple parts in iPhone and is intended for individual technicians with the knowledge, experience, and tools required to repair electronic devices. If you’re planning on attempting repairs yourself, I’d recommend checking that out.
Still, even with Apple’s own documentation, it’s clear just how many steps and tools are required compared to previous models.
First Impressions
This is it, the iPhone 17 Pro Max. This phone is gorgeous. I know some people don’t like the design, but I absolutely love it. Apple made a smart move with the back glass cutout, since back glass breaks so often. This change should prevent that problem.
At the top, there’s what looks like a new antenna bar, something I didn’t hear anyone talking about. And the orange color? Absolutely phenomenal. I had to get my hands on this one, and a big shoutout to Connectit for helping me track it down, since this color wasn’t easy to find.
Fun fact: this is the first iPhone to ever have “water” in it. By water, I mean a vapor chamber, something Apple has never included in an iPhone before. I want to see what else is hiding inside.
Getting Inside
Let’s start by unscrewing the two pentalobe screws at the bottom. Like most new iPhones, you can also see the model number engraved inside the charging port.
The first step: testing if the new back glass window is even repairable. Apple ditched titanium for aluminum, and the EU actually gave this model a better durability rating than last year. Still, the glass window can break, so let’s find out how fixable it is.
Removing the Back Glass
Time to answer the big question: is the back glass window removable?
I set the phone in the clamp (barely fits, this thing is huge), applied heat, and attached a suction cup. The back glass uses Ceramic Shield 1, while the front screen uses Ceramic Shield 2, which is slightly stronger. The glass started lifting, a great sign.
After sliding in a prying card with some alcohol, the glass came loose. But surprise: there’s a flex cable. I removed the clamp and carefully opened it.
What I found was adhesive around the perimeter holding down the back glass. On the glass itself, we’ve got MagSafe magnets, the wireless charging coil, and screw holes for the pentalobe screws.
The back glass is fully replaceable and removable, amazing news. To finish, you just unscrew a small bracket, disconnect the flex, and the glass comes right off. Apple finally solved the nightmare of back glass repairs.
Using magnet paper, I noticed something odd: the MagSafe layout has two openings instead of one.
Opening the Front
I’m still a little upset the iPhone no longer opens entirely from the back, but at least the glass is repairable. So, I clamped the display, applied alcohol, and it popped right out.
The perimeter of the display uses a silicone texture built into the frame instead of plastic. That helps water resistance and makes the screen easier to remove, a nice addition.
The display itself is 1,000 nits brighter, has an anti-reflective coating, and looks great next to the iPhone 16 Pro.
Inside the iPhone 17 Pro Max
With the display off, the first thing I noticed: torx screws. Not typical for iPhones (more of a MacBook thing).
At the bottom is the loudspeaker, but oddly, one screw slot looked empty. And the elephant in the room is a giant metal shield covering the internals. Apple hasn’t done this since the iPhone 3. Normally you’d see the guts right away, but not this time.
There are torx screws everywhere. The front camera is also massive, 18MP, and oddly placed. I had to remove a bracket to find the battery connector (marked with plus and minus signs, as Apple’s repair manual usually notes for safety). After disconnecting that and the display flexes, the screen was free.
Now the real teardown begins.
The Shield, Battery, and Vapor Chamber
After removing 15 screws (yes, I counted), the metal shield came off, and attached to it was the battery. Very unusual. The battery still uses electrically activated adhesive strips, but mine didn’t release properly, so I had to pry it out.
Specs: 19.988 Wh / 5,112 mAh, one of the biggest iPhone batteries yet. Behind it sits the much-hyped vapor chamber. When I cut it open, no visible water came out, Apple only uses trace amounts of deionized water, but it’s wild how accurate the keynote renders were.
A Tiny Motherboard, Huge Cameras
The motherboard this year is tiny, taking up less space than the cameras themselves. The front camera is detachable and massive, while the earpiece speaker is nearly the size of the bottom loudspeaker. Instead of adhesive, it just slots into a housing channel sealed with a rubber gasket, improving water resistance.
The rear cameras are monsters: all 48MP fusion cameras (ultrawide, main, and telephoto). Removing them revealed why opening from the back had downsides, the cameras got dirty easily.
The motherboard has a mix of Phillips and tri-point screws, with two unusual connectors sticking out. On the Inside it has:
512GB NAND storage
12GB RAM for Apple Intelligence
The new A19 Pro chip (yep, Apple’s “fastest chip ever”)
Spacer where the SIM tray would be (likely structural support)
Speakers, Taptic Engine, and Charging Port
The loudspeakers are huge this year, and I’m sure the sound is solid. The Taptic Engine was easy to remove, but the charging port was not. Apple made it significantly harder to replace, with screws and antenna connections built in. That’s a shame, because charging ports are one of the most common repairs.
Repairability Verdict
This teardown left me with mixed feelings. Apple did a lot of firsts here:
The Apple Repair Manual for past iPhones often stresses “carefully track screw locations” since misplacing even one can cause damage, and with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, that warning is more important than ever.
First uni-body aluminum housing
First vapor chamber in an iPhone
First removable back glass window design
New display frame material for easier separation
First iPhone To Use Torx Screws
But from a repairability standpoint, I’m not a fan. There are more screws than any iPhone I’ve ever worked on, multiple screw types, and a layout that feels very un-Apple-like. Yes, there’s less adhesive, which helps, but the insane screw count slows everything down.
So while it’s technically repairable, the process is more complicated and time-consuming than it should be.
Here’s What Worked and What Didn’t
| What I Liked | What I Didn’t |
|---|---|
| Back glass and front screen are still relatively easy to replace | Most screws I’ve ever seen in an iPhone |
| Internal design feels solid and well-built | Four different screw types = tool overkill |
| New components and layout show Apple is innovating under the hood | Battery and other parts buried under too many layers |
| Repair steps feel unnecessarily complicated |
Final Thoughts
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is a fascinating device. It’s thick, it’s bold, it’s powerful, and it introduces a ton of firsts. But from my perspective as a repair tech, Apple took a step backward. It feels like the most screwed-down iPhone ever (literally) and will test the patience of anyone trying to fix it.
At least the back glass is now finally replaceable without a nightmare. That’s one win. And who knows, maybe the iPhone Air will redeem Apple’s repairability choices.
See you in the next article.
