The iPhone 14 lineup's design and specs are now believed to be fully locked in, with Apple reportedly running tests on its new iPhone.
That's according to analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities, who wrote in a recent briefing note (seen by 9to5Mac) that Apple is now conducting engineering validation tests on the iPhone 14, based on information from his supply chain sources. These EVTs are run on the first engineering prototype of new phones, and imply that the iPhone 14's final specs and design have now been decided.
Pu also added that the recent lockdown in Shenzhen, ordered after rising COVID-19 cases, hasn't affected Apple's testing progress. The last we'd heard from this process was back in February, when Apple had allegedly first produced iPhone 14 test units.
Let's take another look at the biggest rumored changes for the iPhone 14 that these tests may now be examining. For the standard iPhone 14, we could see a new 6.7-inch Max variant to replace the current 5.4-inch iPhone 13 mini and a chip that's identical to the current A15 chip from the iPhone 13 except with potentially more RAM.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max are tipped to receive a new 48MP main camera, pill and punch-hole cutouts for Face ID and selfie camera sensors rather than Apple's trademark notch, plus an updated A16 chipset.
Our iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Pro preview breaks down all the expected differences between the regular iPhone 14 and the Pro models, but the bottom line is that we're anticipating the largest feature gap in years. .
Despite these changes, Pu writes that he doesn't expect a change in pricing from the iPhone 13. However, that doesn't clear up how much Apple will charge for the supposed iPhone 14 Max, since it's a brand new model. Our guess though would be $899, between the standard $799 6.1-inch iPhone size and the $999 6.1-inch Pro version.
Even with the iPhone 14 range now allegedly undergoing testing, we don't expect to see the new models revealed until Apple's usual September product launch event.
