iPhone Air Teardown: Apple's Thinnest Phone Yet, and Surprisingly Repairable
This is my first time tearing down the iPhone Air, and honestly, it feels unreal in the hand. It’s thin, it’s light, so light that you could toss it in the air and barely notice it. But here’s a fun fact: if you only measure the camera bump, it’s technically thicker than the regular iPhone 17. Apple marketing magic at its finest.
Durability is another big claim here. Apple says the iPhone Air is not only the thinnest iPhone yet but also the most durable. That sounds like a bold combo, so I had to dig inside and see how they managed it.
Oh, and before we dive deep, Apple might have slipped in a neat little Easter egg. iFixit pointed out that the MagSafe Battery Pack looks suspiciously similar to the iPhone Air’s internal battery. Later in this teardown, I’m testing whether one can actually replace the Air’s battery with that.
Spoiler: it gets interesting.
Opening Up the iPhone Air
People online have said this phone is easier to open than past iPhones. I wanted to test that theory by skipping the heat gun and using just a clamp but, big mistake. The suction cup popped off, scared me half to death, and yeah, heat is still the way to go.
Once heated, the screen popped up cleanly with a bit of alcohol along the edges. Satisfying as always. Everything about this phone is smaller. Even the pentalobe screws are smaller. They're usually much longer than this.
Inside the iPhone Air: A Shrunk-Down Masterpiece
Opening the iPhone Air reveals how Apple miniaturized everything. Usually, there are two chips on the display, but this year, there's only one, plus a flex cable running to the motherboard. The proximity sensor is there, and the front camera is beefed up to 18 megapixels with Center Stage. I prefer this layout over the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which I wasn't a fan of.
After disconnecting the screen and proximity sensor, I flipped it around. Opening from the back is similar, and with heat, the back glass came off easily. Inside, it's gorgeous, way better looking than the 17 Pro or Pro Max. This is definitely the one I'll be making transparent this year.
The back glass has two tri-point screws and one Phillips, making it simple to remove and replace. It includes MagSafe magnets, a 20-watt wireless charging coil, and up top, the plateau with some plasticky material inside. I'll dig into that more during the transparent mod.
I unscrewed everything visible at the top, disconnected the battery, and removed flex cables. So far, just Phillips, tri-point, and standoff screws, nothing unusual.
Motherboard & Components
Here’s where things get wild. The motherboard in the iPhone Air is insanely small, probably the tiniest I’ve ever seen in an iPhone. Somehow, Apple crammed the A19 Pro chip and 12GB of RAM into this little board.
Half of it is a sandwich board, while the other half is just a single layer. That actually makes certain board repairs easier compared to the fully stacked designs in the Pro models.
The speaker design is also different. Instead of adhesive, it’s held by a gasket that presses into a channel for waterproofing. It connects via contact pins instead of flex cables, which is neat but also more prone to corrosion if water sneaks in.
The camera situation is kind of a letdown, though. Just one 48MP Fusion camera. No ultrawide, no telephoto. There's a little booby trap behind it, so be careful removing. Nearby, there's an antenna, microphone, and likely NFC.
Battery Removal
This year, Apple stuck with electrically activated adhesive strips. Instead of pull tabs, you clip into power and heat the adhesive electronically. It works, but honestly, Samsung’s pull-tab system is way easier.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Locate the adhesive tabs on the battery. Each strip must be done one at a time. |
| 2 | Clip the positive terminal of your power source to the adhesive strip's contact point. |
| 3 | Attach the negative terminal to a ground point such as the metal plate and hold both terminals for about 1 minute until the adhesive softens. |
| 4 | Repeat the process on the other side of the strip until both sides are released. |
Once removed, I measured the iPhone Air’s battery: 3,149mAh, or 12.263Wh. Not massive, but expected for such a thin phone.
Charging Port
Taking out the charging port was easier than usual. Fewer screws, simpler assembly. The port itself doesn’t have much protection around it because Apple built that directly into the housing. This is part of how they shaved off so much thickness.
MagSafe Battery Pack Test
Now for the fun part. I tossed the stock battery aside and installed the MagSafe Battery Pack’s cell inside the iPhone Air. Hit the power button… and boom, Apple logo. It booted right up.
So yes, the MagSafe Battery Pack battery works inside the iPhone Air. That means if you ever get desperate for a replacement, that accessory might save your day.
Final Thoughts
I wasn’t expecting this, but the iPhone Air is actually one of the most repairable iPhones Apple has released in years. Fewer screws, simpler construction, and even easier back glass removal compared to the Pro and Pro Max models. The iPhone Air might be Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever, but weirdly enough, it might also be the most fixable.
Sure, the single camera feels like a downgrade, and the battery removal process could be better, but overall, this is a teardown I actually enjoyed.
See you in the next article!
