New iPhone Max model rumored to be introduced this year
A price leak of the upcoming iPhone 14 series indicates that the new lineup will ditch the Mini version of the phone in favor of a Max sized variant, which would also cause an increase in the starting prices for the Pro and Pro Max variants of the phone.
Currently, the 13 lineup features the 5.8 inch iPhone Mini, the 6.1 inch iPhone and iPhone Pro, and the 6.7 inch iPhone Pro Max. While the iPhone 14 is slated to be released at the same price as the 13 at $799, the Mini — which cost $699 — may be dropped in favor of a new iPhone Max model, which would be $100 more than the price of the regular iPhone.
In keeping the usual price differences between the regular and pro models, this could result in the Pro and Pro Max launching at $1099 and $1199, respectively, according to LeaksApplePro.
It has also been speculated that the 14 series may finally ditch the screen intrusion of the notch. While it had previously been rumored that iPhone may start using the under-display fingerprint readers that have become common in Android phones, the latest rumors indicate it would instead offer a punch-hole camera while moving the rest of the Face ID tech under the display.
Under-screen cameras have already been released to market, with the most noteworthy carrier of this tech being the Samsung Z Fold3. However, these cameras offer much lower sharpness and quality, and the portion of the screen housing the camera is generally a lower pixel density than the rest of the display.
Face ID, which uses dot projection to recognize the owner of the phone, does not need the same level of clarity as a camera can could easily be incorporated into the phone’s design.
Barclays analysts claim that Apple is planning to adopt a laser-based time-of-flight architecture for Face ID that would allow for substantial changes to be introduced to the front-facing TrueDepth camera array, and other rumors point to a unibody lens design for a reduction in the size of the front camera module.
Other rumors indicate that the new iPhone would remove the SIM slot, and that Apple would instead roll out eSIM support for cellular network connectivity, reported MacRumors.
Moreover, it has been speculated that Apple may introduce LTPO displays across the line-up instead of limiting it to the Pro models, use titanium instead of stainless steel on the higher-end iPhones, and remove the lightning port in favor of MagSafe charging.
