Teardown confirms Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a repair nightmare, but maybe that's the point
Fragile inner components, glued batteries, and a hard-to-replace screen make DIY fixes tough.
It could be that the same design choices may help the phone survive extreme durability tests.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 impressed last week in JerryRigEverything's notorious bend test, which is just as well. According to iFixit, if anything does go wrong, actually repairing the device is a different kind of endurance test.
In a new teardown video, iFixit gives the Fold 7 a repairability score of just three out of ten, calling it fragile and a 'repair nightmare.' The team does praise Samsung's hardware engineering in some places — like the easily replaceable USB-C port — but says frustrating adhesives, ultra-thin batteries, and a highly delicate inner screen make most common repairs both difficult and prohibitively expensive.
This whole process is everything that's wrong with battery replacement in modern electronics.
iFixit
The disassembly process reveals two glued-in lithium-ion batteries, both of which use older-style pull-tab adhesives that frequently tear and require force to remove. Given how thin the batteries are, iFixit warns that applying too much pressure could bend them enough to cause combustion.
The inner display is even more of a headache. Despite being rated for 500,000 folds, the 8-inch AMOLED panel is extremely sensitive to pressure and torsion. Even tweezers used to lift the glued-in bezel can cause damage. iFixit estimates a screen repair will cost nearly $600, and replacing just the panel isn't realistic in most cases, as the screen and chassis replacements are typically bundled.
In Samsung's defense, some of the same things that make the Fold 7 hard to repair may be helping it survive in one piece. JerryRigEverything's onslaught highlighted the device's impressive structural strength, with Samsung's redesigned hinge and outer display holding up under serious abuse. It's possible that the strong adhesives and tightly packed components that frustrate repair efforts also contribute to that surprising durability.
Still, iFixit criticizes Samsung's broader repairability record, pointing out that spare parts and repair manuals are still missing for last year's Z Fold 6, let alone the new model. They say they'll consider updating the Z Fold 7 repair score if Samsung improves its support for self-repair.
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