Analyst and Apple oracle Ming-Chi Kuo has once again popped up to throw more fuel on the burning rumor that only the iPhone 14 Pro models will get an upgraded chipset, leaving the standard iPhone 14 models with the current A 15 Bionic chip.
This isn’t anything new, as we’ve heard this rumor a fair bit from multiple well-regarded tipsters. And sure, it would be a bit of a letdown given Apple pretty much always gives its new line of smartphones new chips year on year. But the interesting thing here is Kuo claims Apple has boosted the split of Pro models to standard iPhone to 60% against 40%.
“The latest A16 processor will be exclusive to two iPhone 14 Pro/high-end models, significantly boosting the shipment proportion of new iPhone high-end models in 2H22 to 55-60% (vs. 40–50% in the past),” Kup wrote in a Medium post.
That would mean Apple plans to sell a lot more of the premium iPhone 14 models than standard ones, despite the latter being predicted to be several hundred dollars cheaper. Such a price gap has always been notable, but it's ever more significant when the cost of living is seeing the price of many things rocket upwards.
Yet in spite of this, Apple is expected to go hard on making and marketing the iPhone 14 Pro with the iPhone 14 likely a becoming secondary promotional priority.
Given the iPhone 14 is expected to retain much of the design and the features of the iPhone 13, including the aforementioned A15 chip, it’s not set to be the most exciting new iPhone in recent years.
I would argue it’s not one to fully dismiss, as after switching from Android to iPhone, I’ve found Apple’s phones are all about a slick, convenient and consistent experience rather than having the best specs. Then there's also the iPhone 14 Plus/Max, which is expected to bring a 6.7-inch iPhone to the range without requiring Apple fans to fork out over $1,000 for a Pro Max model just to get a big-screen iPhone.
However, with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max tipped to finally kill the notch with punch-hole and pill-shaped Face ID and selfie camera cutouts, sport a new 48MP main camera, an always-on display, and the new A16 chip, the Pro phones are likely to be much more attention grabbing than their standard siblings.
As such. I can see Apple leaning hard into putting the iPhone 14 Pro phones, with marketing almost certainly pushing the the benefits of the 48MP camera's capabilities and the extra power on tap. I reckon it’ll become very difficult to escape the idea that the iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max are the phones to get, even more so than previous generations.
And if I’m being honest, as much as I still like Android phones and really enjoy using the iPhone 13 Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro has certainly got my attention — I’m also advising iPhone users to now wait until September 13, the predicted iPhone 14 launch date, before getting a new iPhone.
Furthermore, if Apple does finally adopt USB-C for the iPhone 14 Pro, which isn’t looking likely this coming generation, it would be a slam dunk in my eyes; the Google Pixel 7 would really have to pull something out of the bag to draw my gaze.
So in short, not only is the iPhone 14 Pro set to be a notably superior phone to the iPhone 14, Apple’s probably going to make you want to splash the cash on the higher-end iPhones, whether you like it or not.
Next: This new report is good news for the iPhone 14 release date.
