iPhone 14 will probably come with a punch-hole display
Apple's iPhone 13 certainly turned heads for its new, more efficient processor, longer lasting battery life, and new display—among other things. Even the front camera notch came in 20% smaller than earlier models.
However, if all the rumors are to be believed, the iPhone 14 to come in 2022 should be nothing short of revolutionary. At least in form factor, that is.
The latest in a flood of recent leaks, this time brought to us by well-known tipster Mark Gurman, claims that the iPhone 13 will be the first Apple iPhone ever to finally ditch the front camera notch, which people have been complaining about for ages. According to Gurman, Apple will be replacing it with a single round camera notch to go in the center of the display.
What about the TrueDepth camera for Face ID, you may ask; how would it all fit in one tiny dot on the screen? According to Gurman, the FaceID cam will be moved under the screen, exactly where the rumored Touch ID fingerprint sensor for iPhone 14 may also be hidden.
The report, originally covered by MacRumors, didn't specify which models of the iPhone 14 series may get said punch-hole design. It may very well be all of them, or it could be only the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max to receive the brand new design.
However, Gurman's report isn't first-time news by any means; way back in March, famous Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo surmised that a hole-punch display could well be on Apple's radar. And later this December, The Elec also reported on the same, long before Gurman also joined in.
The growing list of unaffiliated tipsters all claiming the same thing only seems to re-affirm that the hole-punch design may well and truly be in the books for Apple's newest flagship series.
Yet although a punch-hole notch would certainly be a first for Apple, it's hardly a novel design, as Samsung and other phone manufacturers have been producing hole-punch displays since back in 2018. This allows for maximized screen real estate, as it takes up several times less the space that a camera array encased in a notch generally occupies. Although the hole-punch design is more space-efficient, however, both display styles have always each had their respective share of fans.
The likely introduction of a hole-punch display isn't the only leak that rocked the world of Apple fans this past week, either. Just recently, another rumor appeared to confirm that some of Apple's iPhone 14 models may arrive with variants lacking a SIM card slot entirely; a concept which had been envisioned for the iPhone 15 previously.
Another of the multiple rumored physical changes to the iPhone 14 maintains that Apple could do away with the entire camera bump on the back, in order to make the phone flatter and more compact, as seen in the renders above.
iPhone 14 series: What we know so far
Although Apple is one of the toughest nuts to crack when it comes to the dutifully kept secrets of upcoming flagships, various leaks along the way to launch day are simply unavoidable. We've kept careful track of every juicy tidbit we've found on every model of the iPhone 14 family—and you can visit each of their respective pages for a real-time sum-up of the details we have on them so far.
One of the most interesting rumors when it comes to the devices in Apple's 2022 iPhone series, is the alleged introduction of the iPhone 14 Max: a new model to seemingly replace the now-extinct iPhone mini. The twist is that rather than an extra mini version, the Max will be a giant version to match the size of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, albeit with slightly lesser specs. For example, the refresh rate is rumored to be 60Hz, or half of that of its twin.
Things that are NOT allowed: