Apple’s next big iPhone reveal is looming, and if you’ve been following the steady drip of leaks, you might have noticed the iPhone 14 isn’t going to be just another S-year refresh. The standard iPhone 14 models may tread familiar ground, but the Pros are expected to justify their name again.
Here’s what’s expected including release timing, specs, prices, and the new camera upgrades everyone’s talking about.
When is the iPhone 14 Coming Out?
Apple’s release calendar is as predictable as your morning alarm; it’s always September. Leaks suggest the next Apple event is slated for September 13, with a likely preorder window that same week and a retail launch before the month’s end.
If history is any guide, that’s the same playbook as the iPhone 13 launch (announced on September 14, in stores by September 24). There’s been some low-key murmuring about production delays, but with test builds reportedly rolling off lines as early as February and engineering trials done by March, there’s little reason to expect a major slip.
So: expect an early-to mid-September reveal, and begin warming up your credit cards accordingly.
How Much Will the iPhone 14 Cost?
The entry-level iPhone 14 is rumored to cost around $799, about what the iPhone 13 did, but the rest of the lineup may see noticeable price bumps. Apple’s reportedly ditching the “Mini” model (pour one out for small phone fans) and replacing it with a new iPhone 14 Max, a larger-screen version of the standard model expected to cost around $899.
Then come the Pros. Leaks suggest the iPhone 14 Pro could set the price to $1,099, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max might cost $1,199. That’s roughly $100 higher than their iPhone 13 equivalents. Price creep isn’t shocking given chip costs and global inflation, but still, that’s a painful $100 Apple tax.
Design
The lineup looks set to mirror last year’s structure with only a swap of “Mini” for “Max.” That means we will see:
- iPhone 14 (6.1-inch)
- iPhone 14 Max (6.7-inch)
- iPhone 14 Pro (6.1-inch)
- iPhone 14 Pro Max (6.7-inch)
There will be no dramatic redesign. The overall silhouette remains familiar, but the Pro models are tipped to get slimmer bezels and finally remove the full notch for a pill-and-hole camera cutout instead. The non-Pro phones will reportedly keep the traditional notch design because Apple loves to make you want the pricier models.
And whispers of slightly thick frames are circulating, allegedly to make room for bigger batteries. More millimeters, more juice — a fair trade.
Display
One of the most consistent leaks points to an Always-On Display arrival on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Apple has been late to this great particular feature, but with ProMotion 120Hz OLED panels capable of variable refresh rates, it’s an obvious upgrade.
Standard iPhone 14 models will reportedly come with 60Hz refresh rates, which feels almost quaint, but again, Apple likes its upsells.
Both screen sizes, 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, will feature OLED panels with the usual top-level brightness and color calibration, and with resolutions around 1284 x 2778 pixels for the larger models, the same as last year’s spec sheet.
Cameras
Apple is said to be upgrading the main camera to a 48MP sensor, which is a huge leap from the 12MP standard that has been the standard since 2015. Don’t expect quadrupled detail, though; Apple will likely use pixel-binning to deliver crisp 12MP shots with better low-light performance.
Meanwhile, the standard iPhone 14 and 14 Max will stick with a dual-lens camera, and the Pro pair will keep their triple-lens array (main, ultra-wide, telephoto). There will be modest improvements in computational photography (Apple’s favorite buzzword) and maybe an even beefier night mode.
Performance
For the first time ever, Apple is likely to split its chip lineup. Reports suggest the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will feature the next-gen A16 Bionic chip, while the regular iPhone 14 and 14 Max will ship equipped with last year’s A15 Bionic. That’s an important shift and Apple’s way of creating a performance gap without a radical change in the lineup.
The A16 chip is rumored to have better power efficiency and slightly higher clock speeds, but nothing too powerful. RAM will likely climb to 8GB on the Pro models, and storage will top out at 2TB (because your 4K cat videos won’t store themselves).
Battery Life
A few reliable reports claim Apple has given the iPhone 14 family slightly larger batteries thanks to thick casings. The iPhone 14 Pro Max might be the only model with no capacity increase, but even then, software optimization from iOS 16 should squeeze out a few extra hours. In short: heavy phone, long life. That’s a trade most users will gladly make.
