Leaked images show the iPhone 14’s TrueDepth camera sensor array up close, with the rumored pill and hole-punch design replacing the notch.
- What’s happening? Well-known leakers have published images that purportedly show Apple’s rumored pill and hole-punch design for the iPhone 14 up close.
- Why care? Cutouts for the new design take less space than the old notch.
- What to do? It’s unclear whether only the Pro models will adopt this appearance. You’ll need to wait until September 7 before you can weigh your options.
The iPhone 14 notch up close
The image at the top of this post from Twitter leaker Ice Universe shows a closeup of the pill and hole-punch design for the TrueDepth sensor array.
This was photographed on one of the iPhone 14 dummy units that have been circulating around ahead of Apple’s September 7 keynote, which is why it looks fake. iPhone dummies take hints from the rumor mill, but they’re not 100 percent accurate and lack Apple’s polish.
But the pictures included right ahead, from Twitter leaker DuanRui, apparently show the new circular and pill-shaped cutouts as seen on a real-life iPhone 14 Pro.
A smaller notch means more room for the status bar
MacRumors passes along even more screenshots, shared by leaker “ShrimpApplePro,” that the leaker claims were taken on a physical iPhone 14 Pro.
Comparing these screenshots to their iPhone 13 Pro Max counterparts indicates the iOS status bar could extend just enough to make room for a better battery percentage indicator than what we have in iOS 16, hopefully.
<Exclusive>
With the existence of the Pill+hole on the iPhone 14 Pro series, how will the status bar be positioned?
So here is your answer with a screenshot from an iPhone 14 Pro Max, compared with iPhone 13 Pro Max status bar. 🤪
Now it sit slightly lower and to the right a bit pic.twitter.com/LHb1ZsdJ6v— ShrimpApplePro 🍤 (@VNchocoTaco) August 25, 2022
“Another alleged screenshot from ShrimpApplePro shows how the entire status bar is arranged on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, repositioning the cellular signal, Wi-Fi and battery indicators slightly lower and to the right,” reads the article.
The notch is shrinking
If anything, these images seem to corroborate analysts who predicted Apple would replace the display cutout which houses the infamous notch with a new design.
The rumors agree that the iPhone 14 would sport a pill-shaped cutout for the TrueDepth camera parts next to a smaller, circular cutout for the selfie camera.
Purple only appears at certain angles.
source: https://t.co/K6WqjdBKgM pic.twitter.com/7fySSCoAN4— DuanRui (@duanrui1205) August 25, 2022
Not only would such a design decrease the width of the notch area, but it would also make more room on either side for the status bar area. At this point, there’s little to no room for doubt that the pill and hole-punch design is real.
And we also saw a recent patent application from Apple in which the company details using a light-folding infrared projector instead of a standard one as a way of decreasing the notch size. Read: How to watermark images on your iPhone