Apple’s yearly iPhone launch is the largest date within the firm’s calendar. And after a number of years of cautious upgrades, expectations are excessive for the iPhone 14 in late 2022.
On this article we spherical up the most recent leaks and rumors regarding Apple’s subsequent flagship iPhone launch, together with the iPhone 14’s launch date, tech specs, design adjustments, new options, pricing and extra. The most recent information is that each one iPhone 14 fashions are anticipated to get an upgraded entrance digicam with autofocus and an f/1.9 aperture, whereas a controversial gap + capsule design is about to switch the notch.
Whereas we await the brand new handsets to reach, you possibly can decide up a discount on the present vary with our roundup of the most effective iPhone offers.
When will the iPhone 14 be launched?
We anticipate the iPhone 14 to be introduced in mid-September 2022, and hit shops round per week later.
Apple almost all the time debuts its new iPhones in September annually, with COVID-19 inflicting one notable exception in 2020. It’s attainable there will likely be comparable delays this yr–whereas the iPhone 14 Professional entered check manufacturing on schedule, the non-Professional fashions seem to have been delayed barely–however we’d be stunned if Apple wasn’t capable of get a deal with on these points in time for the autumn. Mark September 2022 in your diary for the approaching of the brand new fashions.
Right here’s when the previous few generations arrived:
- iPhone 13: September 24, 2021
- iPhone 12: October 23, 2020
- iPhone 11: September 20, 2019
- iPhone XS: September 21, 2018
(Word that one iPhone has arrived already in 2022: the iPhone SE 3 was introduced at Apple’s spring occasion on March 8. However the flagship launch must wait till the autumn.)
Design adjustments for 2022
What is going to the iPhone seem like in 2022? We anticipate important design adjustments. Listed below are the most recent rumors in regards to the iPhone 14’s exterior look and bodily chassis.
Goodbye mini, hey Max
Essentially the most fundamental and apparent design attribute is measurement, and most pundits agree that Apple is about to drop a giant (or fairly small) bombshell in that regard. All of the indicators counsel that the 5.4-inch iPhone mini line goes to be discontinued: Ming-Chi Kuo is available with rumors suggesting that Apple will kill off the mini to introduce the Max in 2022.
What meaning in observe is that we’ll nonetheless get 4 fashions, however as a substitute of those being break up into one small, two medium and one giant, will probably be two medium and two giant.
In different phrases,
- iPhone 13 mini (with a 5.4-inch display)
- iPhone 13 (6.1-inch display)
- iPhone 13 Professional (6.1-inch display)
- iPhone 13 Professional Max (6.7-inch display)
will (we predict) be succeeded by:
- iPhone 14 (6.1-inch display)
- iPhone 14 Max (6.7-inch display)
- iPhone 14 Professional (6.1-inch display)
- iPhone 14 Professional Max (6.7-inch display)
Leaked pictures of case molds–used to correctly measurement iPhone instances–illustrate these long-rumored measurement adjustments.
Knowledgable Bloomberg report Mark Gurman helps this principle, including that Apple “must get extra dramatic with [2022]’s overhaul, particularly as competitors mounts.” Extra on that redesign shortly.
The iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini are understood to have offered badly, and the transfer is comprehensible. However not everybody will likely be glad to see the again of the mini, as we clarify in Why we mourn the iPhone mini.
The tip of the notch… or not
The iPhone 13 vary noticed a small lower within the measurement of the notorious notch on the entrance show. But it surely might vanish utterly in 2022, or no less than rework into a brand new and extra discreet kind.
In line with Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 14 Professional will function a punch-hole show design as a substitute. That punch-hole design, by the way, was the topic of a controversial leak in September 2021, when Jon Prosser selected to disclose the design of 2022’s iPhone simply days earlier than the announcement of the 2021 mannequin. Right here’s how Entrance Web page Tech sees the iPhone 14:
We’ve since heard extra hypothesis about how Apple will cope with the notch in its late-2022 telephones. In October we heard the weird rumor that the iPhone 14 would function each a pinhole digicam and a notch, which certainly defeats the aim of together with a pinhole. A minimum of the notch will shrink once more, on this situation, however we are able to’t see prospects going for a telephone with two annoying imperfections within the display.
Right here’s what which may seem like, based mostly on a picture showcasing the “gap + capsule” design that was posted on Chinese language social media in February 2022:
However different sources proceed to argue for the only aperture. In December 2021 South Korean information web site The Elec returned to the unique prediction that the notch would vanish in 2022, changed solely by a pinhole. The positioning based mostly this assertion on nameless sources. And in January the dependable reporter Mark Gurman concurred that it’s going to be punch-hole time, child.
The controversy continues: we examine whether or not the iPhone 14 may have a notch in depth in a separate article. It’s more likely to show a key ingredient within the gadget’s reception as a triumph or a stale retread of previous glories.
The return of Contact ID
A method for Apple to make it simpler to take away the notch could be to reinstate Contact ID on the following iPhone. This may be accomplished in one among two methods, each of which have been closely rumored for a while now.
The primary is to introduce an under-display fingerprint sensor for Contact ID, as prompt by Ming-Chi Kuo to MacRumors, whereas the opposite is for Apple to make use of the identical Contact ID sensor within the energy button that it at the moment deploys within the iPad Air (2020) and new iPad mini (2021).
However is Apple ready to countenance such an apparent backwards step? Contact ID was dropped from the flagship iPhones as way back as 2017, with its ongoing confinement to extra budget-focused fashions an implicit assertion that face recognition is best than fingerprint.
Our suspicion is that Apple will solely restore Contact ID to its top-tier telephones when it’s capable of supply it alongside Face ID. And that doesn’t assist in any respect with the removing of the notch.
The primary portless iPhone
One of many rumors that appears to be choosing up traction is that Apple will ditch the Lightning port on the iPhone 14 and have no ports in any respect. This has been rumored since earlier than the iPhone 12 was launched, however it could possibly be made a actuality on account of stress from the EU or simply for Apple to create extra space inside its iPhones.
Fairly than depend on cables for charging, all energy will likely be delivered wirelessly. This may immediately render many equipment and energy banks redundant, however Apple has by no means been shy about making unpopular choices up to now.
There’s additionally an fascinating sidebar to this subject, which is that the EU has been on the warpath for some time about proprietary charging requirements, and a draft regulation forcibly standardising smartphone ports was rumored in August 2021. This got here a step nearer in September 2021, when the EU Fee introduced a invoice to unify charging cables.
In principle this might oblige Apple to provide a USB-C iPhone on the market in Europe–and much more theoretically, might encourage it to base all its new iPhones on USB-C in order to keep away from the manufacturing inefficiency of creating a couple of design. But it surely’s onerous to see an organization as giant and highly effective as Apple bowing to mid-level political stress on this manner.
Our suspicion is that the portless iPhone, mentioned by followers for thus lengthy, won’t turn into a actuality for a while but. (One Apple web site already claimed earlier than its launch that there was a portless ‘variant’ of the iPhone 13, however it appears this was extra of a testing prototype for long-term growth than a critical contender for business launch anytime quickly.) Sooner or later it’ll occur, however we doubt that day will likely be in 2022.
New MagSafe adapter
With regards to charging ports, there’s additionally a curious rumor surrounding MagSafe. Not the MagSafe customary utilized by the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 fashions to connect wi-fi chargers to their rear, however a brand new magnetic cable customary that’s far nearer to the outdated MagSafe utilized by MacBooks.
Apple has patented “a plurality of magnets aligned with a linear configuration of the plurality of spring-biased pin assemblies…”
Truly, it’s most likely simpler should you have a look at this illustration:
How this might circumvent the EU downside or standardise Apple’s connector points is unclear, however it’s an interesting-looking expertise.
Tech specs and new options
One of many tech group’s favourite video games is figuring out what enhancements and improvements Apple will give you annually for its new iPhones.
Apple checks many new applied sciences, however whether or not they make it into the iPhone or not has to do with a sophisticated internet of technical feasibility, value, availability of elements from suppliers, and extra. Listed below are the strongest clues we’ve got concerning the options and spec upgrades you may even see within the iPhone 14.
ProMotion screens
The iPhone 13 is claimed to have 120Hz ProMotion shows on the Professional fashions, with panels made by Samsung, whereas the non-Professional variants will reportedly use common 60Hz shows made by LG. With the iPhone 14, LG is claimed to be making LPTO OLED shows able to 120Hz to produce your entire iPhone line.
So it’s attainable that your entire iPhone 14 line may have 120Hz ProMotion expertise, which might observe Apple’s pure cadence: convey a function to the Professional mannequin first after which observe with the remainder of the road a yr later.
Whereas we’re with reference to display upgrades, we haven’t heard any particular rumors about an always-on show within the iPhone 14. However after it was closely rumored for the iPhone 13 and did not materialize, it’s attainable that it’s going to make an look this yr.
Digital camera upgrades
Massive adjustments are apparently coming to the iPhone’s digicam within the iPhone 14. Whereas the 2 traces are anticipated to retain the identical setup—twin digicam in the usual iPhone 14 and triple-camera within the iPhone 14 Professional—Apple is planning a giant leap for the higher-end fashions. Leaked schematics present a large digicam bump on the Professional fashions, protruding 4.17mm from the again of the case for a complete thickness of 12.02mm, a few milimeter thicker than the iPhone 13 Professional.
In line with Kuo, Apple is claimed to be contemplating a 48MP sensor for the usual huge digicam, which might mix the pixels’ gentle assortment in a 2×2 grid when in a low-light state of affairs (producing a 12MP photograph). The digicam would reportedly be able to capturing 8K video, no less than on the Professional fashions. Kuo additionally says the entrance digicam will acquire autofocus and a wider aperture (f/1.9 as a substitute of f/2.2).
In April, a put up on Weibo (through Macrumors) claimed that the huge digicam sensor will likely be 20 p.c bigger than iPhone 13 Professional. Along with the 48MP lens, that probably means the iPhone 14 Professional will take extraordinarily detailed pictures in shiny gentle whereas nonetheless counting on evening mode to seize low-light pictures.
Whereas the Professional fashions have been beforehand rumored to incorporate a “periscope” lens with variable zoom, the most recent rumor says that function is coming within the 2023 iPhone (presumably the iPhone 15).
New A16 processor
Each new iPhone has a brand new A-series system-on-chip (SoC) and we anticipate the iPhone 14 to observe swimsuit. The A16, as it’ll probably be known as, could possibly be one of many first large-scale processor releases to make use of TSMC’s 3-nanometer manufacturing course of, which ought to assist enhance efficiency, effectivity, and battery life. Nevertheless, a report in November by The Info prompt Apple would possibly follow a 5nm course of on account of struggles with TSMC’s “cutting-edge manufacturing method.”
Nevertheless, latest rumors counsel solely the Professional fashions will get the latest chip, whereas the non-Professional fashions will get a barely upgraded A15 chip. That may be a doubling-down of the technique Apple launched with the iPhone 14, when the Professional fashions obtained a special A15 chip for the primary time with a 5-core GPU.
Improved battery life
Speaking of battery efficiency, the Chinese language-language web site Financial Each day Information believes the iPhone 14 will get a lift on this division because of enhancements in 5G expertise. The most recent 5G parts are smaller and extra energy-efficient than those used within the earlier era of iPhones, liberating up house within the chassis and enabling Apple to slot in a bigger battery.
Apple plans to bump the Professional and Professional Max handsets from 6GB of RAM within the 13-series era to 8GB for the 14-series, in line with rumors from South Korea circulating in February 2022. The usual fashions, in the meantime, will leap from 4GB to 6GB.
As much as 2TB of storage
Apple has solely simply damaged the terabyte barrier, providing a cool 1TB as the highest storage tier on the iPhone 13 Professional and 13 Professional Max for the primary time ever. However optimistic rumormongers assume Apple will blast previous that milestone and double up once more to 2TB in 2022.
This principle relies on early testing exercise at provider companions. However we’re not solely satisfied.
mmWave 5G
iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 fashions offered within the US supply mmWave (or millimetre wave) 5G, however elsewhere this kind isn’t obtainable. For example, customers within the UK depend on the slower sub-6GHz model of 5G, which US customers get along with mmWave.
Which will change with the iPhone 14. We reported again earlier than the launch of the iPhone 13 that Apple had made a big order for mmWave antenna, which prompt that the UK and different nations would get quicker 5G with the iPhone 13. However ultimately the expertise was saved a US-only possibility.
In April 2021 the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that assist for mmWave could be rolled out in much more nations as a part of the launch of the iPhone 13 fashions. He talked about Canada, Australia, Japan and “main European cellular operators,” which can embody the UK. Perhaps Kuo’s radar was barely off, and mmWave will make its worldwide debut within the iPhone 14 as a substitute?
So, what’s the massive cope with mmWave? Effectively, the theoretical most velocity for mmWave is 1-2 gigabits per second, in comparison with the 100-400 megabits provided by Sub-6 GHz. Nevertheless, Sub-6GHz provides an extended vary, which is to the good thing about customers exterior the massive cities. We now have a separate article the place you possibly can learn concerning the 5G protection issues confronted by the iPhone within the UK.
We now have a good suggestion, by the way in which, of the parts Apple will use to supply this improved 5G connectivity, with the newly up to date X65 anticipated to look within the iPhone 14. That is fascinating as a result of it permits using mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G on the identical time, and provides unprecedented speeds of as much as 10Gb/s and even improved energy effectivity.
Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi 6E is just like Wi-Fi 6, which the final three generations of iPhone already assist. But it surely provides compatibility with the 6Hz band, growing bandwidth, bettering speeds and lowering interference.
In line with a July 2021 report from the Taiwanese web site DigiTimes, the late-2021 iPhones have been thought to function assist for the brand new Wi-Fi 6E wi-fi customary. However this didn’t occur, suggesting that it could possibly be one of many new options within the iPhone 14 vary–and in November 2021 Ming-Chi Kuo gave this principle his backing.
DigiTimes wasn’t the primary web site to foretell Wi-Fi 6E in iPhones, with Barclays analysts forecasting the identical improve again in January 2021.
How a lot will the iPhone 14 value?
Value-wise, we anticipate the usual iPhone 14 mannequin to begin at round $800, with the iPhone 14 Professional mannequin someplace between $1,000 and $1,100 (or extra if you wish to add additional storage).
However anticipate the pricing construction for the iPhone 14 fashions to be a bit of totally different from the present vary, for the easy purpose that there isn’t anticipated to be a 5.4-inch mini model, however fairly a lower-cost 6.7-inch Max measurement that Ming-Chi Kuo has mentioned might are available at below $900. With that in thoughts, we anticipate the beginning lineup to vary from roughly $800-$1,000 in value, relying on mannequin and measurement.
The brand new bigger mannequin might additionally shake up the Professional costs. LeaksApple Pro on Twitter reported that Apple “is at the moment contemplating” bumping the costs of the Professional iPhones by $100 apiece, pushing the iPhone 14 Professional to $1,099 and the iPhone 14 Professional Max to $1,199. The account cites growing manufacturing prices and the necessity to present greater than a $100 distinction between the 14 Max and the 14 Professional.
For a tough comparability, listed below are the present beginning costs on the iPhone 13 sequence, as detailed in our iPhone shopping for information. Word that these will drop in value when the 14-series handsets seem (or disappear from sale solely).
- iPhone 13 mini: $699/£679
- iPhone 13: $799/£779
- iPhone 13 Professional: $999/£949
- iPhone 13 Professional Max: $1,099/£1,049
iPhone 15 and past
Whereas many of those rumors look set to look within the iPhone 14, it’s all the time tough to guess the place Apple will go subsequent. So take this information with a pinch of salt, as something might occur over the months-long await the brand new gadget.
Keep in mind too that some deliberate adjustments or new options could slip and get pushed again to the following era. For instance, when it comes to design, the proof is piling up that Apple is engaged on one thing very radical: extra radical certainly than the iPhone X.
An embryonic clamshell design at the moment generally known as the iPhone Flip is in growth at Apple HQ. Prolific leaker Jon Prosser says it’s paying homage to the Galaxy Z Flip, and can are available “enjoyable colours.” However he additionally warns that it received’t launch in 2022, ruling out the iPhone 14.
The evaluation firm Omdia has additionally predicted that Apple will launch two foldable iPhone fashions in 2023. Our personal Samuel Nyberg, nevertheless, thinks that Apple won’t launch a folding iPhone. Compensate for the most recent rumors in our foldable iPhone information hub.
For a deeper dive into the longer term, learn Samuel Nyberg’s evaluation piece: The following 20 years of the iPhone.
