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Roughly four months before Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 14 lineup, the overwhelming majority of rumors about the new devices so far have centered on the iPhone 14 Pro rather than the standard iPhone 14 – prompting questions about how different the ” iPhone 14″ will actually come from its predecessor, the iPhone 13.
The iPhone 14 Pro and “iPhone 14 Pro” Max are expected to make headlines with features like thinner bezels and a TrueDepth camera array design with “pill and punch” instead of the notch, but the standard “iPhone 14” models missing these upgrades. For the first time, standard iPhone models are also expected to do without Apple’s latest chip, with the “A16” reserved for the iPhone 14 Pro only. According to rumors so far, the standard iPhone 14 models will lose a number of new features exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro models, including:
Other less likely rumors about the potential of a titanium chassis and vapor chamber thermal system are also centered on the iPhone 14 Pro models. As such, it looks like Apple is planning to continue its trend of increasingly differentiating its Pro and non-Pro iPhone models, with many new high-end features debuting on the Pro models before moving on to a the non-Pro models will leak later. For example, the standard iPhone 15 models are rumored to feature the ‘iPhone 14 Pro’ pill and hole TrueDepth camera array design.
With this in mind, what upgrades and features will the standard “iPhone 14” models likely offer later this year?
Larger option: “iPhone 14 Max”
After lackluster sales for the iPhone 12 mini and the “iPhone 13” mini, both of which feature 5.4-inch displays, Apple is reportedly planning to discontinue its small form factor iPhone and introduce a larger model to take its place in of the product range.
The iPhone 14 Max is expected to sit above the ‘iPhone 14’ in the lineup and will feature a 6.7-inch display like the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the ‘iPhone 13 Pro’ Max. Just as the “mini” iPhones have offered the same features as the standard iPhone 12 and “iPhone 13” models over the past few years, the “iPhone 14” Max is expected to offer the same features as the standard “iPhone 14” but with a much larger display.
While there will reportedly be no iPhone 14 mini, the iPhone 14 Max will offer an option for users who want a new iPhone with a larger display, but don’t want “pro” features like a ProMotion display and the telephoto camera require. As one of the most striking visual changes in the iPhone lineup this year, iPhone 14 Max could be the focus of iPhone 14 marketing.
50% more memory
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that all “iPhone 14” models will have 6GB of storage, with the standard iPhone 14 models having LPDDR 4X storage and the “iPhone 14 Pro” models having LPDDR 5 -Memory will feature.
Currently, the “iPhone 13” mini and “iPhone 13” have 4 GB of storage, while the “iPhone 13 Pro” and “iPhone 13 Pro” Max already have 6 GB of storage. These amounts are unchanged from the iPhone 12 range. Although Kuo suggested that all “iPhone 14” models will have 6GB of storage, the LPDDR 5 storage of the “iPhone 14 Pro” and “iPhone 14 Pro” Max will be up to one and a half times faster and up to 30 percent more energy efficient .
50 percent more memory in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max could allow more apps and browser tabs to be kept open in the background for faster resumes, give developers more leeway to build powerful, memory-hungry apps, and make devices more future-proof to make -proof in years to come.
Improved battery life
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max could offer improved battery life thanks to a new, more efficient 5G chip.
The iPhone 14’s 5G RF chip is said to be manufactured using TSMC’s 6nm process, which offers a physically smaller chip with lower power consumption. The 6nm RF process enables the chip to consume less power in both the sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G bands while still offering high levels of performance.
The downsizing of the large RF transceiver component inside the “iPhone” is expected to be not only more efficient but also free up physical space. Every additional square millimeter of volume should create more space for a larger battery. It is believed that the improved efficiency and miniaturization of the iPhone 14’s RF chip combine to result in better overall battery life.
Wi-Fi 6E connectivity
All iPhone 14 models are expected to support Wi-Fi 6E. Wi-Fi 6E offers the features and capabilities of Wi-Fi 6, including higher performance, lower latency, and faster data rates, extended to the 6 GHz band. The additional spectrum provides more airspace beyond the existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi, resulting in higher bandwidth and less interference.
Emergency satellite functions
With a feature originally rumored for the iPhone 13 line, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X65 modem in the “iPhone 14” line is said to enable a range of satellite-based emergency functions, allowing users to send messages in emergency situations and report major emergencies at locations where there is no cell phone coverage.
In particular, emergency satellite messaging allows users to text emergency services and contacts via a satellite network when cellular or WiFi signal is unavailable. It will reportedly be a new communication protocol alongside SMS and iMessage, will display gray message bubbles and will have a limit on message length. Another feature allows users to report major emergencies such as plane crashes and fires via satellite communications.
Those features are still in development and aren’t expected to launch until 2022 at the earliest, but other estimates have placed the feature more firmly in the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 lineup.
Ultra wide camera improvements
While the iPhone 14 models will reportedly ditch the new 48-megapixel wide-camera and instead stick with the 12-megapixel wide-camera found on the iPhone 13, all of the standard 2022 iPhones could see improvements to the Experience Ultra Wide Camera.
The iPhone 13 Pro introduced a new ƒ/1.8, 6P (6-element lens) ultra wide-angle camera with autofocus. This year, this improved ƒ/1.8 ultra-wide camera is said to be carried over to both standard “iPhone 14” models.
Front camera improvements
In addition to improvements to the rear camera system, the front camera of the “iPhone 14” is said to have even more significant improvements.
In particular, all four “iPhone 14” models will likely feature an improved front camera system with autofocus and a larger aperture of ƒ/1.9. For comparison: The front camera of all “iPhone 13” models has a fixed focus and an aperture of ƒ/2.2.
The wider aperture would allow more light to pass through the lens and reach the sensor. According to Kuo, these camera upgrades could result in an improved depth-of-field effect for Portrait mode photos and videos, while autofocus can boost focus during FaceTime and Zoom video calls.
Updated color options
The ‘iPhone 14’ and ‘iPhone 14’ Max are rumored to come in a range of color options including black, white, blue, red and purple.
Assuming that the rumors about the black and white options for the “iPhone 14” actually refer to Midnight and Starlight, the new color palette would mean the discontinuation of the pink and green of the “iPhone 13”. Aside from mid-cycle color additions, like green and alpine green for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro earlier this year, information suggests that the “iPhone 14” will launch with the same number of color options as its predecessors will.
As in recent years, with the same polychrome colors updated across generations, the iPhone 14’s blue and red color options will likely be refreshed hues compared to the iPhone 13 models. Nonetheless, the range of color options of the “iPhone 14” and “iPhone 14 Pro” could look quite similar to those of the “iPhone 12” and “iPhone 13”, but will likely be celebrated with the reintroduction of a purple hue.
A purple color option for the “iPhone 14” seems plausible, since Apple released a purple “iPhone 12” and “iPhone 12 mini” in April last year to positive customer feedback and the 24-inch iMac, the sixth-generation iPad A mid-cycle mini and fifth-generation iPad Air are all available in purple.
