Apple’s next top-tier smartphone is due to be released in just a matter of months, and this is all we know about it so far.
It might not seem ever so long ago that Apple unveiled the shiny new iPhone 13 Pro, but the months keep ticking past and we’re getting closer and closer to seeing its sequel.
Based on the reliable rumours we’ve come across so far, it seems likely that there will be a clear, qualitative gap between the standard iPhone series and the Pro series this year, so read on to see where the differences will fall.
Release Date
Apple’s new iPhones tend to be released in early Autumn, so we’d expect the iPhone 14 Pro to come out in September and October this year, along with the iPhone 14 and the Apple Watch Series 8.
Here are previous release dates in the Pro series for reference:
However, our first look at some of the software features on their way to the new handset will occur at WWDC 2022, Apple’s major annual conference for developers.
Price
The iPhone Pro variants inevitably come with a higher price tag than the standard versions, because the specs are significantly improved.
Last year, the iPhone 13 cost $799/£779, while the iPhone 13 Pro cost $999/£949. That’s already a significant difference, but given we’re expecting an even larger disparity in specifications this time around, we wouldn’t rule out a wider price differential between the two devices as well. On top of this of course, we’re expecting an iPhone 14 Pro Max device to be released which will boast a larger screen and, naturally, a larger price tag to go with it.
14: $79914 Max: $89914 Pro: $109914 Pro Max: $1199Apple is currently considering this.Production costs are increasing and there has to be more than a $100 difference between the 14 Max and the 14 Pro.Makes sense to me and wouldn’t expect changes.Will keep you updated.— LeaksApplePro (@LeaksApplePro) January 9, 2022
Confirming our suspicions about a potential price jump, the Twitter source LeaksApplePro revealed the rumoured pricing arrangements which would see the iPhone 14 Pro selling for $1099 and the iPhone 14 Pro Max retailing for $1199. The reason given was two-fold; rising production costs, and the need for a minimum $100 price difference between standard and Pro models.
Design and Display
There’s one significant design change that’s set to arrive on the iPhone 14 Pro, and that’s the introduction of a punch hole notch to the screen rather than the wide notch bar that’s been present on Apple’s smartphones ever since the iPhone X. While this may be a pedestrian sight for many Android users, this would be the first time we’d have seen such a selfie camera arrangement on any iPhone, so we’re looking forward to it.
We now believe Apple will have a hole + pill design on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. The smaller hole will not be invisible…The two hole concept will be unique to Apple, like the notch, not similar to all the pill models from Huawei…Let’s see those new renders pic.twitter.com/Udt8cTKzPZ— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) January 12, 2022
The above tweet posted by Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, shows a mock-up of the new notch arrangement which would apparently have not one but two holes for housing selfie cameras. This design seemingly will not be present on the standard iPhone 14 models, so there could be a very clear visual difference between the Pro and standard versions.
Face ID should remain unaffected by such a change, so it seems that Touch ID will once again remain absent from the new iPhones. On this subject, Dylan KT writes: “I am in full agreement with recent information provided by fellow Analysts and Leakers. An in-display Touch ID sensor will not be coming to any iPhone 14 model or to any Apple product this year and ProMotion will be exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro models.”
As for the practicalities of the new iPhone, it’s also rumoured to be getting more durable this year, with MacRumors reporting that Apple will use a new titanium alloy chassis to make the new phones even more resilient.
It’s not just hardware where we may see some big changes; according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the iPhone 14 Pro will feature an always-on display, and a redesigned widgets menu on the lock screen. These changes would be ushered in as part of the iOS 16 software update.
Camera
Big changes are also on their way to the camera system according to reliable sources.
Ming-Chi Kuo, one of the best-known reporters on Apple’s affairs, claims that the iPhone 14 Pro could have a 48-megapixel main sensor. This sensor will apparently be capable of 8K resolution video recording, though most outputted images will have a 12-megapixel resolution once the pixel-binning process is complete. What’s more, the same source claims that a periscope lens is also on its way to the iPhone range – but you’ll probably have to wait until 2023 for that to become a reality.
As for that redesigned front camera system, apparently there will be substantial changes to its performance as well, with the South Korean publication ET News claiming that LG Innotek will provide the selfie camera sensor that will offer autofocus.
(2/2)AF support and a lower f-number can provide a better shallow depth-of-field effect for selfie/portrait mode. In addition, AF can also enhance the focus effect for FaceTime/video call/live streaming.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) April 19, 2022
This was seemingly confirmed by Ming-Chi Kuo in the above tweets, which provided more context about potential changes to the aperture size as well.
Performance
In any normal year, we’d expect an incremental processor upgrade across the board for Apple’s new phones. However, increasingly it seems that this will not be a normal year by Apple’s standards.
Instead, the standard iPhone 14 will allegedly miss out on the new A16 Bionic chipset, with this being reserved for only the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. This another feather in the cap of the Pro series, designed to set it apart from its more affordable siblings as a premium feature.
Once again our best source for this is Kuo, who adds that all models in the series can be expected to have 6GB of RAM onboard:
(2/2)AF support and a lower f-number can provide a better shallow depth-of-field effect for selfie/portrait mode. In addition, AF can also enhance the focus effect for FaceTime/video call/live streaming.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) April 19, 2022
Meanwhile, GSM Arena has claimed that the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max could boast as much as 2TB onboard storage, which would be a very generous capacity indeed (though it’s likely that the base models will still be significantly lower).
