Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro is set to be the phone that could shake up the iPhone range by potentially bringing in a notably different design from the iPhone 13 Pro. The death of the notch to the reinstatement of Touch ID has all been mentioned in the rumors thus far.
Even if the iPhone 13 Pro is excellent, there is debate as to whether it represents a significant advancement over the model it replaces. Additionally, since the release of the iPhone 11 Pro, the iPhone hasn’t advanced significantly.
It appears that Apple will need to bring its A-game to the iPhone 14 Pro in the face of fierce competition from devices like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Google Pixel 7. Our iPhone 14 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra face-off has additional information on that conflict.
From what we’ve heard so far about leaks and rumors, it sounds like Apple’s next Pro model might be able to do just that. And the iPhone 14 Pro might be very different from the other iPhone 14 models in some important ways.
iPhone 14 Pro rumored release date and price
Based on what we’ve heard so far, we think the iPhone 14 range will come out on September 13.
After that, we can expect to be able to pre-order the iPhone 14 range on September 16, the Friday after Apple’s event. The phones will likely come out a week later, on September 23. This would be 10 days after the event Apple was said to be holding.
Mostly dependable leaker Leaks ApplePro has said that the prices of three of the four iPhone 14 models are likely to go up, but this is just a rumor. But it’s a rumor that many people believe, as a later report also says an iPhone 14 Pro price increase is coming.
Supposedly, the iPhone 14 Pro would start at $1,099, which is $100 more than the iPhone 13 Pro, which costs $999. And the iPhone 14 Pro Max could go up by the same amount, to $1,199. This fairly big jump in price at launch would hurt anyone’s wallet who wanted to buy a high-end next-generation iPhone 14.
Check out our early look at the differences between the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro to see how the Pro line will be different from the regular iPhone and maybe explain why it costs more.
Also, when a new iPhone comes out, it’s often the end of the line for older iPhones. The iPhone 13 mini seems like the most likely phone to be cut from Apple’s lineup of smartphones. So, we’ve looked into which iPhones might be phased out when the iPhone 14 comes out.
iPhone 14 Pro Design
Jon Prosser, a tipster, has shown a set of renders that he says are based on leaked information and show that the iPhone 14 Pro could change in big ways.
Prosser’s renders show that the back of the iPhone 14 Pro has a row of three cameras. But if that sounds good, you might be disappointed by some rival schematics showing the iPhone 14 Pro models look much like their iPhone 13 counterparts. The raised camera array is back and even bigger on the iPhone 14 Pro. The new phones are also rumored to be 0.2mm thicker than the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
There are also rumors that the back camera module will get bigger. Ming-Chi Kuo, a trusted Apple analyst, says this is because a 48MP camera needs a bigger module to fit inside. So, another leak says that the iPhone 14 Pro’s corners (but not the Pro Max’s) will get rounder to match the rounded corners of the new module.
The now-famous display notch is rumored to be gone from the iPhone 14 Pro, which would be a big change. Ross Young, a display analyst, thinks that Apple will offer a pill-shaped cutout and a punch hole for Face ID. This means that there will be two cutouts. EverythingApplePro has heard rumors that this design is now set in stone.
There seems to be a leaked supply chain photo that shows the display panels for all four iPhone 14 models. This gave these rumors more weight. Read Also; iPhone 14 Displays — What to Expect From The New iPhones
Some iPhone 14 mock-ups posted by Alibaba and shared by Macotakara give us the best idea of what all the design changes will add up to. In the case of the iPhone 14 models, you can see the larger camera module and the two cutouts on the front screen. Macotakara says that iPhone 13 Pro cases won’t fit the iPhone 14 Pro because of this larger module.
Speaking of cases, a supposed case leak shows four iPhone 14 models: the standard iPhone 14, the iPhone 14 Plus/Max, the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Not only is there no iPhone 14 mini, but it also looks like the iPhone 14 Pro will be about the same size as the iPhone 14. We’d expect this since the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro are the same sizes. But the iPhone 14 Pro Max will be joined by the iPhone 14 Plus/Max, an even bigger Apple phone. Aside from that, the backs of all four phones look like they will be the same as their predecessors. The Pro models will have three cameras on the back, while the standard models will only have two.
And a new set of renders for the iPhone 14 Pro, based on schematics, do a great job of showing what the improved design could look like in metal and glass. They don’t show any design surprises, but they do give us a good idea of what the pill and punch-hole camera/Face ID cutouts will look like, which is surprisingly good.
Early rumors were that Touch ID could come back as a fingerprint scanner under the screen. But it’s still too early to say how likely this is. Analyst Ming Chi-Kuo thinks it will be a few years before there is an iPhone with Touch ID or Face ID under the screen. This would have been pretty disappointing since having an alternative to Face ID is very useful in this age of masks.
But with iOS 15.4, Apple changed Face ID to tell if a person is a real user even if they are wearing a mask. It works very well, which means Apple may not need biometrics that are based on fingerprints.
Only one leak has told us what colors the 14 Pro will come in. A Chinese leaker said that this year, along with the usual Graphite, Silver, and Gold Pro iPhone colors, there would also be a new dark purple option. This is shown in another set of renders from the artist Souta, which you can see below.
In May, MacRumors summed up what we knew about the iPhone 14 color rumors up to that point. The addition of purple was the biggest change. Other than that, the report shows the current iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 options of black, white, blue, and [Product] Red. Apple’s black and white phones are now called “Midnight” and “Starlight,” respectively.) This time, the pink and green colors would not be used. Read More; REVIEW: Samsung Galaxy S21 FE vs Apple iPhone 12
The new purple color would be an option for the 14 Pro and Pro Max, along with silver, gold, and graphite. The Sierra Blue version, which has been available since the iPhone 13 Pro, and the Alpine Green version, which came out in the spring, would be taken off the market.
iPhone 14 Pro USB-C
According to some reports, Apple may eventually switch to USB-C ports with the iPhone 14 Pro, which would make sense given how many of its products already support USB-C. More recent speculations, however, suggest that Apple will continue to use Lightning rather than USB-C while switching to improved Lightning connectors with faster USB 3.0 data transfer. That occurs at a time when the EU is getting closer to making USB-C the default charger for portable electronics like phones.
The iPhone 14 Pro’s USB-C port would be an essential feature for some users. In fact, considering that it can degrade over time, the Lightning connector is possibly the weakest aspect of the iPhone. This can make charging your phone quite challenging. Unfortunately, given how well-established the standard is and its extensive network of accessories, Apple is unlikely to forsake Lightning unless absolutely necessary.
However, Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple won’t make the switch to USB-C for the iPhone until the latter half of 2023. If he is right, which a recent Bloomberg report implies he is, then the iPhone 15 will be the first device to support USB-C officially.
Display 14 Pro
The 120Hz dynamic refresh rate display on the iPhone 13 Pro was among its best new features. By using an LTPO panel, the screen’s refresh rate could go from 120Hz to as low as 10Hz when a fast rate was needed. This helped save battery life.
Some rumors say that the iPhone 14 Pro could build on this and scale down to as low as 1Hz. This would make the display use less power. And this could make it possible to use an always-on display, as has been said. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the iPhone 14 Pro will finally get an always-on display. He says that it will be used to show “weather, calendars, stocks, activities, and other data” on the lock screen, with a low refresh rate to help save battery life. Apple showed off a new lock screen for iOS 16 in June, which seems to have set the stage for this feature.
On the other hand, the standard iPhone 14 models are expected to have a 90Hz screen, which would be better than the iPhone 13’s 60Hz screen but not quite as good as the Pro phones.
Ross Young says that the iPhone 14 Pro screen could grow from 6.06 inches to 6.12 inches, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max screen could grow from 6.68 inches to 6.69 inches. This will happen, rumors say, because the bezels will be thinner, and the design of the notch will change. Read More; REVIEW: Apple iPhone 13 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Cameras
Don’t expect a big change in the number of cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro. The Pro phones will likely stick with the standard main, ultrawide, and telephoto array. Since Apple phones are often on our list of the best camera phones, that’s not bad.
But one leak says that the main camera on the iPhone 14 Pro will be 48MP, which would be a big change from the 12MP cameras Apple has been using for years. Even though Cupertino’s computational photography is some of the best out there, the iPhone 14 Pro might be able to handle light and details better if it had more megapixels. We could be at a point where megapixels matter again to Apple.
But a reliable Apple rumor source says that the standard iPhone 14 models will keep their 12MP cameras, and only the Pro models will get a 48MP main camera.
The ultrawide camera hasn’t been said to change, but we’d be surprised if no effort wasn’t made to improve the field of view and eliminate some of the edge distortions.
And the telephoto camera could get a zoom boost since an Apple patent shows that the company is working on a zoom camera that looks like a periscope. If this feature were to be added to an iPhone for the first time, it would be on the iPhone 14 Pro. But Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo says that the periscope camera won’t be in the iPhone 15 until 2023. This year’s lack of a telephoto upgrade could make the iPhone 14 Pro a big disappointment.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that all versions of the iPhone 14 will have a better camera on the front. It looks like this will involve a new lens with a wider aperture, a more complicated six-part lens, and autofocus for the first time. Together, this should make it possible for the iPhone’s selfie camera to take photos that are brighter, easier to take thanks to autofocus, and less likely to be distorted.
For more, check out our roundup of rumors about the iPhone 14 camera.
Specs and Battery Life
After the A15 Bionic, we’d expect to see an A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 Pro series. According to rumored benchmarks, the A16 Bionic chip would improve performance across the board.
But based on what we know so far, the iPhone 14 is likely to stick with the A15 Bionic chip. This would make the core specs of the two models different. This would be a first for Apple since its new iPhones have always had better chips.
This chip rumor has been backed up by Ming Chi-Kuo, who also said that Apple plans to ship more iPhone 14 Pros than regular iPhone 14s.
“The latest A16 processor will only be in two iPhone 14 Pro/high-end models,” Kup wrote in a Medium post. “This will significantly increase the proportion of new iPhone high-end models shipped in 2H22 to 55-60% (from 40–50% in the past),” he added. This likely means that Apple will push the iPhone 14 Pro more than the iPhone 14.
The iPhone 14 Pro is likely to be much faster than the A15 Bionic in terms of its processor, graphics, and neural processing. It might not be clear how much that will change things for the average user.
There have been no solid rumors about storage for the iPhone 14 Pro yet, but it will likely go up to 1TB.
A source on Weibo who says they know about the iPhone 14 family’s battery sizes says that all models except the iPhone 14 Pro Max will get a small size boost. The 14 Pro Max is getting a little smaller, but hopefully not enough to change how long the phone’s battery will last.
We’re pretty sure that the iPhone 14 Pro will match or beat the 11 hours and 42 minutes that the iPhone 13 Pro did in our battery test, which forces the phone to keep reloading web pages over a cellular connection until it dies. The iPhone 13 Pro Max lasted for 12 hours and 16 minutes, so we expect the iPhone 14 Pro Max to do the same or even better as Apple improves the efficiency of its chips and phones.
Concerning 5G, we think the iPhone 14 Pro will use a new, smaller 5G modem chip. The smaller size should mean that it runs on less power and that the battery could have more room to grow. That would mean that the iPhone 13’s battery life, which is already very good, can be made even better.
It looks like Qualcomm’s new 5G chip, the Snapdragon X70, won’t help the iPhone 14 Pro keep up with the times. The chip will have the first 5G AI processor. This will allow the modem system to use AI to optimize a phone’s antenna and better manage 5G beams going to and from a 5G phone. Qualcomm thinks this will be especially helpful for mmWave-based 5G networks in places like stadiums and arenas. AI can also help manage 5G signals below 6GHz, though.
In addition to connecting to cell networks and Wi-Fi, the iPhone 14 Pro could also connect to satellite networks. This feature was first talked about before the release of the iPhone 13 last year. It didn’t make it in time for those phones, but reliable rumors say that emergency satellite communications could be a feature of the iPhone 14. The idea is that when you are in a place without a good cell phone or Wi-Fi service, you can send text messages to emergency services over satellite networks to let them know where you are.
Outlook
The Pro models are expected to represent a true development of the iPhones we’ve seen over the previous few years. Thus, the iPhone 14 Pro may be the device many of us have been waiting for. Although the iPhone 14 won’t seem much different from the iPhone 13 or 12, we believe it will establish a design language and feature set that will serve as a model for future iPhones.
No notch, an always-on display, a higher primary camera megapixel count, and perhaps a USB-C connector could significantly alter the iPhone we know. And that would have the additional impact of setting the benchmark for other smartphones to meet to earn a spot on our list of the best phones.
