The average person checks their phone over 100 times a day. But lost in the sometimes mindless scrolling going on beneath your fingers is an intricate marvel of engineering. Here's how each and every part of an iPhone works—and what it does.
Director: Justin Wolfson
Director of Photography: Chris Eustache
Editor: Matthew Colby
Host: Julian Chokkattu
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Brandon White
Production Manager: Peter Brunette
Production Coordinator: Anthony Wooten
Camera Operator: Michael Parrella
Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen
Production Assistant: Sonia Butt; Ryan Coppola
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Rachel Kim
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Additional Editor: JC Scruggs
Assistant Editor: Billy Ward
Director: Justin Wolfson
Director of Photography: Chris Eustache
Editor: Matthew Colby
Host: Julian Chokkattu
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Brandon White
Production Manager: Peter Brunette
Production Coordinator: Anthony Wooten
Camera Operator: Michael Parrella
Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen
Production Assistant: Sonia Butt; Ryan Coppola
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Rachel Kim
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Additional Editor: JC Scruggs
Assistant Editor: Billy Ward
Category
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TechTranscript
00:00Every Piece of an iPhone
00:04The average person checks their phone over 100 times a day.
00:07At this point, your phone is basically an extension of your brain.
00:10You know what they can do.
00:11They run generative AI in real time, they take professional-grade photographs, and let
00:16you FaceTime your friend from the other side of the planet.
00:19They're also totally inescapable and completely addictive.
00:22But have you thought about what exactly is inside?
00:24The answer is fascinating.
00:26Each and every piece is the culmination of millions of hours of research, testing, development,
00:31and manufacturing, all coming together to truly revolutionize the way we live.
00:35So let's break it down.
00:36This is Every Piece of an iPhone.
00:43It starts with the frame, and the iPhone 16 Pro uses grade 5 titanium, which makes it
00:47lighter and stronger than aluminum.
00:49The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus still have the aluminum alloy frame.
00:53Surrounding the screen is the bezel, a precision-engineered piece that seamlessly integrates the screen
00:57to the frame of the phone.
00:59These bezels keep getting smaller, and that's especially true on the iPhone 16 Pro.
01:04There are five antenna lines around the iPhone, and these lines help the device connect to
01:07millimeter-wave 5G for the fastest speeds yet, at least where available.
01:12There are now five physical buttons on the iPhone 16 series.
01:15The volume rocker, the action button, the power button, and the camera control button,
01:20which is the newest addition.
01:21This button lets you jump straight into the camera, and you can slide your finger on it
01:24to switch camera modes.
01:26Press and hold it, and you'll activate Apple's new Visual Intelligence feature within Apple
01:30Intelligence that uses the iPhone camera and Siri to identify what you're looking at.
01:35Most of these features have popped up in various Android phones before, but Apple is happy
01:38to ignore that fact.
01:44The Screen
01:45The 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display was developed in South Korea, and is likely
01:51sourced from Samsung or LG, with factories in South Korea, Vietnam, China, and more under
01:56construction in India.
01:59Most smartphones use Corning's Gorilla Glass technology to protect the display, but Apple
02:03and Corning have a proprietary material called Ceramic Shield, which embeds ceramic nanocrystals
02:08into the glass to make it more shatter-resistant, manufactured in several countries including
02:13the US and China.
02:14The iPhone 16 Pro range features Apple's ProMotion technology, which adjusts the number of times
02:19an image shows up on the display up to 120 times per second, though it can vary this
02:24number if the screen is static to save battery life.
02:27This is in line with most other phones as well, like those from Google, Samsung, and
02:31Xiaomi.
02:32The screens can also get significantly brighter compared to phones from 5 years ago, hitting
02:361000 nits max, though when you're watching HDR content, that can ratchet up to 1600 nits,
02:41and even 2000 nits when you're outdoors on a sunny day.
02:45For comparison, Google claims its Pixel 9 Pro goes up to 3000 nits in certain conditions.
02:50On the opposite end, the iPhone can go all the way down to 1 nit for when you're scrolling
02:54in bed at night.
02:59The proximity sensor, likely manufactured by Trumpf in Germany, detects how close your
03:04face is to the device.
03:06A ribbon cable integrates the front ambient light sensor and helps optimize display brightness
03:11in any condition.
03:12For thermal management, the aluminum inner frame works in tandem with a heat dissipation
03:16film to keep temperatures under control.
03:19According to an Apple Environmental Progress Report, the iPhone 16 uses 85% recycled aluminum.
03:25These materials come from places like China, the global leader in aluminum production.
03:29Inside the front assembly, there's a black plastic bracket that not only secures the
03:33front-facing camera, but also provides cushioning foam to prevent dust intrusion.
03:37Even the smallest details, like a foam strip aligned with the telephoto periscope camera,
03:42play a role in shock absorption.
03:45The back cover.
03:46The glass back cover integrates seamlessly with the magnetic MagSafe wireless charging
03:50coil.
03:51Apple introduced this MagSafe technology in the iPhone 12, and it lets you magnetically
03:55attach accessories to the back of the device, from wireless chargers to magnetic bike mounts.
04:00It charges at 25 watts wirelessly, but wired charging through USB-C will always be faster.
04:05Beneath the glass lies a metal reinforcement plate, which protects the delicate internal
04:09components.
04:11The rear cameras.
04:13A sapphire crystal lens cover protects the three rear cameras and the Sony sensor sourced
04:18from Japan, and boasts ultra-high hardness for scratch resistance, though it's worth
04:23noting this is a synthetic material used in manufacturing, like for watches, and not the
04:28blue gemstone you might be thinking of.
04:30Surrounding the lenses are foam rings that prevent dust intrusion and conductive foam
04:34pads for electrostatic protection.
04:36The three rear cameras feature anti-reflective coatings for clearer images and seven lens
04:41elements, layers of glass stacked to improve overall image clarity.
04:45This is also where you'll find the LiDAR sensor, which is still only exclusive to the
04:48iPhone Pro models.
04:50This sensor helps improve depth information for portrait mode images, and is also used
04:55in augmented reality applications to map your surroundings.
04:58These specs put the iPhone neck and neck with the flagship models from usual competitors
05:02like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Google Pixel Pro, though the iPhone remains
05:07the only one with the LiDAR sensor.
05:11The Battery
05:12The L-shaped battery, encased in metal, is a single-cell stacked design now lasting 13
05:18more hours of video playback than the iPhone 12 from five years ago, according to Apple.
05:23Manufactured in China, it incorporates lithium and cobalt mined from countries like the Democratic
05:27Republic of Congo and Chile, sparking important conversations about ethical sourcing.
05:32Apple claims these batteries are made with 100% recycled cobalt, and that every Apple-designed
05:37battery starting this year will be the same.
05:39One of the coolest innovations of late is the battery currently only available in the
05:43iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models, which we have here.
05:46Instead of being fixed to the phone with adhesive and having to be annoyingly pried off the
05:50phone to be replaced, with this battery you just apply 12 volts and voila!
05:55That makes it much easier to replace.
05:59The Sound System
06:01The microphone is at the bottom, and Apple says the Pro models have better mics than
06:05the standard iPhone 16.
06:07The top and bottom speakers are located here and here, and starting with the iPhone 13
06:12series, Apple started including a top speaker instead of using the receiver.
06:18The Taptic Engine, powered by a linear motor, delivers tactile feedback that simulates physical
06:23clicks and vibrations.
06:28The Front Camera
06:29The front camera and Face ID module are significantly smaller than in years past.
06:34It all began with a notch in the iPhone X, then this notch got smaller in the iPhone
06:3913, and Apple finally introduced the Dynamic Island in the iPhone 14 Pro, which suspends
06:44the TrueDepth camera within the display as if it's floating.
06:48Many Android cameras have been floating for years, but apps on the iPhone can now take
06:51advantage of the Dynamic Island to show live information, such as Google Maps or Uber when
06:56you're navigating or are in the middle of a ride, and one tap can take you right back
07:00to the app.
07:02The Motherboard
07:03At the heart of the iPhone lies the motherboard, really a marvel of miniaturization and power.
07:08The A18 Pro is a system on a chip on the main logic board, designed by Apple and manufactured
07:13by TSMC in Taiwan.
07:16It powers this device with a 6-core CPU, a 6-core GPU, and a 16-core neural engine, which
07:22handles most of the artificial intelligence and machine learning processes, now dubbed
07:26Apple Intelligence.
07:28All the new iPhones now come with 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM, a big change from prior models that only
07:35had 6GB.
07:36This is what enables the iPhone to handle the intensive processing required for Apple
07:40Intelligence.
07:41And while we're on the topic of intelligence, Apple was recently forced to support RCS Chat,
07:47so Apple and Android users can finally share modern text conversations, with typing indicators
07:52and emoji reactions.
07:54Apple uses a Qualcomm modem, and this is the first iPhone to support the latest Wi-Fi
07:587 standard, though you'll need a Wi-Fi 7 router to actually make use of those faster
08:02internet speeds.
08:04The NAND flash storage on the Pro Max starts at 256GB and goes up to 1TB, and it's typically
08:10sourced from Keoxia in Japan.
08:12Meanwhile, the ultra-wideband chip enables precise tracking for things such as AirTags.
08:18Charging
08:20The iPhone 16 Pro has a USB-C port capable of 10Gbps data transfer speeds, secured with
08:26JCIS Phillips screws.
08:28In comparison, the Lightning cable was capable of 480Mbps speeds, so it's 20 times faster
08:35now.
08:36The iPhone was finally forced to switch from the Lightning cable to USB-C, starting with
08:39the iPhone 15 series, and this is a win for consumers, because now you can use the same
08:43cable as your MacBook or iPad to charge.
08:46And as Android users are learning, now iPhone owners will be asking them to borrow their
08:50chargers.
08:51You can even reverse charge the AirPods case with the USB-C cable.
08:55And there you have it.
08:56This is what makes an iPhone.
08:57A device that's not just an object, but a symbol of human creativity, collaboration,
09:02and complexity.
09:04So the next time you check your phone, one of a hundred times today, take a moment to
09:08appreciate the astounding journey that brought it to your hands.