Apple’s computers and devices may be at the top of the review charts, but one way in which they almost never do very well is in iFixit’s repairability ratings. With hard-to-crack cases held together by copious amounts of solder and glue, it’s practically impossible to repair your own iPhone, iPad, or Mac by yourself. Apple routinely gets ranks of 1, 2, or 3 on iFixit’s “Out of 10” repairability scale.

But smartphones don’t need to be unrepairable. iFixIt just gave a smartphone a perfect 10 on its repairability scale. And surprise! It’s an Android device.

The device in question is the Fairphone 2, a modular smartphone that has beat Project Ara to market by about a year. Because it’s a modular phone, the internal elements are easily removed or replaced, and while it’s not quite as extendale as Project Ara hopes to be, it still proves to be incredibly repairable.

The innards of the phone are accessible just by snapping off the transparent rear case, no tools required. The battery is easily removable, and even the display can be separated from the phone by just flipping a couple of switches. There’s even an unused, 5 pin USB 2.0 at the back for future extensibility.

Best of all? The Fairphone 2 doesn’t look that bad. It’s commonly held that Apple’s manufacturing techniques are necessary to keep its slim footprint, but the Fairphone 2 shows it’s possible to make a totally repairable smartphone, without sacrificing too much on aesthetics.

Source: iFixIt