Informed speculation regarding Apple's plans to improve its design for this year's iPhone 14 release are starting to gain momentum – particularly when it comes to the notch, notches, or lack thereof. Although initial reports stated that the notch could be dropped entirely in favour of a new hole-punch design, more recent leaks suggest that Apple is planning a unique “hole + pill design”.
A recently leaked schematic posted to Weibo claims to offer a more precise look at this design change, showing the true size of that hole + pill design.
The image above was posted by a Weibo user, who says it shows a more detailed look at the front panel of the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max. But it's just one isolated tipster, right? Not at all – the post was shared in a YouTube video posted on Saturday by noted analyst Jon Prosser, who claims he has "independently been able to verify" that this schematic "is real" and accurately represents the design Apple will go with, despite being significantly bigger than previously assumed.
In the image below, Prosser has overlaid the anticipated scale of the hole + pill with the latest schematic.
As noted by Apple Track (via 9to5Mac) Apple seems to be taking the components of the notch and applying them directly to the display, eliminating any dead space areas that don’t include cameras or sensors. The change almost certainly won't be a hit with everyone, but it might still be less intrusive than the iPhone 13's notch setup.
The iPhone 14 lineup will reportedly be available in two different screen sizes: 6.1in and 6.7in. Apple will almost certainly offer standard and Pro variants of each screen size too, which suggests the lineup will include iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphones.
Remember that only the two more premium Apple handsets, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, are expected to feature this new hole + pill design, with the other two models retaining the notch for another year at least...
The iPhone 14 is expected to arrive on either the first or second Tuesday of September and, as always, we expect the rumour mill to churn with ever-increasing urgency the closer we get to the big (but as yet unconfirmed) unveiling event.
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