iFixit has published its detailed teardown of the iPhone 17 Pro, offering a closer look inside Apple’s latest flagship. The disassembly provides insights into how Apple has redesigned internal components, adjusted the materials used for durability, and how these changes affect repairability. While Apple highlighted performance and camera improvements during launch, this teardown shows the underlying hardware that enables those upgrades.
According to iFixit, the iPhone 17 Pro uses a more compact logic board compared to last year’s model, freeing up additional space for a slightly larger battery and the new thermal management system. Apple has also made structural changes to the aluminum frame, reinforcing weak points that were criticized in the iPhone 15 Pro for bending under stress. The tighter internal arrangement reflects Apple’s ongoing effort to optimize space efficiency while still balancing strength, battery capacity, and cooling needs.
The iFixit teardown revealed several notable details about the iPhone 17 Pro’s internal design:
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The logic board has been reduced in size, with denser packaging for chips including the new A19 Pro processor.
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A new dual-layer cooling solution is present, likely to help sustain performance during heavy workloads such as gaming and video editing.
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The battery is slightly larger than the iPhone 16 Pro’s, but Apple has maintained a nearly identical form factor by rearranging internal components.
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The aluminum frame includes additional reinforcement along the side rails to prevent bending, directly addressing durability concerns raised in earlier models.
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The rear glass panel remains separately removable, which keeps repairability more manageable and continues Apple’s recent design approach introduced with the iPhone 14 series.
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The Taptic Engine has been repositioned to make room for the expanded cooling system, showing how Apple balances haptic feedback with thermal management.
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Apple’s new U2 Ultra Wideband chip has been placed closer to antenna modules, helping deliver more accurate location tracking and improved Find My performance.
iFixit also addressed the so-called “Scratchgate” controversy that surfaced shortly after launch. Many early users reported that the new heat-forged aluminum is prone to surface scratches, particularly around the edges. The teardown confirmed that while Apple reinforced the aluminum frame to improve structural durability and prevent bending, the brushed finish is indeed more vulnerable to visible marks compared to the polished titanium used in the iPhone 15 Pro. iFixit explained that this is a tradeoff: the brushed texture provides a more matte look and improved grip but sacrifices some scratch resistance. For users concerned about resale value or aesthetics, a case or protective skin may be necessary to prevent rapid cosmetic wear.
Other hardware refinements were also noted. The battery connector uses a slightly redesigned contact system, which should improve stability during servicing. iFixit’s X-ray analysis revealed the compact, layered design of the logic board, highlighting Apple’s increasing reliance on denser component packaging. The teardown also confirmed that the camera module is easier to access than in previous Pro models, which could make replacement or servicing less costly. However, software pairing requirements still limit the ability of independent repair shops to use non-genuine Apple parts without functional compromises.
Compared to the iPhone Air teardown, the iPhone 17 Pro is more tightly packed with advanced components, reflecting its role as Apple’s premium performance model. The improvements to thermal design and durability are significant, but users should be aware that iFixit assigned a repairability score of 7 out of 10. While better than some past iPhones, this score reflects ongoing challenges with proprietary software locks and part restrictions.
Overall, iFixit’s findings confirm that Apple has listened to past criticism about frame durability, while also making internal adjustments for better performance, cooling, and battery life. The iPhone 17 Pro shows how Apple continues to refine its design priorities: balancing cutting-edge hardware with structural improvements, but still leaving open questions around scratch resistance, repair access, and long-term serviceability.
