Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro suddenly does not look quite as appealing

We’ve heard all sorts of rumors about the iPhone 14 covering everything from the camera (it’s apparently getting better) to battery life (it’s apparently getting better). But perhaps the most persistent rumor has involved the notch – or the lack of the same.

It is said that the iPhone 14 Pro is on its way in favor of a ‘pill + hole’ design that includes the front camera and FaceID technology. But if new leaky screen panels are the real deal, the effect on screen properties may not be as dramatic as we had hoped. (Don’t want to wait? See the best available iPhone 13 Pro deals now.)

iPhone 14 display panels

The new camera cut does not look much smaller than the notch (Photo credit: @SaranByte on Twitter)

Alleged front glass panels for the entire iPhone 14 series have surfaced on Chinese social media site Weibo, as seen by MacRumors. While the standard 14 looks very much like 13 (apart from the fact, of course, that it looks like there is no mini this time around), the 14 Pro looks quite different. But not as different as I had hoped.

iPhone 14 rendering

Earlier renditions imagined a smaller – and taller – cutout (Photo credit: Angelo Libero)

The hack has long been considered a nuisance on the iPhone’s alleged full-screen display since it appeared on the iPhone X in 2017. But while many hoped the new pill design would release plenty of precious pixels, it looks much bigger than we expected here. In fact, it’s pretty much the same width as the notch on the iPhone 13. And it sits even lower on the screen, which no doubt erodes more viewing area.