Before we even begin to talk about this leak, I want to preface all of this with the world’s heaviest grain of salt. We’re more than a year away from the next iPhone’s launch so it’s very likely that things could change between now and then. Plus, John isn’t the most reliable of leakers either. His past leaks have been largely accurate but some of his poorer predictions have stained his credibility. Oh, and, everything you’re about to read only applies to the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The Front
The star of the show here is definitely the front. For the first time since 2017’s iPhone X, it seems that Apple is moving towards a new design ditching the famed notch entirely in favor of a hole-punch design. There is a small hole-punch cutout for the camera where the old notch used to be. This coincides with the report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo back in March. Moreover, right above the cutout is the speaker grill which sits flush with the surrounding bezel of the phone. But, what about the FaceID sensors? Well, John tell us that all of the wizardry used to power TouchID will now be under the display, hidden from the naked eye. If possible, this would’ve likely been done for the camera as well but results from under-display cameras are significantly more lackluster because of their nature. Apple would prefer to wait out and let this technology develop before trying their own hand at it.
The Back
Moving to the back of the phone and one thing will instantly jump out to you: there is essentially no camera bump. According to John, the device would be overall thicker to compensate for the camera bump that has become a characteristic of iPhones at this point. This will allow the cameras to sit flush with the back of the phone. Whether the increases thickness means that we’re getting a larger battery as well is yet to be seen. Also noticeable on the back is the same “glass sandwich” design we’ve been seeing in iPhone and so many other phone for a while now. However, this time the Apple logo is actually underneath the glass instead of being atop it, giving the phone a very iPhone 4-esque resemblance. Likewise, the glass also sits on top of the antenna bands.
The Sides
The edges of the iPhone 14 also look to be paying homage to the iPhone 4. Gone is the volume rocker, replaced by two distinct circular buttons. The sides are supposedly made of Titanium material instead of stainless steal and have a satin finish that gives it the same appearance as, you guessed it, the iPhone 4. The SIM tray and Silent/Ring switch are the same as before. The Titanium body isn’t exactly an exclusive reveal here. Back in July, it was reported that Apple is considering a Titanium alloy build for higher-end iPhones to come, so that lends some more authenticity to this leak. Lastly, the renders show us a Lightning port and not USB Type-C, diminishing any hopes for a Type-C iPhone once again.
Unknown Bits
Some other details like the proper dimensions of the phone, the color options, the specs under the hood and, of course, the pricing are not known yet. John took the liberty to render out some colorways he would like to see and I can’t lie, the turquoise/teal color does look pretty sweet. Apple could launch the iPhone 14 with much more varied and brighter color options since we’ve seen that happening with the new M1 iMac.
iPhone 14 Pro Max Getting The Special Treatment
Now, all of that sounds exciting right? Well, here’s the real kicker: all of the aforementioned details only apply to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. John has said that the regular iPhone 14 will still most likely rock the old notch design with the updated chassis. But, again, we’re so early in the process that literally nothing is set in stone so don’t be surprised if you see a radically different phone that the one being speculated by John. There are still 12 months before the next iPhone launches so Apple could make some changes. It was rumored before that 2022’s iPhone would go entirely port-less and rely on wireless technology for charging, data transfer and audio. Some leaks suggested that the newly-introduced MagSafe would be the only physical connector remaining on the iPhone for when a physical connection is necessarily needed. John made it clear in his video that he’s only seen pictures of the supposed iPhone 14 (that too of only the Pro Max variant) and has no information pertaining to the insides of the device. It’s likely that we can expect the next version of Apple’s Bionic SoC and improved cameras for 2022 iPhones along with the revamped design, if the leaks are true.
A Tribute To Greatness
The uncanny similarities between the iPhone 4 and iPhone 14 seem to make even more sense just by the name. This may be a stretch but the iPhone 14 is just an iPhone 4 with the number ‘1’ attached behind the ‘4’, perhaps signifying that this is what a next-gen, modern iPhone 4 would be like. Again, I know this sounds like I’m reaching but I can honestly see how that makes sense. The iPhone 4 is one of the most well-respected and most revered smartphones ever made. Back when it first launched, it was the poster child for peak innovation and it showed us what a perfect smartphone could look like. Even though, it’s not the best selling iPhone ever, it could be argued that it was the most significant iPhone ever made. So, it’s easy to see why Apple would want to return back to that classic design with iPhone 14 and pay homage to one of the best phones of all time.
