It's barely a week into our iPhone 13 review, and iFixit has already published an iPhone 13 Pro teardown report. The report sheds some light on the display, Face ID, and camera upgrades.

We also see a larger battery, 11.97Wh, up from 10.78Wh in the iPhone 12 Pro. In our testing, the large change in capacity equates to battery life: in Tom's Guide battery life tests, the iPhone 13 Pro lasted nearly three hours longer than the iPhone 12 Pro, more than 12 hours.

Unfortunately, iFixit's disassembly process also confirmed that the iPhone 13 Pro suffers from poor repairability.

iFixit found several positive aspects to the iPhone 13 Pro, including the ease of replacing some parts. The display and battery are particularly easy to remove, which makes sense since these are probably the two most common repairs over the life of the phone. Disassembly used multiple screws, which, while messy, are preferable to glue.

New this year on the Pro model is ProMotion (variable high refresh display). iPhone 13 Pro can turn the display up to 120 Hz or down to 10 Hz, depending on what you are doing. The earpieces are no longer attached to the display, making it easier to replace the latter. Conversely, the earpieces are partially held in place by the logic board, so replacing them requires almost complete disassembly. This is the textbook definition of a trade-off.

However, there are two major drawbacks: first, the iPhone 13 Pro is a glass sandwich. Says iFixit, "Double glass means double drop damage." If you shatter the back of the new iPhone 13, repairs could be expensive. iFixit found another sore spot, which stems from the display and its software pairing components.

The display panel is serially locked to the phone, meaning that unauthorized replacement will disable Face ID, iFixit discovered during disassembly. This is a major obstacle for third-party repair centers that are not Apple-approved. In other words, this could lead to pricing problems, as reputable stores would likely have to charge higher rates for the privilege of Apple authorization.

It is no secret that Apple has long been at odds with the cause of the "right to repair," and according to iFixit's overhaul, this year appears to be no different. Some components are unnecessarily complex, and the coupling of the display and software is certainly disappointing. However, Apple has made several other improvements, including integrating the OLED display and touch screen into a slimmer design and slimming down the notch by integrating the flood illuminator and dot projector into a single component.

The iPhone 13 Pro is a beautiful and powerful phone, but be prepared for an expensive repair bill if anything should happen to your unit.