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One subtle (but important) reason to buy the iPhone 15 Pro instead of the iPhone 14 Pro

A mixing and matching of glass and metals makes this year's iPhone investment a little more worth it.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor
iPhone 15 Pro has a redesigned interior to make replacing the back glass easier.
Jason Hiner/ZDNET

There's no quicker way for your iPhone fun to come to an end than for it to fall out of a pocket and take a big bite of the dirt sandwich when it hits the ground. And while replacing the display on an iPhone is still non-trivial, it's possible to do it with basic hand tools.

But the same can't be said of the glass on the other side. 

Also: Everything announced at Apple's 'Wonderlust event': iPhone 15, Apple Watch Ultra 2, AirPods

Break the back glass and you're in a world of hurt. You're either looking at dismantling the iPhone down to its component parts in order to be able to replace it, or you need access to a back glass laser removal machine.

Nope, I don't seem to have one of those here at the PC Doc HQ.

But with the introduction of the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple appears to have corrected this design flaw and made it easier to replace the back glass.

How?

Apple has revamped the internal chassis architecture, adding a new structural frame that allows the back glass to be easily replaced.

And no lasers are required! 

Also: iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Which model is best to buy?

You might be wondering why Apple can't simply do away with the back glass altogether and replace it with something that won't break, maybe that fancy grade 5 titanium it uses for the outer chassis of the iPhone 15 Pro.

The reason is simple: It needs to be glass to work with wireless charging, as wireless charging won't work through metal.

I like this change, but it is disappointing that it wasn't added to the non-Pro models. If you want easy repairs that don't force you to laser off the back glass to replace it, you have to pay for the privilege. 

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