iPhone 14 early leaks and what we want to see

The iPhone 13 is here and its quartet of models have been given a decent iterative upgrade over the iPhone 12. Some might be happy with slightly improved cameras, bigger batteries  and 120Hz displays on the iPhone 13 Pro models. But other might feel more inclined to wait for the iPhone 14. 

And given there’s been one major claimed leak from Apple tipster Jon Prosser, it looks like a significant redesign could come with the 2022 iPhone. For example, the display notch is expected to be replaced and Touch ID is tipped to make a return in the form of an under-display scanner.

Obviously, it’s rather early on in the iPhone 14 rumor cycle, and we’ve still yet to get our hands on the iPhone 13. So take a lot of the below with a decent dose of skepticism. 

With that in mind, here’s what we’ve heard so far about the iPhone 14 and what we’d like to see from Apple’s 2022 smartphone. 

iPhone 14 possible release date and price  

We’ve heard no hint on a potential release date for the iPhone 14. But going by previous Apple iPhone launch events, we’d expect to see the iPhone 14 make its debut in September 2022.

As for price, it’s also difficult to predict. But we suspect the iPhone 14 will match the price of the iPhone 13, which starts at $799 for the iPhone 13 mini and $899 for the iPhone 13 Pro. However, there could be no iPhone 14 mini at all, so we’d expect the standard iPhone 14 to start at $899. 

No iPhone 14 mini?

Despite the iPhone 12 mini’s reportedly poor sales, Apple has revealed an iPhone 13 mini. But the mini could be toast after that, as the company will reportedly shake up the iPhone 14 lineup for 2022. There could be a larger iPhone 14 Plus or Max to go along with the regular 6.1-inch iPhone 14. So there would be two regular size phones and two larger screen iPhone 14 models. 

iPhone 14 design  

According to Jon Prosser and his Front Page Tech video, the iPhone 14 will look like an iPhone 12 crossed with an iPhone 4, in that it’ll stick with flat edges. But on those edges could be a mute button and a group of rounded buttons for volume central, harking back to the iPhone 4. 

Supposedly, the sides of the iPhone 14 could be made out of titanium, which could make it tougher and stronger than the previous iPhones, whereas the back would retain the glass finish but seemingly with a satin-like finish. Speaking of edges, there are rumors that a next-gen iPhone will be portless, but Prosser claims the iPhone 14 will stick with Lightning ports.  

One of the most significant changes for the iPhone 14 over its predecessors is tipped to be the return of Touch ID. Only rather than get integrated into a power button, it will supposedly be embedded under the iPhone14’s display, much like a lot of fingerprint sensors on the best Android phones. At a time where people are wearing masks to avoid catching Covid-19, Face ID can struggle to identify iPhone users, so having a form of Touch ID would solve that problem. 

Another design change potentially in the cards for the iPhone 14 is the trio of rear cameras will no longer protrude from the iPhone’s rear but sit flush with the back. Given advancements in camera sensor technology and lens manufacturing, this could be a possibility. 

iPhone 14 display  

We’d expect the displays on the iPhone 14 range to basically track with those on the iPhone 13, minus the mini phone. 

So for the iPhone 14 range, we’re likely to see a standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro come with a 6.1-inch display, and a possible iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max to sport a 6.7-inch display. 

Given the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro max have a 120Hz refresh rate display, we’d expect all iPhone 14 models to have such a screen, likely using an LTPO panel or an evolution of that display tech. An always-on display would also seem logical for the iPhone 14 given it was tipped for the iPhone 13 but never made it into the latest iPhone. And we’d also like to see support for things like 10-bit color, as seen on the Oppo Find X3 Pro’s display. 

But the most significant change tipped for the iPhone 14 is the removal of a display notch. Prosser’s leak-based renders effectively claim that the notch will be replaced by a punch-hole front-facing camera. That’s easy to envision, given a lot of Android phones use the same approach to freeing up screen space. 

However, that raises the question as to where the Face ID sensors would go. There are rumors that Apple will put the sensors under the OLED display, but a claim made by display expert Ross Young has said that “under panel Face ID isn’t final yet,”  but that “it is easier than under panel camera.” There is some chatter that if Apple does go for an under-display take on Face ID it’ll be kept for the iPhone 14 Pro models. 

How Apple would adopt a punch-hole camera and still use Face ID without under display sensors remains open to debate. Perhaps the iPhone 14 could have a slightly larger top edge to hold the sensors, or use advanced image processing via the selfie camera to avoid the need for IR scanning. Either way, we’re very much hoping that the current display notch is consigned to Apple’s design history books, as it’s now rather chunky by modern smartphone standards. 

iPhone 14 cameras  

We’ve haven’t heard a lot about the cameras of the iPhone 14 so far, but there are some interesting rumors. One report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tips a 48MP main sensor for the iPhone 14 Pro models, which would be a big jump from the 12MP camera on the iPhone 13. 

Better telephoto capabilities would also be appreciated, as the iPhone lags behind the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S21. In fact, it would be rather neat if Apple drew inspiration from the Galaxy S21 Ultra and opted for a secondary telephoto camera with something like a 10x optical zoom. 

One Apple patent points to Apple working on a periscope-style zoom camera, which could make its way to the iPhone 14, or at least the Pro models. 

iPhone 14 specs, battery life and charging  

So far we only have tidbits of info on the potential iPhone 14 specs. We’re rather confident that 2022’s iPhone will make use of an A-series chip design by Apple. Likely to be the A16, the chip will almost certainly offer a notable boost in both processor and graphics performance over the A15 Bionic tipped for the iPhone 13.

The iPhone 14 is tipped to feature a 4nm chip from TSMC, which would be even smaller and more efficient than the 5nm A15 Bionic slated for the iPhone 13. 

It’s also possible that the iPhone 14 will feature an Apple-made 5G modem, following  Apple’s acquisition of Intel’s modem business. This would presumably give Apple more control over both the 5G performance and battery life impact. 

iPhone 14: what we’d like to see  

A fresh design: Prosser’s renders of the iPhone 14 tease a rather attractive looking phone. But it’s not a vast jump in Apple’s industrial design aesthetic. Granted, Apple makes some of the nicest looking phones around, but we’d like to see if it could push phone design further; perhaps the iPhone 14 range could include the much-rumored iPhone Flip foldable phone. 

No notch: The iPhone 14 could come with a notch-less display, and we hope they bear fruit. Rumor has it this could be replaced with a punch-hole, but we’d like too see an under-display camera so long as it didn’t impact imaging or Face ID performance. 

Touch ID: We’d be rather confident that Apple will bring back Touch ID for the iPhone 14, even if it doesn’t happen via an in-display sensor. Perhaps the side-mounted power button could have a Touch ID sensor integrated into it like the one on the iPad Air. 

Smarter features: While the Apple A-series chips have always been powerhouses, we’d like to see Apple lean more into the AI side of things, much like the Google Pixel 6 is set to do with its Tensor chip. That way we can have a smarter, more responsive Siri to compete with the Google Assistant, as well as smarter features that more intuitively serve up the data or services iPhone 14 users want when they want them. 

Killer camera capabilities: The iPhone 12 Pro Max offers one of the best camera phones around, but we want to see Apple push its camera tech and hardware even further. As it stands, the lead between the Pro Max and the likes of the Google Pixel 5 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra isn’t vast. With the iPhone 14, we’d like to see Apple deliver camera and a phone photography experience that wipes the floor with Android rivals, forcing them to up really their photography game with their next-gen phones. And catching up on the zoom front would help, too.