Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro is set to be the phone that could shake up the iPhone range by potentially bringing in a notably different design from the iPhone 13 Pro. So far the rumors have hinted at everything from the death of the notch to the return of Touch ID.
This is probably well overdue; as good as the iPhone 13 Pro is, it’s arguably not a definitive upgrade over its predecessor. And overall, the iPhone hasn’t taken a huge leap forward since the iPhone 11 Pro.
In the face of stiff competition from the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Google Pixel 6 Pro, it looks like Apple will need to bring its A-game to the iPhone 14 Pro. Thankfully, going by the leaks and rumors so far, Apple’s next Pro model might be doing just that.
Here’s what we know so far about the iPhone 14 Pro and what we hope to see.
iPhone 14 latest rumors (Updated February 18)
iPhone 14 Pro rumored release date and price
Naturally, Apple is extremely tight-lipped about any information concerning its next iPhones, especially when it comes to release dates and price. But going by previous launches, we’d say it’s a safe bet to expect the iPhone 14 range to debut in September.
And the same logic can be applied to pricing, with the iPhone 14 Pro likely to stick to the $999 starting price of its predecessor. While some flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S22 now start at $799, Apple isn’t likely to cut the price of its higher-end flagship phone (especially with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max expected to hold down the $699 and $799 pricing slots). And there’s an argument that $999 is a fair price for a premium phone with carefully curated software and a trio of very impressive cameras.
iPhone 14 Pro design
Solid rumors around the iPhone 14 Pro’s design remain somewhat thin on the ground. But, ironically just before the reveal of the iPhone 13, tipster Jon Prosser showcased a suite of renders supposedly based on leaked information, which revealed some big changes for the iPhone 14 Pro.
The flat edges seen from the iPhone 13 range are retained but the camera module is tipped to go the way of the dodo, with a trio of cameras integrated into the back of the phone, much like we’ve seen with the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The renders show off volume buttons in a nod back to the iPhone 4. And there’s talk of a titanium construction, which would theoretically make the iPhone 14 Pro stronger and potential lighter than its predecessor.
Speaking of construction, we still expect the iPhone 14 Pro and the rest of the iPhone 14 range to have ports, despite rumors of a port-less design. Apple stuck with the Lightning port for the iPhone 13 range, rather than adopt USB-C connectivity, so we don’t think the company is quite ready to drop sports altogether.
However, there are rumors that suggest Apple will finally go down the USB-C port round with the iPhone 14, which would make sense as many of its devices already have USB-C connectivity.
Other notable design changes are the removal of the now infamous display notch, with Prosser’s renders suggesting Apple will go for a punch-hole selfie camera. The latter seems oddly asymmetrical for an Apple device so we’d feel a single camera/sensor cutout would be most likely.
Touch ID has been slated to make a return but in the form of an under-display fingerprint scanner. Given the best Android phones have had this for years, it’s about tie Apple caught up, especially in a world of mask wearing that can cause Face ID to trip up. However, with iOS 15.4 adding the ability to unlock your phone with a face mask on, Touch ID becomes a less pressing need.
Not much has been teased about iPhone 14 Pro color options, other black, white, a pale peach, and a dark green; the latter looks pretty good but again it’s only in a render so we need to take this with a dose of skepticism.
iPhone 14 Pro display
One of the biggest upgrades of the iPhone 13 Pro delivered was a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate display. Thanks to the use of an LTPO panel, the screen could go from 120Hz to as little as 10Hz when a fast refresh rate was needed, and thus that helped save on battery life.
We’re not expecting this to change with the iPhone 13 Pro going by the rumors so far. But there’s scope for a next-gen LTPO panel to be used, as seen in the OnePlus 10 Pro, which could improve power efficiency.
According to the rumors so far, the iPhone 14 Pro will stick with a 6.1-inch display and the iPhone 14 Pro Max will stick with the the 6.7-inch display of its predecessor. As mentioned earlier, the removal of the notch could be the most significant upgrade here, as it would make a major change from iPhone screen design in some five years.
It’s expected that Apple will go with a pill-shaped cutout to accommodate both the front camera and the sensors needed to make the phone’s Face ID unlocking feature work. However, another rumor posits that it will take two cutouts — you can see what that would look like in this iPhone 14 Pro concept design.
iPhone 14 Pro cameras
Don’t expect a big change in the number of cameras the iPhone 14 Pro will bring, as the Pro phones are tipped to stick with the standard combo of a main, ultrawide and telephoto array. Given how Apple phones regularly feature in our best camera phones lineup, that’s no bad thing.
But one leak has the iPhone 14 Pro tipped to get a 48MP main camera, which could finally make a change from the 12MP cameras Apple has used for years. While Cupertino’s computational photography is some of the best around, having more megapixels to play with would likely give the iPhone 14 Pro more scope when it comes to processing light and details; we could be at a tine where megapixels matter once more to Apple.
No changes have been touted for the ultrawide camera, but we’d be surprised if some effort wasn’t made to improve the field of view and help remove some edge distortion.
And there’s scope for the telephoto camera to get a zoom boost, as an Apple patent points toward the company working on a periscope-style zoom camera. If such a feature was going to debut in an iPhone, it would be for the iPhone 14 Pro. But to muddy the waters, Apple oracle Ming-Chi Kuo claims the periscope camera won’t appear until the iPhone 15 in 2023.
There’s no word on any front-facing camera improvements. But we’d expect it to have a boost on the software side to deliver better portrait and low-light photos.
iPhone 14 Pro specs and battery life
There are no solid rumors about the iPhone 14 Pro’s specs but it wouldn’t be hard to predict any new model have an improved chip, as is the case with every new iPhone.
Following on from the A15 Bionic, we’d expect to see an A16 Bionic chip, with improved performance across the board. That chip is expected to move from the 5-nanometer process node to a 4nm node. An Apple-made 5G modem could also be a possibility.
Essentially, the iPhone 14 Pro is very likely to offer a distinct hike in processor, graphics and neural processing performance over the A15 Bionic. How much that will be noticeable to the average user might not be so clear, but don’t expect the iPhone 14 Pro to struggle with any task thrown at it.
A recent leak has clamed the iPhone 14 Pro will come with 8GB of RAM. As Apple’s approach to efficiency has enabled it to do more with less RAM than the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, boosting the onboard RAM could see the iPhone 14 Pro become an absolute powerhouse.
That being said, the current iPhone are hardly slow, so having the extra RAM might be seen as overkill. However, analyst Jeff Pu predicts that all four iPhone 14 models will come with 6GB of RAM, which seems strange to us.
Storage is likely to go up to 1TB, but there have been no solid storage rumors for the iPhone 14 Pro yet.
There have been no battery size or capacity rumors yet. But we’d be confident that the iPhone 14 Pro will match or exceed the 11 hours and 42 minutes the iPhone 13 Pro did in our battery test, which forces the phone to endlessly reload web pages on a cellular connection until it dies. The iPhone 13 Pro Max managed a lengthy 12 hours and 16 minutes, so we’d expect the iPhone 14 Pro Max to do the same or better as Apple boost chip and phone efficiency.
iPhone 14 Pro outlook
The iPhone 14 Pro could be the phone many of us have been waiting for, with the Pro models tipped to offer a real evolution of the iPhones we’ve seen over the past few years. Sure, it’s not going to be unrecognizable from the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12, but we suspect this upcoming generation of iPhone will introduce a design language and capabilities that will set the stage for other iPhones to follow.
No notch, Touch ID, a bigger megapixel count for the main camera, as well as a USB-C port, could really shake up the iPhone as we know it. And that would in turn have the effect of setting the standard for other smartphones to follow if they wish to win a spot on our best phones list.