[테크왔숑] What is the ‘internal design upgrade’ that Apple directly revealed? – Cnet Korea

(Cnet Korea = Reporter Hyunjong Yoon) In September of last year, Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 series. A total of 4 types of iPhones appeared, a regular model and a pro model. Perhaps most people would have been very interested in the iPhone 14 Pro Series with ‘Dynamic Island’. I fully understand. It felt like the biggest change in the past few years.

But the friends I want to talk about today are the regular models iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. There is no change in the camera area, and the design doesn’t seem to have changed much from the iPhone 13 series, but the performance and features have been drastically upgraded. The high-performance AP ‘A15 Bionic’ mounted on the previous iPhone 13 Pro is mounted, and the TrueDepth front camera also supports autofocus. And the new action mode camera and rear camera sensors are also improved compared to the previous one. Finally, a battery that lasts longer and a lighter weight is a bonus.

I posted a review article at the time of the release of the iPhone 14 Plus last year and evaluated it as the lightest and lightest pleasure. Even though it has a 6.7-inch screen, it is surprisingly light in weight and long-lasting battery, and I began to think that there must be more hidden secrets that Apple did not tell me. And today, we have an opportunity to address the questions of the day. The core of all these changes, the internal design, and the story of Apple that changed this will be revealed from now on.

■ Change the ‘approach’ and innovation follows… Completely redesigned iPhone 14 general model

It is said that surgeons always think about this when performing surgery. It is said that the method is decided according to the type of surgery and the location of the organs, and finally the easiest approach direction is decided. When you see a patient lying on an operating table in a movie or drama, you always see a scene where he is lying down and undergoing surgery. However, it is said that the actual operation site is not like that. the doctor holding a scalpel Depending on the location of the organ and the surgical method, whether to incise the stomach or the patient’s back is determined. They even make an incision on the side. I have to do spinal surgery, but it doesn’t make sense to make an incision in my stomach and take out my organs.

Apple brought the concept of this design method while releasing the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. That’s ‘easy access’.

The picture above is the inside of the iPhone 13, which was released a year ago. Until now, most iPhones have been designed this way. It’s a structure that you can see inside when you lift the display. The core components of the iPhone, the A15 Bionic processor and battery, the Taptic Engine and TrueDepth front camera, and the rear camera and logic board are all housed on the right side where the side borders and rear ceramic shield glass are merged into one. Apple calls this external design ‘Bucket Style’ design because it looks like a ‘basket’.

Richard Dinh, senior director of iPhone product design, explained, “Apple’s iPhone, which has pursued this bucket design since the iPhone 5, has supported wireless charging since the iPhone 8 and started to mount the rear glass fixed to the aluminum housing.” .

The Iphone 14 general model is out of this bucket style. Instead of holding key parts like a basket, now the rear glass can be removed like a display part. Access to parts from the front and rear makes it easier to access parts like the rear camera. It’s the same way doctors make an incision in the lower back, the back of the patient close to the spine, for spinal surgery.

“Thanks to the new structure, the iPhone 14 is easier to assemble,” said Richard. “Especially in the case of the general iPhone 14 model, the TrueDepth camera, flash module, and rear microphone can now be repaired directly without removing related parts. It has continued,” he added.

At first, I didn’t understand what he was saying. Why does making repairs cheaper make repairs cheaper? I want to. But after thinking about it a little more, it soon made sense. First of all, since the repair method has become simpler, Apple’s engineers have been able to shorten the time to repair broken iPhones entrusted to customers. Reducing repair time means less waiting time for customers.

In addition, engineers have the advantage of being less burdened during repair work. iPhone series that have pursued a bucket-style design so far had to remove the display on the front and find the rear microphone by digging from top to bottom when repairing the rear microphone part, for example. During the process, engineers may forget to reassemble parts, and accidentally break other parts. This unnecessary risk can also be reduced.

If these series of processes are reduced, human costs will also be reduced. Ultimately, the benefits come to the consumer. In fact, it is said that the repair cost has become so much cheaper that it touches the skin.

Francesca Sweet, director of product marketing for iPhone, said, “Assuming Apple Genius Bar repairs the back glass of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 after the warranty period has expired, you would currently have to pay about $449 in local US dollars for the back of the iPhone 13. It is possible to replace the glass, but the design of the iPhone 14 has been radically changed this time and the rear glass can be attached and detached, so now it can be replaced for only $ 169.” Even if you just tap a simple calculator, you can save 280 dollars, or about 300,000 won in Korean currency.

■ The effect of internal design does not end here···The story behind heat and high performance

Thanks to the new structure and internal design, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus bring great innovation to the repair sector. But it doesn’t end here. It is said that it was able to make it a little lighter by using an aluminum alloy in the center rather than a copper alloy to control heat generation and a more improved logic board design compared to the previous one.

The iPhone 14 general model is said to have focused on catching fever using the aluminum 7000 series. This friend, a material that first appeared in the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, is a high-strength heat-treated alloy that Apple uses custom-made, high-performance alloys, and 50% of it is recycled aluminum. Also, as the process of making this aluminum thin was added, it became possible to make it light.

Since the inside is made thinner and lighter than before, it is said that the space that has gradually widened has now been given the opportunity to insert new parts. New features include a TrueDepth camera with autofocus, action modes, a larger camera sensor, an all-new rear ambient light sensor, and an adaptive TrueTone display sensor that reduces power consumption. Even with all these added features, it maintains a lightweight feel.

The iPhone 14 Plus is a newly added 6.7-inch model. The 203g weight is the same as the previous iPhone 13 Pro, and is 35g lighter than the iPhone 13 Pro Max with the same screen size.

The AP is equipped with the A15 Bionic like the iPhone 13 Pro series. Thanks to this, the iPhone 14 Plus has more 5-core GPUs than the iPhone 13 4-core. The ProMax-class large screen and long-lasting battery ensure smooth and smooth video shooting, editing, and high-performance games. Especially in games, the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus show 15% better performance than the iPhone 13. Also, it is the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus that show better maintenance performance compared to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Higher frame rates can be maintained for longer periods of time.

■ Upgrading internal design, accessibility to parts & minimizing side effects during repair…even reducing repair costs

Smartphone manufacturers introduce new products to the market every year. Of course, every year when a product is released, there are times when you feel disappointed rather than a pleasant experience. This is the case with design that has hardly changed and performance that does not meet expectations. Consumers’ eye level is getting higher and higher every year, but it is a burden for manufacturers who have to lead innovation every year.

On this day, Apple officials also sympathized with this opinion. Every time a new product is developed, there are always challenges. Smaller and lighter, high performance is standard here. Apple started with one idea to ‘improve accessibility to parts’ to meet these consumer demands. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which upgraded the internal design method, came out.

It’s like a transformation of the bucket style design that started with the iPhone 5, so it’s like throwing off the way that has been going on for about 10 years. We were able to bring out the iPhone’s appearance as it is, make it lighter than before, and present a high-performance iPhone that even catches heat. In addition, since it is easy to access from the front and rear during repair, engineers can minimize side effects by not having to touch other parts during repair. It also eased the burden a lot.

“When we think of a product, we always think about how much innovation we can pack into a device,” says Francesca. In particular, we hope to capture what customers want as much as possible.”

He added, “Apple will always strive to focus on the smallest details while developing iPhone products, providing meaningful benefits that improve the daily experience of users even if they are virtually unaware.”

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