LG G5 teardown shows it's possible to include removable batteries in unibody phones

Teardown specialists,  iFixit disassembled LG’s new flagship G5 and had a good look at its innards. The phone has easily replaceable parts with a modular design. The G5 also uses a new aluminum alloy, LM201, developed in partnership with Korea Institute of Industrial Technology. The modular design and the new alloy together forced this iteration of the flagship to be slightly bulkier than the G4. The battery can be popped out of the phone with a push of a button. Removable batteries make smartphones more environmentally friendly as they are easier to recycle. It also reduces e-waste. The end cap module of the battery has some components inside it as well. The battery has a capacity of 2800 mAh, which is a decrease from it’s predecessor, which had a capacity of 3000 mAh. The front cover of the end cap module is made out of plastic, but that is just a tiny portion of the phone, so LG’s response to plasticgate is still valid. The LG G5 scored a repairability score of 8, which was the same as the score for the G4. While a lot of other phones are as repairable, only a few scored better. The modular components means that it’s easy to replace faulty parts with new ones. The only downside iFixit found was that the fused display assembly makes it expensive to replace the parts if the LCD or the glass breaks.