TL;DR
The Samsung Galaxy A57 5G got an early teardown hours before launch.
It scores a strong 9/10 for repairability from PBKreviews, standing out in a market full of glued-shut phones.
The 5,000mAh battery is finally user-friendly, using pull tabs for quick, damage-free removal.
The Galaxy A57 hasn’t even hit stores yet, but someone has already taken it apart. While that might sound like bad news, this time it’s actually a good thing. PBKreviews shared a teardown of Samsung’s new mid-range phone just hours before its official launch, and the results are surprisingly positive. It looks like Samsung is starting to care about repairability again.
The Galaxy A57 earned a 9 out of 10 on PBKreviews’ repairability scale. That’s impressive for any modern smartphone, especially since most phones today are glued shut and have batteries that seem impossible to remove.
So what’s different? Let’s start with the battery. It’s still a 5,000mAh unit, but now it’s secured with four pull-tab adhesives, one on each side. You don’t have to pry or worry about damaging the battery when replacing it. Just pull the tabs and it comes out easily.
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Inside, the layout is cleaner than usual. You still need heat and a prying tool to remove the back panel, but after that, 18 Phillips screws hold everything together. The motherboard cover features a graphite thermal sheet, and underneath is a larger vapor chamber than on the Galaxy A56. This helps the phone stay cooler during gaming or multitasking, even if you never open it up.
Samsung also paid attention to the small details that often frustrate repair shops. If you accidentally poke a SIM ejector tool into the microphone or speaker grille, there’s no need to worry as the important parts are set away from those openings. Even the front camera, which is usually glued down, can be reached with some patience and the right tool.
The camera setup is familiar: a 50MP main camera with OIS, a 12MP ultrawide, a 5MP macro, and a 12MP front camera. The real highlight is the Exynos 1680 chip, built on a 4nm process, which makes everyday tasks run more smoothly. You might not think about repairability now, but when the battery starts to wear out in a couple of years, you’ll be glad it’s easy to replace.
Another nice feature is that you can remove the rear camera lens covers without taking off the whole back panel. Just apply some heat and gently pry them off. This makes a usually tricky repair much easier.
Samsung has just announced the Galaxy A57 along with the A37, and both should go on sale on April 10. If you like to keep your phone for more than a year, or if you’ve ever been told a battery replacement would cost over $100, this could be the mid-range phone to keep an eye on.
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