game dev iphone hardware engineer

Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this idea of making games, specifically for iPhones, and thought, “Why not try to understand the hardware side of things a bit better?” It’s been a wild ride, let me tell you.

First, I dusted off my old iPhone – an iPhone 8, I think. It’s pretty beat up, but I figured it would be perfect for some… experiments. I mean, who cares if I mess up an old phone, right?

I started by just taking the thing apart. Very, very carefully. There are tons of tiny screws! I found a bunch of videos online that showed how to do it, and even with those, I almost stripped a few screws. Note to self: get better tools.

Getting Inside

• Opened the iPhone. So many tiny screws!
• Carefully disconnected the battery. Don’t want any zaps!
• Removed the screen. That was nerve-wracking.

Once I had it open, I just stared at it. It’s amazing how much stuff is packed into such a small space. I recognized the battery, of course, and the logic board, which I guess is like the phone’s brain. There were so many tiny chips and connectors… it was a little overwhelming.

I spent a good hour just looking at everything, trying to figure out what each part did. I googled a lot of things like “A11 Bionic chip” (that’s the processor in the iPhone 8) and “iPhone 8 GPU.” I mostly just got a lot of technical jargon, but I did learn a few things. For example, the GPU is what handles the graphics, so it’s super important for games.

Putting it Back Together

• Carefully reconnected everything, I put it back together.
• Used a guide to placed all the screws in the correct place.

Then came the moment of truth: putting it back together. I followed the videos in reverse, carefully reconnecting everything. I was super worried I’d break something, but somehow, it all went back together. I held my breath and pressed the power button… and it turned on! I couldn’t believe it. I actually took a phone apart and put it back together, and it still worked!

I thought I was good to go, but after a few minutes it turned off and felt hot. That’s concerning, I’m not sure I did it right after all. I’ll have to go back and try again, I hope I didn’t mess anything up.

I’m still a long way from understanding everything, but it was a pretty cool experience. It definitely gave me a new appreciation for how much engineering goes into these devices. And it made me think about how I can optimize my games to work better with the hardware. Maybe I’ll try to find some more detailed schematics or something next… or maybe I’ll just stick to coding for now. We’ll see!