Richard Dean, Apple’s senior director of iPhone design, spoke with Tim Biggs, Apple’s CEO, recently. Sydney Morning Herald about the design of the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, including internal changes that simplify repair.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have a removable glass back panel for easy repair, making them the first models since the iPhone 4S that can be opened from both the front and back of the device. The change is not valid for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, which can only be opened from the front yet.

According to Ding, this new structural design with a central aluminum frame “helps distribute more heat more evenly across the entire surface” and the ability to access the logic board from both sides of the device results in “improved serviceability”.

Last year, iFixit’s Kyle Vince said the iPhone 14 was “the most important redesign of the iPhone” since the iPhone X, given the increased repairability. He added that the changes “are such a big deal and should be Apple’s big announcement – that the iPhone has been completely redesigned to make repair easier.”

Ding also touched on Apple’s approach to developing standard iPhone models, noting that the company does not have a hard and fast formula.

“We don’t always follow a schedule, although our customers don’t want to guess what we’re going to do next, but it always starts with the customer experience,” he said, adding that “sometimes we really paint.” from professionals because they are simply amazing” and “sometimes we go to do something else”.