Speculations about the design of the iPhone 14 are becoming more concrete. At the same time, the name for the only completely new form factor seems to be fixed.
Shortly before the iPhone 14 keynote next Wednesday, there are fresh rumors about the design and the name of the new devices. Speculations seem to be confirmed, according to which Apple will build its revised TrueDepth module with facial recognition Face ID and selfie camera differently than had been predicted for months. The planned look is the subject of controversy.
Single instead of double
So far, it has always been said that the two iPhone 14 Pro models, i.e. iPhone 14 Pro with 6.1 inches and iPhone 14 Pro Max with 6.7 inches, have a “double pill”, i.e. a camera and Face ID Module in which both elements are separated from each other by a gap. An oval Face ID element with a new type of point projector would then have met a circular camera module. The new design is intended to replace Apple’s famous notch, which the company has used since the iPhone X in 2017. But according to the first pictures on Twitter, which appeared this week and have now been confirmed by qualified experts, the design should look a little different.
Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who has good contacts at Apple, writes that the new module is reminiscent of “a long, pill-shaped excerpt”. In his opinion, “a separation would look strange when used”. Previously, an anonymous tipster made similar claims to MacRumors. Ergo: Apple will not use the “unbalanced aesthetics” of the double pill, instead choosing a uniform elongated pill shape. The company could do this simply by leaving the existing pixels in the area black.
“Pill” with camera display
However, Apple doesn’t seem to be leaving the “dead area” between Face ID sensors and selfie cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max unused. As a Source told Apple blog 9to5Mac, Apple will place an ad here that will serve as a new security element. Two colors – green and orange – should then symbolize whether the camera (green) or the microphone array (orange) are currently active.
Both are currently displayed within the operating system on the normal OLED screen at the top right, but some users simply do not notice them. The new placement would probably be better here. It is still unclear whether it also brings security benefits, i.e. the area can only be controlled by the operating system. On the Mac, the camera alert LED is hardware—it’s right next to the FaceTime camera. 9to5Mac goes on to say that Apple will also adjust the design of the camera app to take advantage of the new “long pill” design and to accommodate more controls in the area next to it. This would increase the viewfinder area.
New name for the “iPhone 14 Max”
Another piece of fresh information concerns the non-Pro versions of the iPhone 14, which are likely to retain the current notch design. Apple is planning two devices here: a regular 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and a larger model that will replace the unpopular iPhone mini. Its name has always been formulated as “iPhone 14 Max” – based on the iPhone 13 Pro Max with 6.7 inches.
On twitter a picture circulated on Wednesday that is said to show Apple’s clear case for this model. However, the name on it is “iPhone 14 Plus” instead of iPhone 14 Max. This choice of name would make a certain sense: Apple could use it to better distinguish the Pro from the non-Pro model, despite the same screen size. Whatever comes, we’ll know more on September 7th. As always, Mac & i reports in a live ticker.
