On Monday, the cool cats at iFixit shared a teardown video of the standard iPhone 14 handset, offering details as to the new iPhone’s internal design.
Within a blog post, iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens complimented the device for featuring a more repairable internal design. Wiens stated that the new iPhone 14 is the most substantial redesign since the iPhone X.
Although there have been some complains posted online that the iPhone 14 doesn’t mark a massive upgrade from the iPhone 13, the iPhone 14 seems to be markedly more repairable than some of its predecessors. Sources indicate that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are able to open from the back side of the device, a first since the iPhone 4S. According to iFixit, two screws and a couple of connectors secure the display and back glass panel. This allows those repairing the devices to easily replace and repair components.
Per the teardown video, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models function as an electronic sandwich consisting of a display, a mid frame housing internal components and the back glass panel. Internal documents have indicated that Apple Store and Apple Authorized Service Program locations are able to replace the mid frame by simply affixing a new one to a customer’s existing display, back glass and rear camera, provided there is no damage to any of the parts.
Per iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens:
The new metal midframe that supports the structure required an entire internal redesign, as well as an RF rethink and an effective doubling of their ingress protection perimeter. In other words, Apple has gone back to the drawing board and reworked the iPhone’s internals to make repair easier.
The new models are apparently somewhat cheaper to repair as well, a back glass repair to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus retailing for only $169, as opposed to the usual $199 price tag.
Finally, iFix noted that the U.S. models of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro handsets feature a “large gap” where the SIM card tray slot was originally located. The SIM is still present in international models. The teardown also reveals close-up shots of the standard iPhone 14’s logic board, featuring components such as the A15 Bionic chip and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X65 modem with both 5G and satellite connectivity via a new n53 band.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via The Mac Observer and iFixit