iPhone 16's 'Revolutionary' Battery Removal Process Shown in Video
Over the weekend, well-known repair website iFixit shared an iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus teardown video, and an accompanying blog post. Notably, the video shows Apple's new electrical battery removal process in action on the standard iPhone 16.
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus batteries have an innovative type of adhesive that can be easily loosened with low-voltage electrical current, such as from a 9V battery. The steps involved include attaching alligator clips to a 9V battery, connecting the red/positive clip to the silver tab on the iPhone's battery, and connecting the black/negative clip to the lower-right grounding screw on the iPhone's bottom speaker module. After up to 90 seconds, the adhesive should debond and the battery can then be easily taken out of the iPhone.
iFixit described this new process as "revolutionary," and explained how it works:
Imagine an Oreo cookie with a thick layer of double-stuf creme. You figured out that if you dip just the bottom cookie in some milk and twist the cookie apart, the filling will always stick to the top cookie.
Similarly, when we zap the adhesive, the current oxidizes the negative/anode mating surface and loosens the adhesive from it. The adhesive "filling" between the battery and the frame will then stick to whichever surface that’s connected to the positive terminal.
In an email, iFixit said the iPhone 16 is "the most-repairable iPhone yet":
We're giving the phone a laudable 7 out of 10 repairability score (provisional, pending Apple's release of parts). It's not the Fairphone, but Apple's made some important strides in improving hardware repairability, and ending parts pairing restrictions for harvested OEM parts is a huge boon for the repair community.
Only the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus use this new process. iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max batteries still have stretch-release adhesive pull tabs.
iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro Max batteries still have a black foil enclosure, while the iPhone 16 Pro battery has moved to a metal enclosure, which increases repair safety and likely contributes to improved heat dissipation.
Popular Stories
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models.
The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras
Under-screen Face ID
Front camera in...
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones.
iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features.
Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen
A new slider in the Lock...
The European Commission today praised the interoperability changes that Apple is introducing in iOS 26.3, once again crediting the Digital Markets Act (DMA) with bringing "new opportunities" to European users and developers.
The Digital Markets Act requires Apple to provide third-party accessories with the same capabilities and access to device features that Apple's own products get. In iOS...
Apple's first foldable iPhone, rumored for release next year, may turn out to be smaller than most people imagine, if a recent report is anything to go by. According to The Information, the outer display on the book-style device will measure just 5.3 inches – that's smaller than the 5.4-inch screen on the iPhone mini, a line Apple discontinued in 2022 due to poor sales. The report has led ...
Apple is significantly increasing its reliance on Samsung for iPhone memory as component prices surge, according to The Korea Economic Daily.
Apple is said to be expanding the share of iPhone memory it sources from Samsung due to rapidly rising memory prices. The shift is expected to result in Samsung supplying roughly 60% to 70% of the low-power DRAM used in the iPhone 17, compared with a...
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu.
As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
OpenAI added a year-end summary feature to ChatGPT, allowing users to get a personalized overview of their 2025 ChatGPT usage. The summary is similar to year-end wrap-ups from companies like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and other services.
ChatGPT offers up an overview of themes discussed and chat stats, such as busiest chatting day, number of overall chats, messages sent, and more....
