Does a force restart in iOS do anything different from a normal restart?
A force restart is at the hardware level, not the software level. This means that even if iOS is completely frozen or in a different mode altogether (such as DFU Mode, Recovery Mode, or Restore Mode), you can still perform a force restart. It does nothing more than cut the power and turn the device back on again. This means that it doesn't clear any caches or reset anything. A regular restart actually does more than a force restart.