Apple Says iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus Batteries Can Be Removed With Low-Voltage Electrical Current

Apple has confirmed to publications including Engadget that the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have a new electrically-induced battery removal process.

iphone 16 design
The batteries use a type of adhesive that can be loosened with low-voltage electrical current, such as from a 9V battery, according to Apple. The battery can then be easily removed from the devices, with this new process considered to be easier than the adhesive pull tabs that are found under batteries in some previous iPhone models.

This news seemingly confirms that the batteries in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have metal enclosures, which should be revealed in teardowns soon.

Notably, the electrically-induced battery removal process does not extend to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, according to TechCrunch.

It was previously reported that Apple was planning to make the batteries easier to remove in iPhone 16 models to comply with EU law. Apple previously announced that all four iPhone 16 models received an internal redesign for improved repairability and better heat dissipation, but specific details were not known until now.

All four iPhone 16 models launch on Friday.

Related Roundup: iPhone 16
Buyer's Guide: iPhone 16 (Neutral)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iOS 18.3 Leak Provides Clue About iPhone SE 4, iPad 11, and iPad Air 7 Launch Timing

Wednesday January 22, 2025 9:39 am PST by
New information has surfaced that indicates the rumored iPhone SE 4, iPad 11, and new iPad Air models are nearing launch. A private account on social media platform X today revealed that iOS 18.3 or iPadOS 18.3 will be preinstalled on all of those upcoming devices when they are released. It is still unclear exactly when the devices will launch, but this information suggests that Apple will...
iOS 18

5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3

Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...

Top Rated Comments

WarmWinterHat Avatar
18 weeks ago
Spent all of elementary school practicing for this moment.

Attachment Image
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
18 weeks ago
me trying to replace the iPhone battery with my homemade step down transformer



Attachment Image
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
krspkbl Avatar
18 weeks ago
that seems awfully complicated.

there is no reason we can't go back to the way old phones connected batteries.



if they are worried about the battery moving then have it clip in or stick a tiny bit of adhesive but it shouldn't really be an issue... it's not like the battery has any space to move lol. that way all you gotta do is remove the screen and easily pull the battery out.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
con2apple Avatar
18 weeks ago
That damn EU. Instead of investing in camera or battery life, Apple had to make battery replacement easier.

If you're angry about the tiny upgrade, direct your hatred at the European Parliament. This would never have been possible in the States.

/s
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarAnalogy Avatar
18 weeks ago

that seems awfully complicated.

there is no reason we can't go back to the way old phones connected batteries.



if they are worried about the battery moving then have it clip in or stick a tiny bit of adhesive but it shouldn't really be an issue... it's not like the battery has any space to move lol. that way all you gotta do is remove the screen and easily pull the battery out.
The thickness of that phone is a reason. People already complain about weight. Also, that phone is dead if it gets hit with any water.

I get where you're coming from, but I don't think plastic backed phones are gonna fly with the vast majority of people anymore. They could make the back easier to get off, but with all the magnetic charging and fancy stuff in there now, it seems about as easy as it could be. It's going to be more complicated no matter how you slice it because the phone itself is just more complicated now.

As for this glue specifically, it sounds like an improvement if it comes off easily and cleanly, which seems to have been an issue in many teardowns I've seen. With the tiny spaces they're working with, to be able to use a small precise amount helps a lot.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MayaUser Avatar
18 weeks ago
did you hear this Samsung? please copy paste on your next models
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)