A handful of rumors over the past several months have indicated that Apple plans on ditching the notch design with this year’s iPhone 14 Pro. Initially, it was reported that Apple would adopt a hole-punch design to house the camera, but now reliable analyst Ross Young says that Apple will use a “hole + pill design” on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
For those unfamiliar, Ross Young is an analyst for Display Supply Chain Consultants. As such, his reporting is usually based on indications from the supply chain similar to analysts such as Ming-Chi Kuo. He’s proven to be extremely reliable over the past year, including being the sole analyst to report that the 2021 MacBook Pros would feature mini-LED displays with ProMotion.
Young reports today that this design will be unique to Apple, similar to the notch. On the flip side, a simple hole-punch design would have been very similar to the designs used by Android manufacturers like Huawei and Samsung.
We now believe Apple will have a hole + pill design on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. The smaller hole will not be invisible…The two hole concept will be unique to Apple, like the notch, not similar to all the pill models from Huawei.
This design was first shared in a leaked schematic from an anonymous Twitter account last September. Young is now corroborating that this is the design Apple will use for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. According to the anonymous Twitter account, the camera will be located on the right, while the Face ID system will be located on the left-hand side.
9to5Mac’s Take
This design is certainly interesting. The combination of both a hole-punch and a pill-shaped cutout is still smaller than the current notch, albeit only barely.
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was first to report that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max would feature a new hole-punch design instead of a notch. Since Kuo first reported this change, questions have centered on where all of the Face ID components would go. As a refresher, here’s everything currently housed in the notch:
- Infrared camera
- Flood illuminator
- Proximity sensor
- Ambient light sensor
- Microphone
- Front camera
- Dot projector
This combination hole-punch and pill-shaped cutout would seemingly give Apple more room to fit all of these components outside of the notch. Remember that with the iPhone 13 this year, Apple did make the notch slightly smaller in width, but slightly tapper in height.
The iPhone 14 lineup is expected to be available in two different screen sizes: 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches. This could come in the form of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max, then the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. While the Pro models will reportedly get the new design, the other models will seemingly retain the notch.
What do you think of this design? Would you prefer the notch, a single pill or single hole cutout, or this combo design? Let us know down in the comments.
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