iPhone 14 leaks claim Apple will make some eye-opening price increases and design changes to its new smartphone range. But now there is new information which blows away everything that we have learned so far.
Apple iPhone 14 range concept renders, based on leaks
EverythingApplePro
In what amounts to a gut punch for iPhone fans, the controversial i-shaped cutout coming to iPhone 14 Pro models to replace the notch has not only been confirmed, it has been confirmed to be larger than expected. Much much larger. Moreover, while the original source was an anonymous Weibo poster, the schematic they leaked has now been verified by respected Apple insider John Prosser, host of popular YouTube show Front Page Tech.
“I wouldn’t just make an episode based on a random post on Weibo… I am making this episode because I have been able to independently verify that this is it,” states Prosser. “This is likely the size of this notch/cutout for iPhone 14. This schematic is real.”
iPhone 14 Pro’s actual i-shaped cutout overlaid with what was expected
John Prosser / Front Page Tech
And what the schematic shows is an i-shaped cutout dramatically larger than the all previous leaks expected. “Look at what we have been showing for weeks, compared to the actual size of the cutout,” Prosser proclaims, and the contrast is stark.
In fact, the size of the cutout suggests the iPhone 14 Pro display is not so much an exciting technological advancement as an aesthetic tweak of the current design. The result of Apple displaying Face ID components (infrared camera, dot projector and flood illuminator) and the front facing camera as separate cutouts rather than a unified notch.
Rendered side-by-side with an iPhone 13 Pro, this argument looks even stronger:
iPhone 13 Pro Vs iPhone 14 Pro based on leaked display schematic
John Prosser / Front Page Tech
Given the switch from notch to separate cutouts was already dividing iPhone fans when it was thought to be half the size, this new leak will not help. For years, Apple diehards have thought that the only reason the company persisted with the notch for so long (it debuted on the iPhone X in 2017) was because the next step would be a full-screen design with under-display cameras.
Yes, the marketing for the cutout is obvious. Apple’s slick ads can flip the new phones horizontally and use the i-shaped cutout to write ‘iPhone’ but it’s still an i-sore and a poor version of what Android phones have been doing for years. Given Apple’s reluctance to change designs often, the new cutout is also likely to stick around for the foreseeable future.
With leaks claiming Apple will increase iPhone pricing this year, cutout haters may find solace in this new design being iPhone 14 Pro-exclusive but opting for the standard iPhone 14 or new iPhone 14 Max will again mean missing out on ProMotion. That may change next year, but by then all iPhones models are tipped to adopt the i-cutout design.
Could this be Apple’s first big own goal in years? Watch Prosser’s full video below and decide for yourself.
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