IPHONE 14: EVERYTHING WE KNOW, FROM DESIGN TO SPECS

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The iPhone 14 is very much on the minds of many right now. If Apple sticks to its usual schedule, we're expecting the company's latest handset to be released in just a couple of months now. And if just half the leaks and rumours about what might be in store are true, the iPhone 14 release could be an exciting one – with some caveats.

Apple usually unveils its new iPhones in September, and we're not expecting 2022 to be any exception. But will the iPhone 14 be worth waiting for? Apple hasn't given anything away directly – it always keeps things as secret as it can up until the big announcement. But inevitably there are leaks and rumours, and usually, at least some of these come true.

Below is a roundup of the most interesting suggestions we've heard so far, from game-changing camera tech to notable design changes. Even if some of these make it to the final models of the phones, the iPhone 14 should more than make up for its predecessor's slightly underwhelming arrival.

That's not to say the iPhone 13 is a bad phone, of course, it just didn't offer a lot different from iPhone 12 – although the notch got smaller, the battery slightly bigger and the camera saw the usual enhancements you'd expect. If you need a new phone today, it's certainly one of the best to consider.

iPhone 14: Design

Perhaps the most radical – and most persistent – iPhone 14 design rumours surround the notch. Long considered a blight on the supposedly all-screen design of the iPhone, the notch is one of the phone's most controversial design touches. But if multiple rumours are to be believed, Apple could finally be nixing the notch in favour of a punch-hole camera. But this could be limited to just the two 'Pro' models.

More recent rumours have suggested that we won't just be getting a single cutout, put a 'pill + hole' design (as illustrated in the fan-made render above). This seems to make more sense – the entire reason for the notch is that something has to house all that Face ID tech. However, purported leaked CAD files shared in a Chinese social media post may actually reveal the exact dimensions of the cutouts, and they aren't actually so small. And, if these leaked display panels are real, they're quite close to the size of the original notch, just without the empty black space. We'll happily take a few extra pixels, but the files do suggest this change isn't as exciting as we'd hoped.

That said, the front camera is rumoured to be getting a huge bump in performance, with Apple rebranding it as a new "high-end" snapper – one which could cost the company up to three times more to produce.

We've also heard that the iPhone 14 could adopt a retro iPhone 4-inspired design, complete with a metallic 'sandwich' profile. We hope this is the case – 2010's iPhone 4 is arguably one of Apple's most beautiful products. As for the iPhone 14 Pro, in particular, some reports have suggested it may 'fix' one pet niggle many fans have with its predecessor. The radius of the corners of the iPhone 13 Pro doesn't match the radius of the camera bump. That might seem a minor detail, but it's surprising for a company like Apple that's known for its coherent design. It's been suggested that the iPhone 14 Pro will fix this by having rounder corners to match the camera bump.

And it isn't just the front of the phone that's up for a refresh. The iPhone 14 could be the first to feature a titanium body, offering a lighter but more durable body that's more resistant to scratches and corrosion. Currently, only certain Apple Watch models are available in titanium – the iPhone 13 Pro comes in mere stainless steel.

But if you're a fan of small phones, you might be out of luck in 2022. There may be no iPhone 14 mini, with rumours suggesting that Apple is planning to ditch the tiny device after disappointing sales of the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini. But if you like big phones, you could be in luck – right now only the Pro Max range is available in 6.7 inches, but rumour has it the standard 14 will also be available in giant size.

And of course, there are plenty of pie-in-the-sky concepts doing the rounds online. This sliding iPhone 14 concept might be the wildest render we've seen so far – but so far there's nothing to suggest Apple is working on sliding screen tech. But hey, who knows – fan-made ideas have been known to come to fruition, such as this iPad mini concept that's now a very real thing.

iPhone 14: Tech specs

Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 14 is expected to feature an improved chip – with the 13 packing the new A15, we'll take a wild guess and say the 14 might introduce the A16. Reports sugges this could be Apple's first 4nm chip, with the A15 coming in at 5nm. Fewer processes reduces a chip's actual footprint while simultaneously offering better efficiency, performance and battery life – in short, the smaller nm, the better

On which note, a report that appeared in February suggests that a new, less-power hungry 5G chip will make battery life an area that will see dramatic improvement across the iPhone 14 line up. The rumoured 6nm 5G chip would be a physically smaller chip with lower power consumption, offering a double plus for battery life since a smaller chip means more space for the battery, but the chop itself would also require less power.

As for storage, we've heardthat the iPhone 14 might bring the first 2TB iPhone into existence (the current highest is 1TB). It's suggested that the larger storage will cater for a higher quality camera.