An iFixit teardown of the iPhone 14 Pro Max reveals that despite removing the SIM card tray on U.S. models, Apple does not use the additional space inside the device. Though the iPhone has shipped with optional eSIM capabilities since 2018 — starting with the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max — this year's iPhone lineup is the first to be eSIM-only. The change only affects units sold in the U.S.; all other units will be shipped with a physical SIM tray. This begs an interesting question: did Apple redesign U.S. models to use the extra space inside, or is it identical to international models?
The change is significant to certain users, but the removal of the SIM tray is likely not the expansive issue that Apple's removal of the headphone jack was in 2016. Every smartphone needs a subscriber identity module (SIM) that allows it to connect to a mobile network through an assigned phone number. However, that does not have to be in the form of a physical nano-SIM card. Instead, a modern alternative is eSIM — an electronic SIM built into smartphones and can be digitally assigned to mobile networks and phone numbers. With the removal of the SIM tray, Apple forced iPhone 14 users to ditch their physical cards in favor of the modern eSIM standard.
Though Apple has made efforts to make service information about the latest iPhones more accessible in recent years, the company still has a ways to go in accessibility and transparency. For example, Apple's Self Service Repair Program opened earlier this year for select iPhones, which made parts and tools available to the public. In addition to genuine parts and tools, the program also made official repair manuals available online. But for the fastest and most independent teardowns of the latest iPhones, most people still look toward iFixit, and they've revealed new information about the iPhone 14.
Apple Replaced SIM Tray With Plastic Spacer
iFixit released their complete teardown of the iPhone 14 Pro Max on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in a YouTube video, days after the right-to-repair advocates uncovered a hidden redesign of the standard iPhone 14. The company's teardown revealed that Apple made no use of the extra space freed up by removing the SIM card tray on their latest iPhones. When iFixit removed the iPhone 14 Pro Max logic board, they found a plastic spacer on the board in place of the SIM tray. iFixit reported that the spacer was about the size of a 2x2 Lego brick, and the logic board was otherwise identical to international models.
The findings are significant, as they shed light on Apple's intentions with regard to removing the physical SIM tray. Apple often defends its decisions to remove ports — like the ill-fated headphone jack — by claiming they are space-saving measures. However, iFixit's teardown reveals Apple has not utilized any of the additional space saved by the removal of the SIM tray. By extension, the logic boards of U.S. and international models are identical, aside from the physical SIM tray. Apple's choice to remove the SIM card tray wasn't because they found a better use for the space inside the iPhone 14. It was removing the slot simply for the sake of removing it.
Source: YouTube / iFixit, iFixit