iPhone 14 Pro Max teardown is bad news for those hoping for cheaper repairs

A second teardown report by iFixit, reveals that the iPhone 14 Pro models are is unfortunately still using the legacy iPhone architecture, so common repairs like a broken screen or a cracked back glass still remain way too complex and also, way too expensive in the latter case.

Opening up the iPhone 14 Pro series is about the same experience as with the iPhone 13 models. You start by undoing a set of pentalobe screws, then use a heat gun and suction cups to lift up the display. One slight improvement is that the adhesive this year seems to be less strong. 

The big problem with the legacy iPhone architecture is that repairing a broken back glass is ridiculously complex, and we recommend you check out iFixit’s video to understand just how hard it is.

• Where we used to have a SIM card slot, we now have… a whole lot of nothing! Wow, and you might remember all the fuss about removing the 3.5mm headphone jack! Of course, this empty space is only on the US models, international versions still have this space occupied by a SIM tray.
• iFixit points out that a 1GB microSD card now costs $20 and suggests that space could be used for a microSD card in a future iPhone! That’s what we call being an optimist, but seriously, this being Apple, we don’t see it ever happening. But if you ask us, we certainly wouldn’t mind having this on an iPhone! 
• All iPhone 14 version (vanilla and Pro) come with the new Qualcomm X65 modem. It delivers a big boost in 5G speeds, but most importantly, it is what enables satellite connectivity with support for the n53 band used by satellite provider Globalstar.

At the end of the day, the iPhone 14 Pro ended up with a repairability score of 6 out of 10, while the internal redesign of the vanilla iPhone 14 granted it a 7 out of 10.