Apple unveiled its iPhone 14 line-up on September 7 at the Far Out event announcing some technological upgrades. With the teardown video coming in, it has been found that iPhone 14 repair is easier than its predecessors. Some of the previous generations of iPhones have all had body designs that were very difficult to repair. However, iPhone 14 teardown video from iFixit shows a major repairability improvement with the removable glass back of the flagship smartphone.
iPhone 14 repair
In the teardown video, iFixit claims that the rear glass panel can be removed easily with the help of only a heating mat, a suction handle, and an opening pick. The back glass is secured with two screws and a single connector and an adhesive that isn’t so strong, which makes all the difference as it makes it a lot easier to take off the back panel without breaking it or using any expensive tools. Without following any extra steps, you also get access to the front screen, which is indeed a major improvement.
However, Apple still has a long way to when it comes to replacing its internal parts. Repair advocate Hugh Jeffreys also uploaded a teardown of two iPhone 14 Pros on YouTube. He found that the newly launched iPhone Pro line continues to resist replacement parts, even authentic Cupertino kit.
In the teardown video, Jeffreys explained that the iPhone 14 Pro line continues to be allergic to swapped parts. He explained, “with previous iPhone models Apple has programmed its software to reject certain parts that were not installed by Apple.” He further added, “this included cameras, batteries, and displays causing artificial issues, disabled features, and warning messages. The question is ‘is the iPhone 14 [Pro] any different?'”
Jeffreys claimed that when he swapped the part of his two iPhone Pros, the devices began to have problems, including warning messages about the inability to determine whether a part is genuine. He described it as ‘anti-third party repair locks’. CEO of iFixit, Kyle Wiens, told The Register in an email that iFixit has explored the same problem many times.
The repair advocacy groups have been raising concerns and pushing the Right to Repair movement to force tech companies to make frequently repaired parts and processes more accessible to the public. Apple has made things easier with the iPhone 14 repair, which would save tons of money when someone is getting the device fixed. However, Apple still has a long way to go when it comes to replacing internal parts replaced or fixing, that too from an unauthorized repair shop.
