New Prices
One of the determining factors for the most of us when we look at a new device would be the price factor. According to TheGalox, they stated that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max is expected to receive a price hike of approximately 146 AUD (100 USD). This is a big deal for Apple since they have not raised prices for the highest end iPhone Pro lineup ever since the launch of the iPhone 11 Pro lineup. However, this situation is understandable for Apple as we are currently fighting through record inflation.
Device Exterior Changes
Starting off with one of most exciting changes coming to the iPhone this year, which is new screen sizes. Apple has been a long proponent of larger screen sizes and this year is no different. According to an image tweeted by DuanRui, we can see the rear iPhone 14 case mockup. This points towards the release of a larger iPhone 14 Max model. Thus, we expect Apple to release a 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen size variant for their iPhone 14 lineup. On the other hand, the iPhone 14 Pro models will retain a 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen similar to the likes of the current iPhone 13 Pro series.
From the tweet by DuanRui, the iPhone 14 case mockups also shows that the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup will retain a camera bump which is similar to that of the current iPhone 13 and 13 Pro models. However, there is a slight difference in terms of the camera lens size, we can see that the camera lens cutout is slightly larger as compared to the current iPhone 13 series which might signal Apple shifting towards a larger camera lens and imaging sensor.
As for exterior design changes, Apple is set to utilize a titanium frame for its iPhone 14 Pro lineup as compared to the stainless-steel frame currently used in the iPhone 13 Pro lineup. Whereas the regular iPhone 14 is expected to utilize an aluminum unibody frame. The rear finish of the iPhone 14 Pro lineup will somewhat resemble that of the current iPhone 13 Pro lineup which features a matte rear finish. The regular iPhone 14 series will most likely retain a similar rear design as well with a glossy glass back which is available across the iPhone 13 series.
Notch design
The infamous iPhone notch which houses all the equipment required for the Face ID facial recognition system to function is here to stay. Ever since its launch, Apple’s notch has been met with some sort of love hate relationship by its consumers.
However, this is rumoured to be changed in the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models. This will most likely be replaced with a punch hole style camera cutout for the front facing shooter and a pill shaped cutout which houses all the necessary Face ID components. It’s good to note that this feature is only exclusive towards the iPhone 14 Pro models, and the regular iPhone 14 will continue to rock the regular notch as found on the current iPhone 13 series.
Camera Setup
Now let’s get into one of the most anticipated upgrades when it comes to iPhones which is the camera setup.
Starting off with the front facing camera setup, the iPhone 14’s front facing shooter is expected to receive a huge upgrade. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has stated that Apple will be utilizing a 6P auto focusing lens made by Genius as its front facing shooter as compared to the existing FF lens used in the iPhone 13 lineup. This will mean that the selfie and video performance while using the front facing camera would be improved. On top of that, Kuo also stated Apple would be including a voice coil motor (VCM) to the front facing camera which would drastically improve the optical image stabilization on the front facing shooter.
For the rear camera setup, Kuo stated that Apple is expected to utilize a 48MP Wide camera across the Pro lineup. This could signal a huge leap over the current 12MP camera system present on the current iPhone 13 Pro lineup. This would mean that the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models will support up to 8K video recording which is a huge step up from the current 4K video recording available on the iPhone 13 series. He also added that the contact image sensor (CIS) is expected to increase by an estimated 25 percent following the rise in megapixel count to 48MP.
Kuo stated that the camera on the iPhone 14 Pro lineup will be able to capture high-quality low-resolution pictures with a process known as Pixel Binning. This process allows the iPhone 14 Pro
cameras to be able to achieve consistent and stunning image capture qualities all the time, regardless of lighting conditions. This process would combine all pixels captured by the camera and concentrate it into just one super-pixel, which in turn would reduce any image distortion.
Display Changes (ProMotion)
Prior to this, there were a few rumours pointing towards the implementation of ProMotion across the entire iPhone 14 lineup. However, we don’t think this is likely to occur. Apple will most likely reserve this ProMotion feature exclusively for their Pro model lineup as Apple is known for using “Pro” features for their top-of-the-line models only.
Apple is also said to maintain the current LTPO displays across their Pro model lineup like what we currently have on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Whereas the standard iPhone 14 non-Pro models will be utilizing a vibrant LTPS OLED technology display.
Apple is also expected to implement a slight change when it comes to the ProMotion LTPO displays for the iPhone 14 Pro model lineup. The iPhone 14 Pro models is expected to feature a wider refresh rate range as compared to its predecessors. This will allow the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models to wind their refresh rate all the way down to just 1Hz as compared to the iPhone 13 Pro models which can go down to as low as 10Hz when idle. This would translate into improved battery life efficiency for iPhone 14 Pro models.
Always On Display
Moving on to one of the most anticipated features yet for the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup would be introduction of Always On display technology. Always On display has always been present in most Android phones and it was even introduced on the Samsung Galaxy S7 series which dates back all the way to 2016. In short, Always On display is a smartphone feature that constantly displays key information such as the date & time, battery percentage, lock screen widgets on the phone’s display although the device is asleep.
Apple analyst Mark Gurman stated that the Always On display functionality would be an exclusive Pro only feature reserved for iPhone 14 Pro models which reminisces that of the current Apple watch. We expect Apple to introduce the Always On display feature alongside the announcement of the iPhone 14 Pro models during their September event.
The Always On display will display all glanceable information such as your social media notifications, the time and it can support other widgets such as weather, calendar, stocks, activities as well. This will be achieved while the display is at a low brightness and frame rate like that of the Apple watch. There will also be an available setting to users to turn off sensitive data from showing on their Always On display.
The low brightness and frame rate can be achieved through the utilization of LTPO displays present on the iPhone 14 Pro models where the brightness and frame rate are variable and depends on the content displayed on the screen which is similar to that on the current iPhone 13 Pro models.
Performance
Every new iPhone launched has always came with an updated A-series chipset. However, this time Apple might break the tradition. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, it is rumoured that the upcoming lineup of iPhones will not implement this tradition and instead the A16 is expected to be featured only within the iPhone 14 Pro models whereas the regular iPhone 14 models will retain the current A15 chipset found in the iPhone 13 lineup. This might come as a shock to many, but this decision is most likely due to the ongoing chip shortage that has been prevalent over the past few months.
To make matters worse, Ming-Chi Kuo mentioned that the A16 chip will just be a minor upgrade over the current A15 chipset since it is expected to be built on the same 5-nanometer process that is used for the A15 chip which is going to significantly limit any room for improvement.
As ram sizes go, Ming-Chi Kuo expects the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup to feature the same amount of ram as the iPhone 13 lineup with the main differentiating factor being the RAM specifications. The regular 6.1 inch and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 models are expected to come equipped with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM. For the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, they are expected to feature a faster and more efficient 6GB of LPDDR5 RAM.
Battery Life Improvements
Since we are on the topic of efficiency, one of the main gripes we commonly face when it comes to iPhones would be their small battery capacity size. According to Twitter user ShrimpApplePro, he managed to obtain a list of the expected iPhone 14 series battery sizes from an unconfirmed Chinese media source, he stated that the upcoming 6.1-inch iPhone 14 variant would be featuring a 3279 mAh battery whereas the larger 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max variant is packing a 4325 mAh battery. On the other hand, the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro will be featuring a 3200mAh battery whereas the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max will be featuring a 4323 mAh battery.
Despite the iPhone 14 lineup having similar battery sizes compared to the current iPhone 13 lineup, do not let these numbers on paper fool you. This is because, Apple is greatly known within the tech space for their groundbreaking optimization and power efficiency. Thus, we would have to wait and see what the real screen-on-time figures on the iPhone 14 models are to make a proper judgement on the battery life performance when it comes to daily usage.
Qualcomm X65 – 5G & Satellite Connectivity
Just like its predecessors, the iPhone 14 series is expected to feature 5G functionality as well. However, the iPhone 14 will feature an all-new chipset which is the Qualcomm’s all-new Snapdragon X65 modem. This chipset is the world’s first 10 Gigabit 5G modem that supports blazing fast download speeds of up to a staggering 10 gigabits per second along with lower latency times. It also brings about other technical changes such as improved power efficiency and data coverage as well.
This news comes after popular Apple analyst, Ming Chi Kuo announced that Apple’s plan to develop its own in-house 5G chipset has failed unfortunately. Therefore, Apple will stick to Qualcomm as its main supplier for 5G chips for all its new devices that are going to be released from this year until the second half of 2023. This will give Qualcomm a full supply share of 100% for Apple 5G chipsets as compared to the previous estimate of just 20%.
The Qualcomm X65 modem present in the iPhone 14 series will also enable satellite connectivity features. These satellite-based emergency features will come in handy when users are involved in life-threatening events such car accidents or falling off a jungle track. This feature will allow users to contact emergency services despite having no cellular connection through texting or calling. However, it is good to take note that, the texts word limit will be significantly limited to only a short memo and the call time will be limited as well.
Wi-Fi 6E
The upcoming iPhone 14 series is also expected to arrive with Wi-Fi 6E on board. Wi-Fi 6E technology is similar to Wi-Fi 6 technology but it adds an additional Wi-Fi frequency band which allows it to be able to operate on the all-new 6 GHz Wi-Fi band. This would mean that there will lower latency and higher data transmission times for the devices which would certainly come in handy during your day-to-day use cases.
Final Outlook
We expect to see many exciting changes to arrive in the upcoming iPhone 14 model. The iPhone 14 series could just be Apple’s best-selling product yet. While all of us are skimming through rumours and news related to the upcoming iPhone while we are all anticipating the launch of the all-new device, do take these rumours with a grain of salt, because we will only know what is going to arrive in the iPhone 14 when Apple decides to unveil the device.
