The notch becomes a visual marker of the standard tier
Each autumn, Apple's iPhone release becomes a kind of cultural barometer — measuring how much change the world's most watched technology company is willing to offer versus how much it chooses to preserve. Leaked CAD renderings of the iPhone 14 lineup suggest Apple is drawing a deliberate line between its standard and premium tiers, reserving genuine innovation — the abandonment of the notch after five years — for those willing to pay for it, while offering the majority of buyers a familiar, refined continuity.
- For the first time since 2017, Apple's Pro iPhones are poised to shed the notch entirely, replacing it with a pill-and-circle cutout that signals a real visual break from half a decade of sameness.
- Standard iPhone 14 models, by contrast, carry forward the iPhone 13's design almost wholesale — same notch, same diagonal camera layout — raising questions about whether incremental updates can still drive upgrade enthusiasm.
- The discontinuation of the iPhone mini in favor of a larger 6.7-inch 'Max' model reveals Apple quietly conceding that its bet on small-phone nostalgia did not pay off.
- A deliberate chip split — A16 Bionic for Pro, a refined A15 for standard — means Apple is engineering loyalty to its premium tier rather than simply charging more for the same hardware.
- With a September announcement widely expected, the industry is watching whether the Pro's design overhaul can lift excitement across the entire lineup or whether the standard models' conservatism will dampen the usual upgrade wave.
The iPhone 14 is shaping up as a tale of two strategies. Leaked CAD renderings from industrial sources show Apple's standard 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models carrying forward the iPhone 13's design with only modest refinements — a slightly smaller notch, the same diagonal rear camera arrangement, and a marginally thicker camera housing. It is the kind of measured update that signals confidence in an existing formula rather than any urgency to reinvent it.
The Pro models tell a different story. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are expected to break with a design tradition Apple itself established in 2017, replacing the iconic notch with a pill-shaped cutout alongside a circular opening. It is the most significant visual change to Apple's premium line in five years, and it draws a sharp distinction between what buyers get at each price point.
Apple's lineup strategy reinforces this split. The iPhone 14 mini is being retired, replaced by a larger 6.7-inch standard model dubbed the iPhone 14 Max — a quiet acknowledgment that the small-phone experiment never found its footing. Four total variants will launch, with Pro models powered by the new A16 Bionic chip while standard versions run an optimized A15, preserving a meaningful performance gap between tiers.
With a September announcement expected to follow Apple's established rhythm, the central question is whether the Pro's genuine design leap can generate excitement broad enough to carry the whole lineup — or whether customers expecting more from the standard models will find restraint harder to celebrate than Apple anticipates.
The iPhone 14 is shaping up to be a study in restraint. Leaked CAD renderings obtained by MySmartPrice from industrial sources show that Apple's standard iPhone 14 models—the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch versions—will largely carry forward the design language of their predecessors. The notch remains, though slightly smaller than before, and the rear camera arrangement follows the same diagonal pattern that defined the iPhone 13. It's an incremental approach, the kind that suggests Apple is saving its bolder moves for elsewhere in the lineup.
That elsewhere is the Pro tier. While the standard models play it safe, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are expected to make a genuine break with tradition. For the first time since Apple introduced the notch with the iPhone X in 2017, the company appears ready to abandon it entirely on its premium devices. In its place: a pill-shaped cutout paired with a circular opening, a design shift that marks a meaningful visual departure from five years of notch-dominated iPhones.
The camera hardware tells a similar story of measured evolution. According to the renders, the iPhone 14's rear camera system will receive what amounts to a minor refresh. The glass frame surrounding the camera housing appears thicker than before, but the fundamental arrangement and sensor configuration remain largely unchanged from the iPhone 13. It's the kind of update that suggests Apple is confident enough in its existing camera design to refine rather than reinvent.
Apple's product strategy for 2022 reflects this split personality. The company plans to release four iPhone 14 variants in total: the standard 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models, plus their Pro counterparts in matching sizes. Notably, the iPhone 14 mini—a smaller, more affordable option that never quite found its audience—is being discontinued in favor of the larger 6.7-inch standard model, now called the iPhone 14 Max. This move suggests Apple believes the future of its base-model iPhone lies in bigger screens, not smaller ones.
The internal specifications reinforce the tiered approach. The Pro models will house Apple's latest A16 Bionic chip, the company's most powerful mobile processor. The standard iPhone 14 models, meanwhile, will use a high-end variant of the A15 Bionic—the same generation that powered last year's flagship, just optimized for this year's hardware. It's a strategy that preserves meaningful performance differentiation between the tiers without forcing Apple to develop entirely separate chip architectures.
These renderings, while not official, align with earlier leaks and reporting about Apple's plans for the fall. The company has historically announced new iPhones in September, and all signs point to that timeline holding steady this year. What remains to be seen is whether the conservative design approach for standard models will satisfy customers who've grown accustomed to more dramatic annual refreshes, or whether the Pro models' design overhaul will be enough to drive upgrade cycles across the entire lineup.
Citas Notables
The camera will feature a minor refresh and appears to have a thicker frame of glass surrounding the housing— MySmartPrice analysis of CAD renders
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Why would Apple keep the notch on the standard iPhone 14 when the Pro models are getting rid of it entirely?
It's partly about cost and manufacturing complexity. The pill-and-circle cutout on the Pro models requires more sophisticated display technology and engineering. The notch is a proven, cheaper solution that still works fine for the base models.
So this is a way to create clear separation between the tiers?
Exactly. The notch becomes a visual marker of the standard tier, while the Pro gets the newer, sleeker design. It justifies the price difference in a way that's immediately visible.
What about the camera? The renders show a thicker glass frame. Does that actually change how the phone performs?
Probably not in any measurable way. It's more about durability and aesthetics—protecting the sensors better, making the camera bump feel more refined. It's the kind of refinement that matters more to how the phone feels in your hand than to what it can actually photograph.
And dropping the mini entirely—is that a sign the mini failed?
It never gained real traction. People either want the standard size or they want the bigger screen. The mini occupied an awkward middle ground. By replacing it with a larger standard model, Apple is betting that bigger is what people actually want.
So we're looking at a year where the Pro models get the real innovation?
That's the pattern. The standard models get evolutionary updates—slightly smaller notch, refined camera housing. The Pro models get the genuine design shift. It's how Apple maintains two distinct product narratives.