Apple says iPhone 14 is faster than 13, despite similar specs

In an interview given by iPhone design director Richard Dinh to the Sydney Morning Herald, it was revealed that the internal design tweaks that have made the iPhone 14 more repairable than its predecessor also delivered a performance boost.

Whenever a new piece of hardware, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, PC or something else, is released, there is a frenzy of activity and analysis comparing the specs of different models. And, unless the newer model boasts newer internals, it’s generally given a thumbs down. In the case of the iPhone 14, not only did the newer model have the same A15 system on a chip (SoC) as the older model, it looks almost identical from the outside. Which is portably why Steve Jobs’ daughter tweeted this:

Steve Jobs’ daughter shares her opinion on the new iPhone 14 with meme. pic.twitter.com/jgpO1bX2vk

— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 8, 2022

But the interview with Dinh says, in the interview with Tim Biggs, that the internal tweaks do more than make the newer model more repairable. By rearranging the internal components, Apple has managed to extract better performance from the iPhone 14.

For the iPhone 14, the design changed drastically to include a central aluminum structure that acts as a backbone. Now the phone can be opened by removing the display or the back glass.

This central structural plane helps to dissipate more heat across the entire surface more consistently.

Richard Dinh, iPhone design director

It’s something that can be often forgotten when comparing different generations of hardware. Not all the enhancements have to be big ticket items like newer SoCs or more memory and storage. It also highlights the importance of great engineering to solve problems.

Heat is one of the greatest impediments to performance. By redesigning the internals to dissipate more heat, Apple has found a way to let the processor work harder for longer without the need to throttle performance.