Apple iPhone 14: here’s everything we know so far

The iPhone 14 is coming in 2022 – almost certainly in September – and will arrive as a follow up to the impressive iPhone 13 range. And while it’s a way off yet, leakers have already begun revealing possible specs, and there are even unofficial renders of the phone online.

As such, we have a surprisingly clear picture of the form the iPhone 14 range might take – though this far from launch we’d be extra skeptical, as there’s plenty of time for things to change.

But the rumors so far are promising, pointing to a completely new design for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, a totally new model dubbed the iPhone 14 Max, and some significant camera upgrades.

Here you’ll find everything we’ve heard so far, including details about the potential release date and price. And as soon as we hear anything else about the iPhone 14 we’ll add it to this article, so make sure to check back here soon, as leaks are rolling in at a surprisingly rapid rate already.

Latest iPhone 14 news

Feb 21: Production has apparently started! A report claims that Apple has begun trial production of the iPhone 14 range already.

Feb. 7: Is an iPhone SE 3 coming first? Before we get an iPhone 14, the popular budget SE line will be refreshed in March alongside a new iPad Air 5, Bloomberg predicted recently. We wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Jan. 27: eSim only? An analyst predicts that Apple might launch a version of the iPhone 14 that only has an eSIM – meaning no removable SIM card. They claim that the company would release versions with physical SIM cards too, so buyers have a choice.

Jan. 15: 120Hz all the way round! Every edition of the iPhone 14 will come with a 120Hz ProMotion display, one analyst believes – a feature that is currently an exclusive on the Pro and Pro Max models when it comes to the iPhone 13.

iPhone 14: what you need to know

iPhone 14 release date: There aren’t any release date rumors yet, but Apple almost always unveils new iPhone models in September.

iPhone 14 price: Pricing is unknown, but for reference the iPhone 13 started at $799 / £779 / AU$1,349, and prices may be similar for the next models.

Design: The iPhone 14 will probably look a lot like the iPhone 13, but the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max could get a punch-hole camera instead of a notch. There might also be a big-screen iPhone 14 Max in place of an iPhone 14 mini.

Display: The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro could have 6.1-inch (or 6.06-inch) 1170 x 2532 OLED screens, while the iPhone 14 Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max could have 6.7-inch (or 6.68-inch) 1284 x 2778 OLED screens. Expect a 120Hz refresh rate on the Pro models and a 60Hz refresh rate on the others.

Camera: The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max could have 48MP main cameras (up from 12MP on the current models). Other specs are unclear, but a triple-lens snapper on all but the standard iPhone 14 is likely, with the basic phone instead having two rear lenses.

Specs: Every iPhone 14 model is expected to have a powerful A16 Bionic chipset, but the Pro models could additionally have 8GB of RAM (up from a maximum of 6GB currently) and up to 2TB of storage (up from a current maximum of 1TB).

Battery: Little is known about the battery yet, but there are claims that the capacity could increase, with the phones getting thicker to house their larger batteries.

iPhone 14 release date

There’s no news on when the iPhone 14 will be released yet, but we can take a very good guess at this, as Apple tends to announce new models around the same time each year, usually at a special event.

The iPhone 13 was unveiled on September 14, 2021, and it shipped on September 24. While we probably won’t see the iPhone 14 on those exact dates in 2022, Apple tends to unveil the new models on either the first or second Tuesday in September, which would mean either September 6 or September 13.

Then they usually go up for pre-order the Friday of that week, meaning September 9 or 16, and ship the following Friday, so September 16 or 23.

Occasionally Apple will announce the phones on the first or second Wednesday instead, but around those dates seems very likely anyway. The iPhone 12 range was an exception to this, landing in October 2020, but that was thanks to delays and supply issues caused by Covid-19.

So far it doesn’t look like there will be delays this year, with trial production apparently having already started (as of late February), which is on schedule.

iPhone 14 price

We’ve heard one iPhone 14 price leak which detailed four members of the new range – with a Max included, but no Mini.

Apparently the base phone will start at $799 – the iPhone 13 starts at $799 / £779 / AU$1,349, so that fits – with the iPhone 14 Max going for $100 more than that.

The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are said to go for $1,099 and $1,199 respectively, which would mean each would be $100 more than the starting price of their predecessors.

iPhone 14 design

The biggest news on the iPhone 14’s design comes from one big leak, which includes unofficial renders of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

You can see one of these below, and it includes a punch-hole camera instead of a notch, with the Face ID components presumably being under the screen. It also doesn’t really have a camera bump, with the lenses sitting almost flat on the back – a thing that is apparently achieved by making the phone thicker.

The back is a semi-glossy glass, the volume buttons are shown to be round, and it apparently has titanium sides, in place of stainless steel on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. You can also see that there’s still a triple-lens camera and a Lightning port.

The colors shown here aren’t official (though the source claims to have seen a rose gold model), and it’s worth also noting that this design is thought to only apply to the Pro models, with the iPhone 14 (and iPhone 14 Max if there is one) likely to still have a notch. It’s not currently clear which if any of the other design details here could make it to the standard models.

We would of course take this with a huge helping of salt, especially as it comes from Jon Prosser, who has a mixed track record, and as another source has said the iPhone 14 Pro range will still have a notch (albeit a smaller one) – possibly as well as a punch-hole.

But Prosser is often right, and both Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo (two leakers with excellent track records for Apple information) have since said that the notch will be replaced with a punch-hole camera, as more recently has The Elec.

Another leaker has chimed in to say the same too, though they claim that the camera cut-out will be pill-shaped, suggesting that it might be bigger than most punch-hole cameras.

Ross Young – a supply-chain expert in the world of smartphone displays – has said he believes the company will adopt a “hole + pill” design of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. That will mean a pill-shaped cutout, as well as a smaller hole that will still be visible.

All that said, Gurman has recently said the iPhone 14 range will include “a hole-punch-sized notch”, and it’s not clear from that whether he means a small notch or an actual punch-hole, so there’s still some uncertainty.

We’ve also heard similar about the design from another source (Ross Young). Young has been talking about there being under-display Face ID in the iPhone 14 Pro range since June 2021, but doesn’t seem as sure it will happen as Prosser, adding in September 2021 that under-display Face ID is still being worked on and isn’t final yet – though saying that it’s apparently easier to achieve than an in-screen camera.

Elsewhere, we’ve heard that the Pro models could use a titanium alloy for their frame. This would likely be stronger than the materials used in current models, and this source also claims there will be an iPhone 14 Max in place of an iPhone 14 mini.

iPhone 14 display

Reputable leaker Ming-Chi Kuo claims that there will be two 6.1-inch iPhone 14 models (a standard one and a Pro), and two 6.7-inch ones (a Pro Max and a Max).

We’ve also heard more detailed screen specs from Ross Young (another leaker with a good track record). Young claims that the iPhone 14 will have a 6.06-inch 1170 x 2532 OLED screen with a 60Hz refresh rate and 460 pixels per inch. The iPhone 14 Pro will apparently have similar screen specs, but with a 120Hz variable refresh rate.

Then the iPhone 14 Pro Max is said to have a 6.68-inch 1284 x 2778 OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 458 pixels per inch. There’s also apparently going to be an iPhone 14 Max (taking the place of the mini) with basically the same screen specs but a 60Hz refresh rate.

Another source has also suggested that the two cheaper models will be stuck with 60Hz screens, just like in the current range. That said, we’ve more recently heard that Apple is considering a 120Hz screen for the iPhone 14 Max, but that the decision hasn’t yet been made.

A leak has also suggested that all four iPhone 14 models could have 120Hz screens. This is quite an old leak and is at odds with one above, but this claim has been made again more recently, so we’re not sure what’s right here.

And there’s also a patent for a technology that could make the iPhone screen stronger, without making it any thicker. That would be a nice addition, but patents often don’t turn into anything, so don’t count on seeing this.

iPhone 14 camera

On the camera front, the unofficial renders above show the iPhone 14 Pro Max with a triple-lens camera, and indeed another source also points to that phone (and the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Max) having a triple-lens camera. The iPhone 14 meanwhile will apparently stick with two lenses.

So that doesn’t sound like much change from the iPhone 13 range, though the specifications of the lenses and sensors may well differ.

Indeed, Ming-Chi Kuo (an analyst with a great track record for Apple information) has claimed that the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will each have a 48MP main camera, up from 12MP on the current models. This would apparently be capable of recording 8K video, and it’s something he’s more recently reiterated, and in December 2021 reiterated again, so he seems very sure of this.

Plus, another analyst has also joined Kuo in that claim saying that they expect both the Pro models in 2022 to feature 48MP cameras. That isn’t confirmation, but it certainly helps Kuo’s original claim.

There are also rumors of a periscope camera in the works (for long range optical zoom), and we’ve even seen a patent supporting these claims. However, most sources suggest this is further out – probably landing on the iPhone 15 or later.

iPhone 14 specs and features

One thing we’re almost certain of is that the iPhone 14 range will have a new chipset, probably called the A16 or the A16 Bionic. According to Ross Young, this would be made on a 4nm process, which suggests it could be a reasonable boost on the 5nm A15 Bionic in the iPhone 13 range.

In fact, the process could even be moved down to 3nm, according to DigiTimes (via MacRumors).

That said, we’ve more recently heard that a 5nm process could be used once again, as TSMC (the company that’s producing the chipset) is apparently struggling to switch to a 3nm (or 4nm) process.

Another leak also suggests both the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will feature 8GB of RAM. 6GB of RAM is the most we’ve seen on an iPhone, so far. Though we’ve elsewhere heard that every model will have 6GB of RAM, which would be an upgrade for the cheaper ones, but not for the Pro handsets.

On the storage front, the Pro models of the iPhone 13 increased the maximum amount of internal storage you could buy from 512MB to 1TB, and we’re hearing that the iPhone 14 Pro phones could double that again – all the way to 2TB.

Beyond that, some sources reckon we could see under-display Touch ID on the iPhone 14, though Mark Gurman (a leaker with a great track record for Apple information) has said that while Apple apparently tested this, the company is now all-in on Face ID, so it sounds like this probably won’t happen – and if it does, it’s likely to be as well as Face ID rather than instead.

Another source has also said under-display Face ID won’t happen, so this looks very unlikely.

Another rumored but unlikely feature is a switch from a Lightning port to USB-C. Apple is reportedly considering this for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, but as yet only one source has pointed in this direction, so we’re skeptical.

What the iPhone 14 range is sure to include though is 5G support, while a patent suggests it might also have a new form of 3D Touch, which would use haptic feedback to make interactions more intuitive. But as with all patents we wouldn’t count on anything coming of this one.

There’s also talk that Apple could switch from a physical SIM card to an eSIM (which you wouldn’t be able to remove). The iPhone 13 range already has this but it’s in addition to a physical one, not instead. However, if Apple does go eSIM-only with any iPhone 14, it will probably also offer models that have both kinds.

iPhone 14 battery

In terms of the battery, it sounds like there could be improvements there, with one source saying it will be larger in the next models, and another saying the phones will be thicker – which could leave room for a larger one.

When it comes time to charge, you might be making use of a MagSafe charger rather than the Lightning port based on one patent, though notably early unofficial renders show the Lightning port intact.

We’d surprised if Apple did ditch the Lightning port on the iPhone 14, but a new EU plan could mean that its days are numbered.