Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: AT&T 16GB White

ntThe iPhone 4S is available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models. It comes in black or white.

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ntIn the U.S., the iPhone 4S is available from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. When purchased with a two-year contract, the 16GB model costs $199, the 32GB model costs $299, and the 64GB model costs $399.

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ntI bought AT&T’s version of the white, 16GB iPhone 4S (sans contract) from a local Best Buy Mobile location for $699.99 (plus tax).
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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown:

Our the Apple iPhone 4S has an Apple A5 1GHz dual-core processor with 512MB of DDR2 RAM, 16GB of storage, 8MP rear-facing camera, VGA-quality front-facing camera, and 3.5″ Retina display (960×640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi).

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown:

Included with the iPhone 4S are a USB power adapter, 30-pin dock connector to USB cable, earphones (with remote and mic), and product documentation (not shown).

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Front

ntThe iPhone 4S has the same dimensions as the iPhone 4. It measures 4.5″ (H) x 2.31″ (W) x 0.37″ (D). At 4.9 ounces, the iPhone 4S weighs 0.1 ounces more than the iPhone 4.
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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Back

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S side-by-side

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S antennas

ntWhen the iPhone 4S (AT&T) and iPhone 4 (AT&T) are placed on top of each other, you can seen the differences in the antennas (indicated by the black lines along the phones’ metal edges). According to Apple, the iPhone 4S has two different antennas, which the phone can choose between to find the best cellular signal.

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ntDepending on which carrier you choose, the iPhone 4S can support the following cellular bands:

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• nttUMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)

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• nttGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

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• nttCDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the external screws

ntThe iPhone 4S has two tamper-resistant pentalobe screws along the bottom edge. I used a special screwdrive to remove them.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Sliding the back cover off

ntWith the screws removed, you can slide the back cover up.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the back cover

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Back cover

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Internal hardware

ntLike its exterior, the iPhone 4S’ internal hardware layout is nearly identical to that of the iPhone 4.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the battery connector cover

ntInside the iPhone 4S, Apple used a lot of tiny screws. I used a Phillips #000 screwdirver to remove them.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Disconnecting the battery

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the battery

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: 3.7V 5.3Whr Battery (APN: 616-0580)

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing one of the many connector covers

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Disconnecting the Home button ribbon cable

ntA large ribbon cable connected the Home button and other components along the bottom of the iPhone to the main PCB.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the speaker assembly screws

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the speaker assembly

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Speakers

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the upper connector cover plate screws

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Upper section screws removed

ntThere are sevaral connectors and cover plates located at the top of the iPhone 4S. I removed all the screws holding them in place.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the largest upper cover plate

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Disconnecting the rear-facing camera

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the rear-facing camera

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: 8MP rear-facing camera

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Upper section with camera removed

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Disconnecting the main PCB connectors

ntThe upper portion of the iPhone 4S’ main PCB is covered with cable connectors. I disconnected all of them with a thin metal blade.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the main PCB screws

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the SIM card and holder

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing one of many misc. clips

ntOne of the most frustrating aspects of the iPhone 4S teardown was removing the tiny clips, spacers, and cushions located inside the phone.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Tiny clip

ntHere’s a closeup of the clip shown in the previous iPhone 4S photo.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Peeling off a sticker to expose a screw

ntA tiny black sticker covers one of the screws that hold the main PCB in place.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the hidden PCB screw

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the PCB

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Metal frame and display assembly

ntWith the main PCB removed, we get a clearer look at the iPhone 4S’ other internal components. Unfortunatley, most of them are glued to the metal frame. To avoid damaging them, I left them in place.

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ntI also chose to leave the Retina display and touchscreen (front panel) attached to the metal frame. I actually removed all the display assembly screws, but it did not want to come loose. As with the other internal components, I left it in place to avoid potentially damaging it.

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ntI did however, remove the vibration motor.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Removing the vibration motor

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Vibration motor

ntThe AT&T version of the iPhone 4 used a rotating vibration motor. The iPhone 4S uses the same linear oscillating vibrator found on the Verizon version of the iPhone 4.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Upper components

ntThe upper section of the iPhone 4S houses the ambient light sensor, front-facing camera, speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, on/off button, ring/silent button, and volume up/down buttons.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Home button and 30-pin connector

ntThe lower section of the iPhone 4S contains the Home button, 30-pin connector port, and microphone.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Main PCB - Front

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Main PCB - Back

ntAlthough most of the iPhone 4S’ chips are visible with the removable EMI shields detached, several chips, such as the Toshiba NAND Flash memory module, remain hidden.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: 1GHz A5 processor K3PE4E400B-XGC1

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: STMicro gyroscope and STMicro three-axis accelerometer

ntSTMicro chips with markings:

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• ntt2128 33DH HGGBZ

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• nttAGD8 2132 KJ5CH

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ntThese are likely the gyroscope and three-axis accelereometer.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Unknown Apple chip with markings 338S0987 BOIT1132 SGP

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Qualcomm RT8605 Qualcomm RT8605 Multi-band RF Transceiver

ntThe iPhone 4S’ Qualcomm RTR8605 Multi-band RF Transceiver was also used in the HTC Thunderbolt.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: TriQuint TQM9M9030

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: TriQuint TQM66052

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Unknown chip with markings SP f QHB52

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Avago ACPM-7181 Power Amplifier

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Skyworks 77464-20 Power Amplifier

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Apple 338S0973

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Qualcomm MDM6610

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Qualcomm PM8020 power management IC

ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Murata SW SS1830010

ntUnder this black sticker is a Murata SW SS1830010, which likely provides the iPhone 4S’ Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Screws

ntThis photo shows the many tiny screws found inside the iPhone 4S. Although I was able to remove them all with a Phillips #000 screwdriver, they come in a variety of sizes. This makes reassembling the iPhone 4S a timeconsuming process. I wish Apple would settle on a single size for the iPhone’s internal screws–as other smartphone manufacturers have.

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ntPhoto by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
ntCaption by: Bill Detwiler

Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Completely Disassembled

ntAlthough their internal design is almost identical, the Apple iPhone 4S was a bit more difficult to dissect than the iPhone 4–mainly because the display/front panel assembly didn’t want to come off.

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ntFor a more in-depth review of the iPhone 4S’ internal hardware, check out my article, “Apple iPhone 4S Teardown: Old design, new hardware.”