So you’ve got your hands on a shiny, Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus from Samsung. You’ll probably need a case, because one drop can do all sorts of damage to these all-glass phones. But in case the S8 does take a tumble, how easy is it to repair? iCracked CEO A.J. Forsythe did a teardown with us to find out.
iCracked, if you’re not familiar with it, is a repair service company that has thousands of certified technicians in more than 600 cities in the United States. If you’ve shattered the glass on your device, you can set up an appointment for a technician to come to your home or work to repair your phone.
The company also has do-it-yourself guides, though Forsythe suggested the S8 might be best taken care of by someone who knows what they are doing. That’s mostly because the rear glass cover is prone to break during the teardown process.
One difference we found in the teardown is the battery — it’s housed in a “battery bay” to protect it from the rest of the electronics. This new change is likely an extra precaution after the massive recall of the Galaxy Note 7 last year, which spontaneously exploded due to battery defects. The battery on the S8 also has extra adhesive, so it’s incredibly difficult to remove.
From the vibration motor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, and the internal storage, Forsythe points out all the cool components that make up the Galaxy S8 in our video, in case you’ve never seen what the inside of a smartphone looks like.
iCracked technicians will be able to repair the S8 and S8 Plus within the next two months, and the estimated cost will be $200. The price is expected to go down as S8 parts become more prevalent.
