IPhone SE teardown: What happens when you put an iPhone 8 motherboard into the iPhone SE?



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The new iPhone SE (2020) will go on sale today, and an early teardown shows the similarities between it and the iPhone 8.

The “Jiang Teardown” video was posted by Wenzhou Ao Technololgy on YouTube (the name of the channel is translated from Mandarin). In the video, the new iPhone SE is pulled down next to the iPhone 8 to highlight the differences. Although the video is in Mandarin, English subtitles are available.

The phone is as easy to open as the iPhone 8, as hardly any heat is needed to smooth the adhesive that holds the screen in place. Once removed, the screen is detached from the frame and secured with the same ribbon cables as the iPhone 8. Upon inspection, it’s hard to even tell which phone is which from the inside.

The battery side and component design are identical between the devices. The presenter noted that the display assembly appears to be universal and installed the iPhone SE display on the disassembled iPhone 8. It turns out they are the same part.

The design of the motherboard is even the same, so an attempt was made to swap the SE’s board with that of the iPhone 8 and plugged it in to see if it works. The first hurdle is that the battery connector is different on the SE: It is similar to the battery connector on the iPhone 11. Therefore, remove the new battery and replace it with one that would power the iPhone 8 board.

The smartphone starts normally. Remember, at this point, there is an iPhone 8 motherboard that was installed on an iPhone SE. The screen, speaker and haptic motor work perfectly. However, the differences start to show when you open the Camera app. The main camera does not work, but the front camera is working without problems.

Most of the components of the iPhone SE are transferred directly from the iPhone 8. The time of its launch is a strategic way for Apple to save money on the components that it has already been manufacturing for years.

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