Pixel Watch 5 Keeps the Two-Screw Design and 9/10 Repairability Score
iFixit gave Pixel Watch 5 a provisional 9/10, matching Watch 4. Colour-coded screws refine the familiar design, while screen replacement still takes more work.
MobileTech DeskTopic
Repairability
13 articlesContinuing coverage tagged Repairability.
Fairphone Gen 6+ is easy to fix, but US buyers must check the carrier map
Fairphone's $650 modular Android phone is now a credible mid-range buy in the US. Its replaceable parts are excellent; its network support needs homework.
MobileTech DeskiKKO's tiny MindOne Pro aces the sapphire test and fumbles the phone part
The square MindOne Pro has real sapphire and clever packaging. Three independent tests found weak battery life, unfinished software and a fragile camera pivot.
MobileTech DeskA Foldable iPhone Screen Repair Could Cost £850, Says a Repair Shop Owner
Ricky Panesar of iCorrect estimates roughly $1,155 to replace the inner display on Apple's first foldable — about 43% above Samsung's Z Fold 8 price, and close to 58% of the phone itself.
MobileTech DeskPixel 11 Pro XL: Google Says Twice as Scratch-Resistant, the Picks Say Maybe
Google's 800nm anti-scratch coating is real, thin and proprietary. A teardown finds it softens micro-scratches without stopping level 6 grooves, while the phone underneath stays refreshingly easy to fix.
MobileTech DeskSamsung's cheaper Fold 8 survived the bend. The Ultra's screen did not
JerryRigEverything's reverse-bend test left the $2,099 Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's inner display dead. The $1,899 Fold 8 had already come through the same motion intact.
MobileTech DeskSennheiser made premium earbuds repairable, now it has to sell the batteries
Momentum True Wireless 5 owners can replace all three batteries with a screwdriver. Sennheiser has not priced the spare cells, or said how long it will stock them.
MobileTech DeskMotorola is doing GrapheneOS's firmware work, starting with 2027 flagships
The first officially supported Motorola models are due in 2027. The real work sits below Android: firmware, drivers and seven years of updates GrapheneOS can actually ship.
MobileTech DeskSamsung's Fold 8 hinge still isn't dustproof. The repair is the expensive half
iFixit's UV powder left a Galaxy Z Fold 8 chewing grit. JerryRigEverything heard the same grind on the Fold 8 Ultra. Pixel and Honor already rate their foldables IP6X.
MobileTech DeskEurope's new phone repair right starts after the warranty, but it is not a DIY guarantee
Since 31 July 2026, covered phone makers must offer repairs beyond the legal guarantee at a reasonable price. The useful new remedy comes with national rollout gaps and no promise of a free fix.
MobileTech DeskThe Pixel 11 opens easily. The 2033 software promise still needs a battery
Three independent teardowns put Pixel 11 among 2026's easiest flagships to repair. Google's seven-year Android and spare-parts clock is the harder half of that claim.
MobileTech DeskMotorola gives the Edge 70 Max two update promises
Motorola lists conflicting support terms for the Edge 70 Max. EU repairability labels now make guaranteed software duration part of the score buyers see.
MobileTech DeskFairphone Gen 6+ shows why repairability is a software promise too
Europe has new repair rights, but the Fairphone Gen 6+ demonstrates the harder test: parts, software and support must survive together.
MobileTech Desk