Apple’s New Camera Control Button in iPhone 16: Unrepairable or Just Difficult?
The iPhone 16 is here, bringing with it new design changes like the much-talked-about camera control button and redesigned cameras optimized for spatial video. While these external tweaks are grabbing headlines, the real story often lies under the hood—inside the phone itself. Over the years, iPhones have become increasingly difficult to repair, and this year’s model continues that trend, however, there’s now a new twist.
What’s New in the iPhone 16?
While it may look like a minor update externally, the internal changes in the iPhone 16 are worth discussing. Apple has made part swaps possible for non-official repair shops with their iOS 18 update. This update introduces slightly easier part calibration for Apple’s original parts, but only if they’re taken from a phone that doesn’t have an activation lock or bought off the official self-service repair store.
However, we need to answer the big question: is the new camera control button serialized, & will it trigger compatibility issues if replaced?
IOS 18's New Calibration Menu
Teardown: A Closer Look at the iPhone 16’s Internals
Like the iPhone 15, we start by removing the back glass, which, as expected, has an upgraded adhesive. It took some serious effort to remove, making me wonder whether Apple has intentionally made this a more challenging process. After finally prying it open, we were greeted with much of the same from last year, minus a rotated SIM card reader and a different camera array.
But beyond that, there’s still more to uncover, like the battery pull tab, which turned out to be electrically induced. Yes, Apple’s using some advanced technology here: you’ll need to connect a 9-volt battery to loosen the adhesive holding the battery in place. Once connected, the battery should lift with little resistance, I wasn’t able to test that during the teardown because I wasn’t aware of it at the time of filming, but I plan to try it soon.
Camera Control Button: Repairable or Serialized?
Next up, we took a closer look at the much-anticipated camera control button. Made of sapphire glass, this button is supposed to be highly durable. However, what concerned us was its repairability. While sapphire glass doesn’t scratch easily, the button itself seems to be welded into place, making it nearly impossible to replace without damaging other components.
The most troubling discovery came during testing: the camera control button is serialized. This means if you swap it without Apple’s official calibration, you’ll get a message saying “enclosure” was swapped, likely referring to the whole housing of the phone, including the back glass and button. Although the button worked, the phone experienced strange bugs—frequent shutdowns and glitches with the front cameras, similar to issues found when swapping parts in the iPhone 15 Pro.
With each new iPhone release, repairability seems to be taking a backseat. Apple’s latest addition to the camera control button, while exciting in function, is another step toward making DIY repairs very difficult, especially with aftermarket parts.
If you're a DIY enthusiast looking to swap or repair parts, the iPhone 16 presents both fewer and greater challenges compared to its predecessors, depending on the parts you choose to work with. Although it’s possible to calibrate serialized parts with original components, there are still numerous software locks and functionality restrictions on aftermarket parts that exist solely to make them appear inferior.
As for the electrically induced adhesives, it's an interesting concept, and we always welcome innovations aimed at simplifying repairs. While carrying a 9V battery for all your battery replacements feels a bit odd, it’s not necessarily a bad thing if it streamlines the process. Only time will tell, though.
iPhone 16 Vs iPhone 15