First Look: Hands On With Apple's iPhone 14 Lineup
The wait for new iPhones is over. The rumors circulating over the last few months were all over the place: Would the iPhone 14 have a notchless screen and an always-on display? Does the star-filled “Far Out” invitation mean the satcom era of Apple technology is upon us? Did the iPhone mini get put out to pasture? OK, so most of those rumors were actually more or less true, but it was still cool seeing the four new iPhones in person at Apple's launch event in Cupertino.
After the event concluded, it was pretty telling that the iPhone 14 Pro side of the hands-on demo table was almost impossible to get to—most of the cool new advances are happening on the Pro end, and that’s what most of the crowd was interested in. But not everyone is going to pick the pricier Pro lineup over the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, so we got our hands on all four models to give you our first impressions.
Hands On With the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Lineup Hands On With the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Lineup
Notch No More
Dynamic Island isn't a reality dating show, but the name given to the now-animated area where the iPhone once had a notch. To be clear, it’s only on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. In Apple's introduction video, it looked like a game changer. In person, my first thoughts are: It's cool, but pretty tiny (most of the time). Depending on the apps you have running in the background, the Island changes form—for most apps, it looks like you have to swipe up while you’re using the app for it to join the Island.
The Dynamic Island replaces the notch on Pro models (Credit: Tim Gideon)
What I like is how seamlessly various apps are integrated into this small space simultaneously—you can see anything from a timer to album art, and the color of the animated waveform when music is playing matches the color scheme of the album art, so the Island is truly dynamic in both color and shape. It’s also impressive how little you notice the front-facing camera. If you’re looking for it, you’ll see it, but your eye is more likely to pick up the Island’s shape-shifting blob than the camera.
What I don’t love—and I suspect Apple is less excited to show off—is the Island’s presence when watching video. The notch may be gone, but there’s still an Island blocking out full-screen playback.
New Lock Screen and Always-On Display
The new lock screen feels dynamic in its own right. Long-pressing on the screen reveals an an impressive array of customizable options. There are now multiple ways to make your lock screen yours, and an extensive image gallery, which includes Suggested Photos from your own library and image banks with themes like Weather & Astronomy.
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
It’s not just different fonts and image banks, you can get truly goofy. For instance, any emoji (or multiple emoji) can be turned into your wallpaper, and then that wallpaper is available in ten different repeating patterns, including a swirling image. You can also add widgets to the lock screen, and with the new always-on display, they’ll appear below the time.
Megapixels for Days
In person, the resolution on the new Pro camera system’s 48MP main camera is legit. Sure, in an Apple promo video, zooming in on a photo taken with the camera might show plenty of detail, but we all take these videos with a grain of salt (or at least we should).
What’s it like to actually zoom in on a hi-res photo on the new Pro screen, however? Impressive—complex details are rendered pretty flawlessly. Zooming in on clothing or hair, you can see the texture and individual strands without issue. Of course, we’re looking at pro photography taken specifically to market these features. It’ll be interesting to see if the camera makes it easy for non-pro shutterbugs to get the same kinds of results.
iPhone 14 Pro Max (Credit: Tim Gideon)
Action Mode
Our hands-on demo of Action video mode, which is supposed to stabilize wobble, wasn’t very scientific: We moved the phone up and down while filming, then switched into Action mode and did the same thing. The result, compared with the non-Action Mode footage, was definitely better, but not as dramatically stabilized as what we all saw in the promo video. Still, it’s a welcome feature, and when you have all that extra resolution to play with, losing some of the edges (which is how most image stabilization works) isn’t the end of the world.
A Familiar Look With a New Color
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus models have a somewhat familiar look to them, while the Pros, in Space Black, Gold, and Silver models, look more shiny and flashy, like a luxury watch. Then there's Deep Purple—that model definitely has its own thing going on. Of the four models, it's the most striking in person. Between Samsung and Apple, purple is definitely having a moment. The iPhone 14 Pro’s purple has a sort of muted two-tone feel to it, almost gray from certain angles; it's very regal.
iPhone 14 (left) and 14 Plus (right) (Credit: Tim Gideon)
The in-hand feel for all of these models is, well, large, chunky, and metallic. All of the models feel substantial—the iPhone 14 lineup is not for iPhone mini lovers. Also, like previous models, these things can double as fingerprint collection kits. In between every demo, an Apple associate had to wipe down the phones for the next round of videos and photos. In the space of a minute, the screens and backs can get noticeably smudged up. So it’s either fingerprints or a case, but with phones this large—and an IP68 rating—who really wants a case?
A New Chip
There’s not much from our hands-on time with the iPhone 14 Pro models that gives us a real sense of just what kind of upgrade the A16 represents, but its “nearly 16 billion” transistors certainly allow for many of the excellent new display features to perform seamlessly, from lock screen dimming to the Dynamic Island mutations. I didn't witness any graphics stuttering or see screens having issues loading will playing around with the phones.
Hands On With the Apple iPhone 14 Lineup Hands On With the Apple iPhone 14 Lineup
Sending Out an SOS
Two features I hope I never have to use in the real world: Crash detection and the new Emergency SOS via satellite.
The most impressive part of it, I think, is the fact that Apple has an entire team of people waiting to make a call on your behalf if you get lost on your trek through the Sonoran Desert or somewhere else remote. The demo video shows you more than what we were able to glean in person on the showroom floor, where, thankfully, there were no crash demos.
iPhone 14 Plus (Credit: Tim Gideon)
Which iPhone 14 Is Right for You?
iPhone 14 pre-orders begin on Sept. 9 (this Friday) for all of the new models, which will be available starting Sept. 16 (except for the 14 Plus, which is available on Oct. 7).
The new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus start at $799 and $899 respectively for the 128GB models, and are also available in 256GB and 512GB capacities. The new iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max start at $999 and $1099, respectively, for the 128GB models. The Pros also come in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB for more money.
iPhone 14 Pro
As for your iPhone 14 color wheel, the new 14 and 14 Plus are available in Midnight, Purple (more lavender, I’d say), Starlight (basically cream—handsome in person), Blue (a very pale blue), and a primary (Product) Red model. The Pros are available in the aforementioned Space Black, Silver, Gold, and Deep Purple models.
Here's our breakdown on the differences to help you decide which to phone is right for you. And make sure to check back soon for our full reviews.
Apple's iPhone 14 Event Supercut Apple's iPhone 14 Event Supercut
The iPhone 14 Feature Apple Didn’t Tell You About
The best feature of the iPhone 14 is one that Apple didn’t tell you about. Forget satellite SOS and the larger camera, the headline is this: Apple has completely redesigned the internals of the iPhone 14 to make it easier to repair. It is not at all visible from the outside, but this is a big deal. It’s the most significant design change to the iPhone in a long time. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models still have the old architecture, so if you’re thinking about buying a new phone, and you want an iPhone that really lasts—besides the one in your pocket—you should keep reading.
If this surprises you, you’re not alone. It surprised us! The new features and external changes to the iPhone 14 are so slight that The Verge suggested it should have been called the iPhone 13S, saying “The iPhone 13, which came out a year ago and Apple is still selling, is nearly identical to the 14.”
But that’s actually not true—though almost nobody had any way of knowing. Apple didn’t mention the secret redesign in their keynote. If reviewers had disassembled the phone, they would have discovered this: The iPhone 14 opens from the front and the back.
This is the iPhone 14 reborn as a beautiful butterfly—a midframe in the middle, accessible screen on the left, and removable rear glass on the right.
That’s no small feat. 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. It’s an upgrade so seamless that the best tech reviewers in the world didn’t notice.
A Brief History of Phones
We’ve written thousands of repair guides for smartphones, so before we dive into the details of the 14, let’s take a bird’s-eye view at the mechanical evolution of smartphones. The iPhone has gone through a few major architectural shifts over the years.
The original phones opened screen first, making screen swaps on the 3G a breeze. But getting at other parts, like the charge port and battery, was a lot harder.
Orange cables and blue boards—back in the days before Apple dressed up their internals for us.
To solve that Apple flip-flopped their approach with iPhone 4, making the phone open back first. That allowed for all kinds of cool aftermarket options like our transparent rear panel (I still think this is pretty badass), but unfortunately made screen swaps a total pain. Apple pivoted back to a (more streamlined) front-entry for the 5, and has stuck with it ever since. Opening the phone screen-first made screen repairs vastly easier, and has generally worked out pretty well, save for one major drawback—we’ll get to that in a minute.
Replacing the iPhone 4’s glass rear panel was a breeze.
That design is in marked contrast to the rest of the phone industry. Almost every Android phone opens from the back. Ever since the Galaxy S6, the iPhone’s nemesis has had a glued on back panel. Any repair tech will tell you that screen swaps on the Galaxy are much harder than screen swaps on the iPhone. You have to unglue the back panel, and then systematically work your way all the way through the phone removing components. Once the whole thing is essentially de-manufactured, you’re left with the screen assembly. Then you have to put together your entire phone! It’s quite a process, considering screens are the most common component to repair.
Motorola or Samsung, you’re in for a lengthy pry session to remove one of the least critical components.
The iPhone 8 Ushered in an Era of Pain
From our perspective, the iPhone’s design has optimized fast Apple store service of two critical components: the screen and the battery. The disadvantage with this front-optimized design, of course, is that it’s hard to swap out the back panel. That wasn’t really an issue until the iPhone 8, when they switched to radio-transparent glass to support wireless charging and NFC payments. Then, with the X, they welded a bulky camera lens cover over that glass.
If replacing the screen on a Galaxy phone is hard, changing the back glass on an iPhone X (or 11, or 12, or 13) is murder. The easy part is removing every single component from the phone. Seriously, you don’t want to leave any parts in there because the process is pretty rough on the hardware. The adhesive holding the back glass down is so powerful that none of our usual techniques of prying, heat, or chemicals budge it. Repair shops deploy a variety of aggressive shattering and scraping techniques to remove the glass while carefully working around the welded camera bezels. The “easiest” way uses a laser to systematically raster-vaporize the adhesive before then shattering and scraping the glass shards off with razor blades and cutting tools. At the very least, heavy duty gloves are required equipment if you don’t want to slice your hands open. Resultantly, this is not really a viable process for DIYers. I’ve never done it, and hope I never have to.
A Bold New Approach: 14th Time’s the Charm
Enter the iPhone 14. The back glass is simply secured with two screws and a single connector. Apple has seemingly used a slightly less aggressive adhesive, making opening it up a tad easier than screens of yore. And as a bonus, removing the exact same screws as the back glass gets you access to the screen. Just two screws, and both screen and back glass are immediately accessible. Incredible.
This back glass seam is enough to make teardown techs weep with joy.
This is a dramatic rethinking of the phone, and the new approach impacts most aspects of the design. Adding a whole new opening surface introduces a world of engineering challenges. There’s twice as much perimeter to seal against water, lots of radio frequency complications, and a whole world of parts changes.
Any time you glue or weld something together, it’s easier to achieve thinness and durability targets. We’ve long said that designers could get all of the design features and functionality they’re looking for, as well as repairability, if they just put in a little more effort to avoid the glue. Well this time, Apple put in the effort.
There’s a new midframe behind the screen that all the internal components are mounted onto. The incredible wealth of antennas that make modern 5G + GPS + Wifi + Bluetooth + satellite signaling all work in one device require extensive grounding. Ten new electromagnetic interference fingers connect to contact points spaced across the rear panel to preserve grounding that was previously accomplished with welds.
Achieving the high levels of durability that we all expect is an incredible engineering challenge. When you drop an iPhone 13, its metal frame absorbs that shock, transmitting and spreading the force across the glued-in battery and sturdily adhered rear glass. The iPhone 14 meets this same challenge, but achieves the required torsional rigidity in a totally different way. A new midframe sits between the display and the guts of the phone and takes the brunt of force distribution across the frame and battery.
Another design challenge is the number of components that are integrated into the display assembly. Historically, these have included the Face ID sensor, the speaker, and the ambient light sensor. We noticed in the 13 Pro that Apple had relocated the earpiece speaker and front-facing camera from the display to the mainframe. At the time, we appreciated the move as incrementally increased modularity, but we didn’t quite understand the rationale. Now it appears it laid the groundwork for a vastly improved design.
A Few New Features
The advertised flagship features of the iPhone 14 are satellite-powered SOS, an upgraded camera, and a missing SIM card slot. We’ll dive into more detail with our iPhone 14 Pro Max teardown, but here are some board shots while you wait.
Apple’s pursuit of density is unparalleled. The iPhone 14 Pro Max logic board features the A16 processor, which is an incremental 10-15% performance advancement over the 14’s A15.
The interior of the US Pro Max logic board features the communications chips and the large SIM reader gap.
One sneak peek ahead of time: we can confirm that the satellite connectivity is powered by a new Qualcomm X65 modem, which adds new 2.4 GHz n53 band capabilities to support Globalstar. ICJay Monroe, Globalstar’s Executive Chairman, bragged about this in a press release earlier this year: “We have appreciated a close relationship with Qualcomm since the inception of the company and want to thank the team there for their hard work in helping us deliver on Band n53’s promise.”
Parts Pairing
Some iPhone procedures require ‘System Configuration,’ Apple’s favorite repair hurdle and remote part activation tool.
We are hearing reports that Apple is continuing their hostile path of pairing parts to the phone, requiring activation of the back glass after installation. You really shouldn’t need Apple’s permission to install a sheet of glass on a phone that you already own.
Using software to prevent the use of aftermarket parts gets a big thumbs down from us. These locks are frustrating and ultimately futile—Apple simply can’t control all the repairs that happen with their products, no matter how hard they try. We’ll be reporting on parts compatibility a bit more after we finish our lab tests, unless Apple miraculously posts their service manuals.
The Bottom Line
This is the most substantial iPhone redesign since the X. It’s hard to overstate how big a change this is. For a reference point, Samsung hasn’t changed their phone architecture since 2015.
So, with the biggest update in years, we’re upgrading the iPhone 14 to a repairability score of 7 out of 10. That’s the best score we’ve given an iPhone since the iPhone 7. This is the most repairable iPhone in years.
This is such a big deal that it should have been Apple’s big announcement—the iPhone has been redesigned from the inside out to make it easier to repair. In fact, just days before we started this teardown, iFixit’s very own Sam Goldheart argued that in this day and age, a product launch shouldn’t just rattle off tiny new features. Why isn’t Tim Cook bragging about repairability? We had no idea this was coming, because Apple didn’t mention it—at all. But they should have.
This design improvement is a big win. These changes to the iPhone will help it last longer and reduce its overall impact on the planet. With any luck, it will inspire other manufacturers to follow suit.
All of our—and your—work has paid off. Our advocating, lobbying, yelling in the streets. We’ve convinced Apple’s design team that repairability matters. Now we need your help to convince their marketing team to talk about it when they take the biggest stage in tech.
If you’re trying to decide whether to go with the 14 or the Pro or Pro Max, from a repairability perspective the answer is clear: It’s the 14 all the way. Let’s hope this advanced design becomes the standard across the iPhone 15 lineup. In the mean time, the greenest phone is the one you’ve already got, so join us in skipping the upgrade, we’ve got the refresh you need at the price you’ll like.
Want your phone to look like this, but without the heating and prying? We’ve got you. iPhone 14 Teardown wallpapers are live—and free! The backgrounds for the 14 Pro will be available soon, for now, check out the iPhone 14 Pro Max teardown to get a preview.
Apple iPhone 14 Teardown
Consumer Electronics Technology
Unpacking the new Apple iPhone 14 to discover what’s new in this year’s release
Stacy Wegner
Another year, another Apple iPhone. TechInsights has several ongoing Teardowns on the new iPhone 14 series models. Below are some of our initial findings.
The Apple iPhone 14 launch marks the first time Apple launched an iPhone product series with two different processors. The iPhone 14 base models have last year’s Apple A15 Bionic processor, and the more expensive 14 Pro models have the newest Apple 16 Bionic processor. The TechInsights Logic Team has the A16 Bionic in lab and has posted some initial images on the platform. They will publish a Digital Floorplan report soon.
Figure 1. Apple iPhone 14 Pro A2889.
Figure 2. Apple iPhone 14 A2882.
Figure 3. Apple 16 Bionic processor. Figure 4. Apple 16 Bionic processor, die photo. (Subscribers can view a clear high-resolution image in the Platform)
The major IC differences go a little further than the processors.
Like last year’s iPhone 13 phones, the iPhone 14 with the A15 Bionic use LPDDR4x memory. The newer A16 Bionic in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are supported by LPDDR5 memory. But as Daniel Yang, a technical researcher at TechInsights notes:
“The LPDDR5 memory may be new to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models, but the memory dies have been on the market for two years. That’s not to say the memory dies are inferior. As we have noted in the past, Apple is never in a rush to use the latest and ‘greatest’ memory chips on the market. Their use of LPDDR5 may prove how efficient the A16 Bionic performs and that the processor does not need more than 6 GB of RAM.”
Another example of Apple’s conservative design is that none of the new iPhone 14 models support WiFi 6E. A few mobile phones on the market already support WiFi 6E, but that support comes at a cost. If you recall, we estimated the cost difference between a WiFi 6 and a WiFi 6E module can be as much as $4 per component.
iPhone 14 Pro Camera Upgrade
Apple continues to separate the iPhone 14 base models and their Pro-series in the rear camera setup. This year, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has the same camera design as last year, but the iPhone 14 Pro camera system has an upgrade.
Figure 5. Apple iPhone 14 Pro rear camera.
Apple’s newest iPhone Three Camera System is ‘Cam-packed Image Sensor Expert, Ziad Shukri’s article: “Apple’s newest iPhone Three Camera System is ‘Cam-packed,” talks about the preliminary findings and compares the old and new camera systems. Read the blog
iPhone 14 Does have an Updated Design
Even though the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have the A15 Bionic processor, this is not to say the phones have little to no changes. As a matter of fact, the A15 processor is amongst a limited number of things that did not change from last year’s iPhone 13 design. As shown below, Apple did not merely reuse the Apple iPhone 13 A15 Logic Board but redesigned the entire PCB layout.
Figure 6. Apple iPhone 14 main board. Figure 7. Apple iPhone 13 main board.
And even though there is a difference in the Bionic processors between Apple iPhone 14 base and Pro models, all new iPhone 14 models have the same new RF circuit design*.
Figure 8. Apple iPhone 14 RF board. Figure 9. Apple iPhone 13 RF board.
*Differences in specific cellular band components may vary depending on the region.
For the RF design, not only did Apple move to the latest Qualcomm SDX65M modem, but also uses two SDR735 transceivers, with additional spots for the 5G FR2 components. Apple is a small group of mobile OEMs using two SDR735 transceivers in their phone designs.
Figure 10. SDR735 transceivers in phone designs.
This is not Apple's first use of the Qualcomm 5G FR1 transceiver. The Apple iPhone SE 3rd Gen was the first iPhone with an SDR735 transceiver, but the iPhone SE has only one transceiver in its RF design.
And unlike the iPhone SE, the new iPhone 14 models have Qualcomm QET7100 Wideband Envelope Trackers. The QET7100 is a two-die EPT package with multiple outputs supporting multiple 4G/5G power amplifiers. The QET7100 is also not a ‘new’ IC - identified in numerous Teardowns since the OnePlus 10 Pro.
Figure 11. Qualcomm QET7100 Wideband Envelope Trackers. (Subscribers can view the Qualcomm QET7100 in the Platform)
Like the QET7100, and though many of the Apple iPhone 14 chips are new, that is not to say the components are new to the market, much less new to TechInsights. For example, the QET7100 first appeared in the Motorola Edge X30 in 2021 and is used by multiple other phones like Vivo, Nubia, and Xiaomi.
As for the Qualcomm SDR735 RF transceiver, it has been on the market even longer. TechInsights added it to the Teardown library in 2020 when we analyzed the Samsung Galaxy A42 from the US market.
Figure 12. Qualcomm SDR735 RF transceiver, die photo. (Subscribers can view a clear high-resolution image in the Platform)
This is the first, and maybe the only time we find a mobile phone with a standalone Snapdragon X65M Modem. Other mobile OEMs use the Snapdragon 8 Gen application processors with an integrated modem.
Having a standalone modem is common in Apple iPhones. Whether that will be true in future iPhones is something only Apple knows, and the rest of the world will have to wait and see.
Mobile Satellite Service
Regarding the MSS (Mobile Satellite Service) emergency call feature, the iPhone 14 models have two frequencies (bands) for the receive and transmit functions. The receive signals operate on 2.4 GHz (S-band), while the Transmit function is on an L-band frequency. Two antenna locations in the iPhone 14 phones are identified for both MSS Tx/Rx functions.
At the time of this writing, we are still investigating the iPhone 14 components and will post the component identifications for our subscribers via the TechInsights platform.
If you are interested in learning what other components we find, please login to the TechInsights platform as we continually update our TechStream Blogs. We will update this article next week with our preliminary estimated build costs.
And finally, we will also be co-hosting a Bloomberg and TechInsights webinar in November discussing the iPhone 14 in greater detail.
Leave a Reply