iPhone 1st Generation Teardown

Teardown

Teardown

Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.

We disassembled this iPhone on June 29, 2007.

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Add Note Edit Step 1 — iPhone 1st Generation Teardown  ¶ 

  • We've procured our iPhone, and it's on the way to our photo studio now.

  • We purchased two 8 GB iPhones.

  • The phone has arrived!

  • Who wants to take bets on how long it'll take us to start selling iPhone parts?

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Add Note Edit Step 2  ¶ 

  • OK, so here's a quick overview of the basics.

    • The iPhone is 4.5x2.4x0.5", and weighs 4.8 ounces (0.3 pounds). For reference, 18 iPhones weigh the same as one MacBook Pro.

    • The display is 3.5" diagonal, 480x320 resolution. That's 153,600 pixels, or 12% as many as a 15" MacBook Pro.

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Add Note Edit Step 3  ¶ 

  • If you can't tell, we're stalling while we figure out how to get it open.

  • The iPhone supports four major different wireless protocols.

  • The List: Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 802.11b/g WiFi, EDGE, and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR.

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Add Note Edit Step 4  ¶ 

  • Random facts:

    • The iPhone has H.264 video decoding, most likely in hardware.

    • It also has a two-megapixel camera.

    • Last March Micron told setteB.IT in an exclusive interview that the camera is an MT9D112D00STC model (code name K15A or MI-SOC2020).

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Add Note Edit Step 5  ¶ 

  • Front of the iPhone. The battery was partially charged when we got it.

  • The large touch screen is manufactured by Balda, a German company. Hopefully, this screen will be more durable and scratch-resistant than those we've seen on iPods.

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Add Note Edit Step 6  ¶ 

  • iPhone's back.

  • The SIM card is removable. Push a paperclip into the hole on top, and the card will come out (you may have to apply more force than you'd expect).

  • You cannot use a SIM card from another provider without unlocking the phone first. Currently, there is no way to use the iPhone on a non-AT&T network. The only way to use it internationally is roaming with a US plan.

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Add Note Edit Step 7  ¶ 

  • We've got the iPhone apart. It was a little bit tricky.

  • We removed the black antenna plate first.

  • You can see the grounding screw on the back panel holding the antenna cable and connecting the front and back case.

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Add Note Edit Step 8  ¶ 

  • Separating the front and back case.

  • There's a headphone jack cable to disconnect before you can completely remove the back panel.

  • The headphone jack is recessed into the case, so most headphone jacks won't fit without an adapter (even if they're the right 1/8" plug).

    • Apple did this to reduce the strain on the narrow metal jack when you yank on the headphones. With this design, the hard plastic cable jacket absorbs most of the impact.

    • The headphones have a microphone built in, with a button that you pinch to answer a phone call.

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