The iPhone 14 Pro is not as easy to repair as the other new models. And that is exactly what is now puzzling: why did Apple change the structure of the iPhone 14 in such a way that the cheaper line-up is actually much easier to repair than the previous models, but little has been done to repair the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
It’s getting harder to fix an iPhone yourself
iFixit has that iPhone 14 Pro Max disassembled and found that the iPhone 14’s more easily repairable “guts” weren’t carried over. If the glass on the back breaks, it becomes more difficult to repair it yourself.
It’s not clear why Apple hasn’t given the internal components such a major overhaul for the entire iPhone 14 range. iFixit speculates that Apple wanted to limit potential delays, especially given the supply chain risks associated with the new camera and display technologies in the iPhone Pro family. This decision is open to criticism and basically does not fit in with all the efforts to make devices easier to repair and to focus on sustainability.
The Pro and Pro Max smartphones are stuck in the past, according to iFixit, as Apple’s legacy iPhone architecture isn’t that easy to fix. The iFixit teardown holds a few more surprises. On the US versions of the iPhone 14 series, Apple didn’t replace the recently removed SIM tray with something else. With this, Apple probably wants to promote the introduction of eSIM rather than to save space. iFixit was also unable to locate a dedicated satellite antenna for emergency communications, suggesting that Apple is using standard cellular or WiFi antennas to send SOS messages.
The overall repairability of the iPhone 14 Pro is “not bad” according to iFixit, aside from the need for cumbersome activation of parts after repairs.
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Tag: iphone design, iphone 14, apple iphone, iphone release