The first breakdown of Samsung's new flexible phone has appeared on the air Galaxy From Fold 3. It shows that its hardware is more complex than some might have thought.
The teardown video of the third Fold begins by removing the back plate and detaching the outer display, revealing the "innards" of the device, including the two batteries that power it. According to the video, removing the outer screen is fairly straightforward and not too complicated, but that's where the good news ends. Under the batteries there is another board that is in charge of supporting the S Pen stylus.
After removing the outer display, 14 Phillips screws appear that hold the "innards" of the phone together. With those removed as well, it's possible to detach one of the plates that holds the selfie cam for the external display and then remove the battery.
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Disassembling the left side of the Fold 3, where the (triple) camera system is located, seems to be even more complicated. After removing the wireless charging pad, a total of 16 Phillips screws must be unscrewed to access the two boards. The motherboard, where the processor, operating memory and internal memory "sit", has a multi-layer design. Samsung chose this design so that the motherboard could accommodate not only the "brain" of the new Fold, but also three rear cameras and an under-display selfie camera. To the left and right of the board, 5G antennas with millimeter waves, which can be easily removed, have found their place.
Underneath the motherboard is a second set of batteries, which hides another board that houses the phone's USB-C charging port. To remove the flexible display, you first need to heat the plastic edges of the device and then pry them off. The folding screen must then be gently pryed away from the central frame. The actual removal of the flexible display is not shown in the video, apparently because the probability of it breaking during this process is very high.
Galaxy Z Fold 3 has IPX8 water resistance. It is so logical that its internal parts are glued with waterproof glue, which can be easily removed after heating.
Overall, YouTube channel PBKreviews, which came up with the video, concluded that the third Fold is very complicated to repair and gave it a repairability score of 2/10. He added that the repairs of this smartphone will be very time-consuming. Considering that this is one of the most technologically advanced phones on the market, this conclusion is not surprising.
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