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Next-gen iPhone splayed, battery probably not meant to be replaced by the unwashed masses

It's been pretty low-key, so we totally understand if you haven't heard anything about it yet, but it turns out there's a next-gen iPhone floating around somewhere outside Apple's sphere of reality-distorting influence. We'll spare you the backstory there, but Gizmodo saw fit to do a little non-destructive (more on that in a moment) teardown of the device today. There's actually not that much to see or learn from it, but we couldn't help but notice the prominently-placed translucent tab underneath the battery imploring only "authorized service providers" to proceed, which we figure is a pretty strong sign that Apple will continue its nefarious legacy of blocking owners from managing their own juice -- a fact that's corroborated by Giz's claim that it takes the removal of two screws and a suction cup to get in there anyhow. As for the delicate, decidedly un-iFixit-like nature of the teardown, the site explains that it didn't want to "damage the connections beyond repair," and since the silicon is all buried under a tightly-manufactured metal plate, we don't get to learn whether the phone's rocking an A4 processor right out of the iPad parts bin. Of course, worst case, we expect to know that tidbit at the launch event -- or, failing that, mere moments after the suckers go on sale when the first retail units donate their bodies to science. Hang on tight, everyone.