What’s inside the iPhone 2G from 2007 and the iPhone 16 Pro from 2024…

Credit to PrivateTalky on X (Twitter)

@Amari
It’s kinda nice that they used connectors instead of just soldering everything together.

Circuitsage said:
@Amari
It’s kinda nice that they used connectors instead of just soldering everything together.

Yeah, but it looks like the traces and the connector took up a lot of space.

The first iPhone looked like a bunch of random parts from different manufacturers thrown together.

Newer iPhones actually look like Apple put thought into making the insides look sleek.

Tarian said:
The first iPhone looked like a bunch of random parts from different manufacturers thrown together.

Newer iPhones actually look like Apple put thought into making the insides look sleek.

Yeah, I think it wasn’t until the iPhone 4 that they started designing everything to look more polished. The black battery, A4 chip, and all that.

Edit: fixed a typo

@Cameron
Android phones still look like that old iPhone 2G inside… random parts everywhere, green PCBs, weird connectors.

Piper said:
@Cameron
Android phones still look like that old iPhone 2G inside… random parts everywhere, green PCBs, weird connectors.

I don’t think you’ve opened up an Android phone recently lol.

@Brady
Some Android phones, like the Pixel, look similar to iPhones inside. Most others don’t.

Soren said:
@Brady
Some Android phones, like the Pixel, look similar to iPhones inside. Most others don’t.

Funny enough, Motorola has been using black PCBs even in their cheap phones. They also have some clever internal designs. Some hide antenna cables in little cutouts near the battery, which looks super clean. Samsung sticks with green or blue PCBs, but they’ve experimented a lot… then went back to a more basic design around the S20.

Pixel phones look nice inside, but they’re awful to repair. I think repairability ratings are kinda pointless.

The camera modules take up like a third of the space inside… The mainboard size hasn’t changed much, but now it’s all battery and cameras.

Nevan said:
Where’s the speaker on the iPhone 16? I’m trying to figure out how they get the sound out.

Bottom left.

@Benn

Soldered batteries were the worst. My old 1st Gen iPod Touch just bloated yesterday, and now it’s completely useless.

Galen said:
Soldered batteries were the worst. My old 1st Gen iPod Touch just bloated yesterday, and now it’s completely useless.

My iPod Touch 4th Gen still works, surprisingly… and that thing has a soldered battery.

@Jai
Makes sense. I have four 4th Gens, and none of them are bloated. So maybe some models hold up better.

The inside of an iPhone is basically a piece of art.

Looks amazing.