Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

iPhone 14 had an important design overhaul, we just couldn’t see it

If you’re weighing up buying the standard iPhone 14 vs the iPhone 13 Pro model from the previous generation, Apple is here to tell you that Pro suffix isn’t enough to supplant the power of its newer device.

In an interview, Apple says the iPhone 14 offers superior overall performance to the iPhone 13 Pro, despite both models harbouring the same A15 Bionic processor.

Get a 256GB iPhone SE and 100GB data for £16 a month

Get a 256GB iPhone SE and 100GB data for £16 a month

You can currently pick up an iPhone SE 2 with 256GB of storage on a 24 month contract with 100GB of monthly data allowance for just £16 per month.

  • Mobile Phones Direct
  • 100GB data
  • £16 per month
View Deal

Apple says the iPhone 14 is better able to sustain the performance than Pro models from the previous generation because of a new internal design. Essentially, because of a new “central aluminium” backbone structure, that A15 chip is no longer hampered as often by the need to throttle back.

“The standard 14 models have better sustained performance than last year’s Pros, despite sharing the same chip, thanks to some internal shuffling,” said iPhone design chief Richard Dinh in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald (via 9to5Mac).

“For the iPhone 14, the design changed drastically to include a central aluminium structure that acts as a backbone. This central structural plane helps to dissipate more heat across the entire surface more consistently.”

Considering many bemoaned the absence of noticeable design changes externally, it’s quite ironic the internal tweaking has resulted in significantly improved performance.

Dinh continued: “While the iPhone 14 may look near identical to the iPhone 13 on the outside, it’s actually had a significant design overhaul, with benefits you might not immediately understand if comparing it with an older model. These include weight reductions, cheaper and easier repairability, and longer battery life.

“We were able to deliver a larger main camera than last year’s Pros, with a bigger sensor, better low-light performance, and there’s a brand new ambient light sensor in the back.

“This design also introduces our first four-sided stacked main logic board [which] really condenses all the iPhone 14 components in a smaller space and allows us to access the board from either side, for improved repairability.”

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

author icon

Editorial independence

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

author icon

Professional conduct

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Trusted Reviews Logo

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the best of Trusted Reviews delivered right to your inbox.

This is a test error message with some extra words