Surprise! This iPhone 14 Pro design could replace the notch

Update: There's been further claims that the regular iPhone 14 won't get a new chip, but an "enhanced" version of the iPhone 13's chip.

We may have confirmation on whether the iPhone 14 Pro lineup will feature Apple's iconic notch.

Twitter user ShrimpApplePro, a prominent Apple leaker, recently tweeted photos of the potential display design for the iPhone 14 Pro. These photos indicate a pill shape camera cutout for the device, abandoning Apple's iconic notch that had adorned recent iPhones. 

The regular iPhone 14 and new iPhone 14 Max are still expected to get the notch. 

This is a little surprising given the use of a singular cutout rather than the rumored punch hole and pill design. All previous rumors had suggested that Apple would abandon the notch on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max for a punchout selfie camera and a separate pill-shaped cutout for Face ID. Still, this leak does seem to confirm that the notch is gone for the Pro models. 

Along with the photos, ShrimpApplePro also suggests that the entire iPhone 14 lineup will feature 6GB of RAM. 

This would not be a huge surprise if it turns out to be true. Previous rumors for the iPhone 14 have also suggested 6GB of RAM for the iPhone 14 lineup, but there's an important caveat. Leaks have suggested that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will use LPDDR4X RAM and the Pro models will get upgraded to the faster LPDDR5 memory type.

iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Pro displays 

Aside from abandoning the mini for a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max/Plus, there are not a ton of expected upgrades for the base iPhone models. The one thing we may see is an upgraded refresh rate, boosting the base model iPhones from a 60Hz refresh rate to 90Hz — at least on the Max/Plus model. However, we have only seen this rumor leak out once, so there is a chance that it does not pan out.

At least the Pro and Pro Max should get some upgrades. While it is not expected to see the already high 120Hz refresh rate change, the new Pro and Pro Max models are tipped to get an always-on display. This feature has been seemingly confirmed by code in the iOS 16 beta and would allow users to view "weather, calendars, stocks, activities and other data" on the lock screen.

Finally, as previously mentioned, the expectation is that the Pro and Pro Max models will ditch the iPhone notch for a cutout — or two. Again, the previous rumors have suggested that Apple will use two cutouts: a punchout selfie camera and a separate pill-shaped cutout for Face ID. However, this latest rumor suggests that the cutout will simply be a larger, singular, pill shaped cutout. Either way, the notch should be reserved for the lower-end iPhone 14s only. 

iPhone 14: RAM 

This latest rumor all but confirms that the iPhone 14 will feature 6GB of RAM across the four expected models. At the moment, we expect that the Pro and Pro Max will feature upgraded LPDDR5 RAM, which is faster than the LPDDR4 RAM we expect to see on the iPhone 14 base and Max/Plus models. 

iPhone 14 launch event

We expect the iPhone 14 to launch at the Apple Event set for September 7. While Apple has not officially confirmed any devices appearing at the in-person event, it is widely expected that the iPhone 14 lineup, along with the Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Series 8 Pro. It is also likely that the Apple Watch SE 2 and Apple AirPods Pro 2 will join the latest iPhones at the event. Stay tuned for all our coverage, from live blogs and analyses to hands-on reviews. 

Next: iPhone 14 Pro’s rumored notch replacement is good news for users — here’s why.