04/29 Update below. This entry was originally posted on April 27th
Apple leaks have already revealed what everyone knows is the most shocking change in the iPhone 14 series: the notchless redesign. Right? Wrong. New information reveals that it will be their prices …
In an exclusive report, Bloomberg’s excellent Apple guru Mark Gurman reports that Apple’s decision to replace the iPhone 13 mini with an iPhone 13 Max is likely to result in a price increase of up to $ 300.
The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max concept shows the expected higher price of $ 1199
@VadimYuryev @ Shaileshhari03
04/29 update: And now we know exactly what the new iPhone 14 Max and the rest of the iPhone 14 series will look like. Thanks to a major supply chain leak on the popular Chinese website, Weibo – historically home to component leaks – (via content creators Saran Byte) we can now see the actual front panels on all four models for the first time. Interestingly, the parts confirm several details that had been hot tipped:
- iPhone 14 Pro models will have thinner, symmetrical frames
- Pro models appear to be slightly higher than non-pro models with more rounded corners
- The iPhone 14 Max actually replaces the iPhone 13 Mini and – side-by-side margins – is about the same size as the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max
- Standard models retain the notch, while both iPhone 14 Pros have the polarization new ‘in-shaped’ cut-out.
The fitting of actual parts (which is a regular trend around this time each year as Apple increases mass production) also adds substance to leaks around the interiors of the new models. That said, this is not necessarily good news. In particular, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max are expected to run on a previous-generation chipset (Apple’s 2021 A15 Bionic also used in the $ 429 iPhone SE) for the first time, while the recently leaked price increases (below) look even more likely.
“So for the first time, the non-Pro iPhone line will get a 6.7-inch screen capability,” Gurman explains. “… users will now be able to get Apple’s largest iPhone size for at least $ 200 less than before.”
In other words: an iPhone 14 Max will be about $ 200 cheaper than an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Let us now divide this. Currently, an iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at $ 1099, which would cost an iPhone 14 Max at $ 899 – an increase of $ 200 on the $ 699 iPhone 13 Mini it replaces. But not so fast.
Several leaks have claimed that rising component costs and Apple’s willingness to differentiate between Pro and non-Pro iPhones will cause the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max to rise to $ 1099 and $ 1199, respectively. This $ 200 difference now potentially pushes the iPhone 14 Max as high as $ 999- $ 300 more than an iPhone 13 Mini.
And this is only the beginning, because, as Gurman points out, standard iPhone 14 models will share far fewer Pro features than in previous generations. Among the features he claims they will miss are:
Corner changes for iPhone 14 Pro provide a noticeably more rounded phone than iPhone 13 Pro
Ian Zelbo
All of this gives Apple fans something of a mystery: How much does size matter?
Poor sales of the iPhone 13 Mini have once again shown that large screens are what users really want, so a more affordable iPhone 14 Pro Max should fit perfectly. But if the iPhone 14 Max costs around $ 1000 and only $ 100 more gives you an iPhone 14 Pro that has a superior design, upgraded camera, next-generation performance and a 120Hz ProMotion screen, the reaction can be very different.
Provides users what they want but not how they want it, is an Apple specialty. And it looks like the iPhone 14 series will not be any different.
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