When people go to buy the new iPhone 14 this year, they might be very shocked. And I’m not talking about the price.
For starters, Apple is rumored to be killing off the mini model altogether for the iPhone 14 lineup. Instead, the 5.4-inch mini would be replaced by a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max. So there would be two iPhone 14 models with 6.1-inch screens and two with 6.7-inch panels.
But that’s not really the biggest news based on iPhone 14 rumors and leaks I’ve seen so far. As you’d expect, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max again come with 120Hz ProMotion displays, which might be limited to the Pro series. And the same will likely apply to telephoto for true optical zoom.
But there are many more differences we’ve heard between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. And they could put the Pro in his own league – for better or for worse.
iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Pro: No notch for Pro
The iPhone 14 Pro is supposed to kill the notch, but don’t expect a look similar to the best Android phones. Instead, Apple would replace the notch with two cutouts near the top of the screen: a pill-shaped cutout for Face ID and a smaller punch-hole for the front camera.
We’ve seen a number of renders and mockups that show what the iPhone 14 Pro could look like, and it’s clear some don’t like the double-punch approach. Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max are expected to retain the same notch as the iPhone 13 series.
iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Pro: USB-C for Pro only?
Here’s an iPhone rumor that we hope is absolutely untrue. The iPhone 14 Pro may offer USB-C connectivity. This would allow the iPhone 14 Pro to deliver faster transfer speeds when working with external devices – which is important for creative professionals – and would likely enable faster charging.
The iPhone 13 currently supports 20W charging, but Apple is reportedly working on a faster 30W gallium nitride charger. It’s unclear if this would be reserved for the iPhone 14 Pro if it comes out this year.
Apple has been in hot waters with the European Union for some time over not adopting USB-C in its phones, but the company could possibly keep Lightning for the iPhone 14 standard and make USB-C a Pro-exclusive feature.
iPhone 14 against iPhone 14 Pro: A16 Bionic becomes Pro
It’s a rumor we didn’t believe at first, but it could happen. According to Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo, the iPhone 14 Pro series could exclusively receive Apple’s new A16 Bionic chip, which would use a new 4nm process.
The regular iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max would be powered by the current A15 Bionic chip, but might feature more RAM, going from 4GB to 6GB. The iPhone 14 Pro would use the same amount of RAM but a more advanced LPDDR 5 memory that is said to be “up to 1.5 times faster and up to 30% more energy efficient”.
To be fair, the iPhone 13 benchmarks show that Apple already had the fastest chip in a phone and probably will for a while. But the iPhone 14 Pro series could get a serious performance boost.
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro: 48MP camera?
This rumor seems to be in limbo, but we’ve seen previous reports that Apple may be swapping the iPhone 14 Pro’s main 12MP camera for a sharper 48MP shooter. The iPhone 13 Pro’s image quality is already great, but giving users more megapixels to play with would allow for more cropping flexibility with photos.
A leaker on Weibo has shot down the rumored 48MP camera for the iPhone 14 Pro, saying it will use the same IMX703 sensors on the iPhone 13 Pro models. So a 12MP camera with a 1/1.67 inch sensor size and 1.9μm pixels. We’ll have to see how the rumors evolve, but for now I’d say a sharper Pro camera is just a possibility.
Apple is rumored to be working on a periscope zoom for the iPhone, but that’s slated for 2023.
iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Pro: all the other differences
Assuming Apple retains the tactful differences between the existing iPhone and iPhone Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro series would continue to exclusively offer a 120Hz ProMotion display, resulting in smoother scrolling and animations. . And we also expect the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max to feature 3x optical zoom, while the standard iPhone 14 series would only offer digital zoom.
Last but not least, the iPhone 14 Pro series could hit 2TB of storage, although that might seem like a stretch for a phone.
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Conclusion
When you think about it, Apple really needs to convince buyers that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro are worth it, especially if there will be a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max. I can see a lot of potential upgraders saying “why do I need a Pro when the iPhone 14 Max is good enough?”
Well, Apple can answer with just the iPhone 14 Pros offering a powerful new processor, notchless full-screen design, USB-C charging, and (eventually) a sharper camera and more storage. And that’s on top of the ProMotion display and telephoto zoom. In other words, the new iPhone 14 Pros could really, really feel Pro.