04/30 Update below. This post was originally published on April 27
Apple leaks have already revealed what everyone knows to be the most shocking change in the iPhone 14 range: the notch-less redesign. Right? Wrong. New information reveals it will be their prices…
In an exclusive report, Bloomberg’s excellent Apple guru Mark Gurman reports that Apple’s decision to replace the iPhone 13 mini with an iPhone 13 Max is likely to result in a price increase of up to $300.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max concept showing the expected higher $1199 price
@VadimYuryev @Shaileshhari03
04/29 Update: And now we know exactly what the new iPhone 14 Max and the rest of the iPhone 14 lineup will look like. Thanks to a major supply chain leak on popular Chinese website, Weibo — historically the home of component leaks — (via content creator Saran Byte) we can now see the actual front panels of all four models for the first time. Interestingly, the parts confirm several details which had been hotly tipped:
- iPhone 14 Pro models will have thinner, symmetrical bezels
- Pro models appear to be slightly taller than non-Pro models with more rounded corners
- iPhone 14 Max does indeed replace the iPhone 13 Mini and — aspect ratio margins aside — is approximately the same size as the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max
- Standard models retain the notch while both iPhone 14 Pros have the polarizing new ‘i-shaped’ cutout.
The alignment of actual parts (which is a regular trend around this time every year as Apple ramps up mass production), also adds substance to leaks around the internals of the new models. That said, this is not necessarily good news. Notably, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max are expected to run on a previous generation chipset (Apple’s 2021 A15 Bionic also used in the $429 iPhone SE) for the first time, while the newly leaked price hikes (below) look even more likely.
04/30 Update: verification of the leaked iPhone 14 front panels has now arrived from increasingly influential anonymous industry insider ShrimpApplePro.
Speaking to popular YouTuber Jon Prosser on his FrontPageTech show, the leaker broke things down with Prosser reporting: “Yes, it’s real… As for why we are seeing these now, well he [ShrimpApplePro] says that mass production could start as early as next month. So what you’re seeing is still technically in the development phase but we are right around the corner from this being made at scale.”
While Prosser has really made his name over the last 18 months with a series of high-profile Apple and Google leaks, ShrimpApplePro has caused waves more recently after his leaked iPhone 14 Pro schematics were the first to reveal a new i-shaped cut out for these models. His information contradicted that of several other established leakers and was initially treated with skepticism but, following a flurry of complimentary leaks from other sources, all major insiders now agree this is Apple’s chosen iPhone 14 Pro design.
As such, a tip-off from ShrimpApplePro is about as good as it gets for iPhone leaks in 2022 and highlights Apple’s plan to widen the design, features and performance gaps between Pro and non-Pro iPhones moving forward. It’s a risky strategy that risks alienating fans during a time of global belt-tightening but Apple rarely gets its product strategy wrong.
“So, for the first time, the non-Pro iPhone line will get a 6.7-inch screen option,” explains Gurman. “…users will now be able to get Apple’s largest iPhone size for at least $200 less than before.”
In other words: an iPhone 14 Max will be circa $200 cheaper than an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Now let’s break this down. Currently, an iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at $1099 which would price an iPhone 14 Max at $899 – a $200 increase on the $699 iPhone 13 Mini it replaces. But not so fast.
Multiple leaks have claimed that rising component costs and Apple’s determination to differentiate Pro and non-Pro iPhones, will see the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max increase to $1099 and $1199 respectively. That $200 gap now potentially pushes the iPhone 14 Max as high as $999 — $300 more than an iPhone 13 Mini.
And this is just the start because, as Gurman points out, standard iPhone 14 models will share far fewer Pro features than in previous generations. Among the features he claims they will miss out on are:
Corner changes to the iPhone 14 Pro make for a noticeably more rounded phone than the iPhone 13 Pro
Ian Zelbo
All of which presents Apple fans with something of a conundrum: How much does size matter?
Poor sales of the iPhone 13 Mini have again shown that large screens are what users really want, so a more affordable iPhone 14 Pro Max should fit the bill perfectly. But if the iPhone 14 Max costs circa $1000 and just $100 more gets you an iPhone 14 Pro, which has a superior design, upgraded camera, next-gen performance and a 120Hz ProMotion display, the reaction might be very different.
Giving users what they want but not how they want it, is an Apple speciality. And it looks like the iPhone 14 range is going to be no different.
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