The notch era ends, but something smaller takes its place
A year before its expected arrival, the shape of Apple's next flagship phone began to take form in the hands of a leaker rather than a designer's press release. Jon Prosser, working from sources he declined to name, described an iPhone 14 Pro Max that would shed the notch that had defined Apple's face for half a decade — replacing it with a hole-punch camera, a titanium frame, and a body thick enough to finally swallow its own camera bump. These claims arrived six days before the iPhone 13 was even announced, a reminder that in the technology industry, the present is always being overshadowed by the rumored future.
- The notch — Apple's most recognizable and most criticized design signature since 2017 — may finally be on its way out, replaced by a discreet hole-punch camera already common on Android rivals.
- A thicker chassis would mark a quiet reversal of the industry's decade-long obsession with thinness, trading sleekness for a flush rear camera system that eliminates the protruding bump.
- Titanium framing and rounded volume buttons evoke earlier iPhone generations, suggesting Apple may be reaching backward aesthetically even as it moves forward technically.
- Prosser's track record is uneven — right on the colorful iMac, wrong on pricing elsewhere — leaving these detailed claims suspended between credible intelligence and informed speculation.
- With mass production still over a year away, the design could shift, but Prosser insists the fundamental silhouette will hold, staking his reputation on the overall aesthetic if not every detail.
Six days before Apple was set to unveil the iPhone 13, leaker Jon Prosser was already circulating details about what comes next. On his Front Page Tech website, Prosser published alleged specifications for the iPhone 14 Pro Max — Apple's presumed flagship a full year away — with renderings by designer Ian Zelbo specific enough to feel credible, yet hedged enough to survive being wrong.
The headline claim was the end of the notch. Since 2017, the cutout at the top of the iPhone's display had been both a design signature and a persistent complaint. Prosser described its replacement with a hole-punch front camera — a solution already common on Android phones and predicted by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo — that would return screen real estate to users who had long wanted it back.
The rear of the phone would change just as dramatically. A thicker chassis — a deliberate reversal of the industry's thinness obsession — would allow the camera lenses, LED flash, and LiDAR sensor to sit flush against the back glass, eliminating the camera bump entirely. The frame would be titanium. The volume buttons would adopt a rounded shape recalling the iPhone 4 and 5. Speaker grilles would shift to elongated mesh cutouts. The Lightning connector, despite years of USB-C speculation, would apparently stay.
Prosser was candid about the uncertainty baked into early hardware leaks — dimensions could shift, materials could change before mass production in late 2022. But he expressed confidence the overall design language would hold. His track record offered reason for both trust and caution: he had correctly described the colorful iMac redesign and the AirTag's appearance, but had stumbled on timing and pricing elsewhere. The leaks occupied that familiar territory where tech journalism lives — authoritative enough to spread, uncertain enough that no one is truly accountable if the final product tells a different story.
Six days before Apple was set to introduce the iPhone 13 lineup, a leaker named Jon Prosser was already circulating details about what comes next. On his Front Page Tech website, Prosser laid out a series of alleged specifications for the iPhone 14 Pro Max—the larger model in what would be Apple's flagship line a year hence. The claims were specific enough to feel credible, vague enough to hedge against being wrong.
The most striking change, according to Prosser's renderings (created by designer Ian Zelbo), was the elimination of the notch that had defined the iPhone's top bezel since 2017. In its place would come a hole-punch camera, a design choice that aligned with predictions from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and had already appeared on Android phones from Samsung and others. The hole-punch approach would reclaim screen real estate at the top of the display, a visual simplification that many users had been waiting for.
Beyond the front, Prosser described a thicker chassis—a reversal of the industry's long obsession with thinness. The added depth would serve a specific purpose: it would allow the rear camera lenses, LED flash, and LiDAR sensor to sit flush against the back glass, eliminating the camera bump that had protruded from iPhones for years. The frame itself would shift to titanium, a material Apple had used sparingly before, suggesting a more premium feel. The volume buttons would return to a rounded design reminiscent of the iPhone 4 and 5, models from over a decade earlier. At the bottom, the speaker and microphone grilles would be redesigned with elongated mesh cutouts rather than the individual perforations of current models. The Lightning connector, despite years of speculation about USB-C adoption, would apparently remain.
Prosser acknowledged the inherent uncertainty in leaking unreleased hardware. Details could shift between now and mass production in late 2022. Dimensions might change. Specific materials might be swapped. But he expressed confidence that the overall aesthetic—the fundamental silhouette and design language—would hold.
His credibility on Apple leaks was mixed. He had been accurate about the colorful iMac redesign Apple announced in 2021 and had revealed the AirTag's design before its official unveiling. But he had also been wrong about launch timing and pricing on other products, a track record that suggested his information was sometimes solid and sometimes speculative. The leaks existed in that familiar space where tech reporting lives: detailed enough to feel authoritative, uncertain enough that no one could be held accountable if the final product looked different. What mattered was that someone with access to information—or someone claiming to have it—was telling the world that Apple's next flagship phone would look substantially different from the one about to be announced.
Citas Notables
Prosser expressed confidence that the overall aesthetic would hold, even if specific dimensions and materials might change between now and mass production.— Jon Prosser, via Front Page Tech
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does the notch matter so much? It's just a camera.
It's not really about the camera. The notch has been the visual signature of the iPhone for five years. Removing it feels like permission to move forward, like Apple is saying the design era is over.
But they're replacing it with a hole-punch. That's still a cutout.
True, but it's smaller, less intrusive. It doesn't split the status bar in half. It's a compromise that feels less like a compromise.
What about the titanium frame? Is that just marketing?
Partially. But it's also heavier, more durable, and it signals a shift away from aluminum. It's the kind of material choice that makes a phone feel expensive in your hand.
The camera bump going away seems impossible. Where does the thickness go?
Into the whole phone. They're making it thicker overall, which most people won't mind if it means a flatter back and better durability. It's a trade-off, but a reasonable one.
How much do we trust this leak?
Prosser has been right before, but he's also been wrong. This feels like educated guessing based on real information, not a complete blueprint. The broad strokes are probably right. The details might shift.