We already know a lot about Apple’s next iPhones with upgrades that range from exciting to the belated and highly controversial to totally unexpected. But now plans for two of Apple’s biggest iPhone design decisions just gained serious weight.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro concept based on multiple leaks
SHAILESH HARIHARAN / CONCEPTSIPHONE
Respected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman used his latest PowerOn newsletter to confirm two significant design upgrades coming to Apple’s 2022 iPhones. And both will be controversial.
2022’s Unwanted iPhone SE Upgrade
First, Gurman states that Apple will release a third generation iPhone SE “in the first half of the year” with its major change being the addition of 5G. Given the mixed performance and (still) limited availability of 5G, it is unlikely that this was high on the list of priorities for Apple fans shopping on a budget. It may also negatively impact battery life, given the iPhone SE’s small size (the design is again unchanged) and 5G’s increased power consumption. But this upgrade is coming, whether buyers really want it or not.
iPhone 14 Copies The Competition
Second, Gurman confirms that Apple will introduce a “revamped iPhone 14 range with a hole-punch-sized notch in the fall”. The language of this update is interesting because respected industry insider Ming-Chi Kuo has previously claimed that Apple is looking to introduce the punch-hole on all models “if product yields allow.” This news is in contrast to leaks from other sources which had claimed it would be limited to Pro models.
The move to a punch-hole would also not be without controversy given the design change will copy a move already made by Android rivals several years ago — something not all Apple fans wish to see.
In recent years, Apple has also attempted to differentiate itself using a silhouette for the notch for marketing, even going so far as to introduce it on its new MacBook Pro range despite having no obvious functional reason to do so. Moving the iPhone 14 range to a punch-hole would therefore be something of a surprise and make these premium new laptops look rather silly.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max concept render
Ran Avni and Pranav Nathe via ConceptsiPhone
That said, Gurman’s news aligns with a recent report that LG has already signed a contract with Apple to supply punch-hole displays for the iPhone 14 line-up with Apple having chosen “low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin-film transistor (TFT) OLED panels” with 120Hz refresh rates.
iPhone Excitement Building
Whether you are on board with either of these upgrades or not, there are clearly growing reasons to be excited about Apple’s upcoming 2022 iPhones.
Since the current iPhone SE launched in 2020, there have been major performance and camera improvements to the iPhone line-up and, given Apple borrows parts from existing iPhones for its SE models, major upgrades are overdue here. The current iPhone SE uses a camera system based on the module inside the iPhone 8.
As for the iPhone 14 range, in addition to the new punch-hole design, Apple will introduce a budget-friendly supersized ‘iPhone 14 Max’ and with leakers also claiming that the company will belatedly restore Touch ID (alongside Face ID) and finally move to USB-C due to increasing regulatory pressure. Early renders also point to all-new cameras, bigger batteries and a Titanium chassis (the latter being exclusive to iPhone 14 Pro models) and a radical move to remove the SIM card.
If you’ve been on the fence about upgrading to an iPhone 13, it might now make more sense to wait.
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