09/05 Below is an update. This post was first published on September 3rd.
Apple will unveil the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max on September 7. So we reasoned…
Apple will not release a ‘iPhone 14 Max,’ according to a surprisingly late leak. Instead, the 6.7-inch sub-$1000 smartphone will be known as the ‘iPhone 14 Plus.’ This makes sense for a variety of reasons.
First, there was the leak, which came in two parts. Part one arrived via Twitter, with a photo of what appeared to be a genuine next-generation iPhone case bearing ‘iPhone 14 Plus’ branding. This prompted 9to5Mac to conduct additional research, which confirmed the name and instructions given to third-party case makers.
“According to sources familiar with the situation, Apple has decided to call the next larger iPhone the iPhone 14 Plus.” Furthermore, iPhone case makers have been told, at least since July, not to use the brand iPhone 14 Max, as it will not be the actual name of the product,” wrote 9to5Mac’s José Adorno.
This makes perfect sense given that Apple has consistently used the ‘Max’ brand to denote a premium version of something: it is both the flagship iPhone and a top-end version of Apple’s M1 chipset. Significantly, ‘Max’ is positioned above ‘Pro’ in the M1 lineup: M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra.
09/05 Update: With the iPhone 14 launch only a few days away, MacRumors has revealed that iPhone 14 Pro models are experiencing issues with their new always-on displays.
“[Apple] is reportedly still encountering bugs and is scrambling software engineers from various teams, including the Apple Watch, to complete the always-on display experience before launch,” according to the source.
The fixes cannot be applied to the new models before they go on sale, so Apple will release an update to iOS 16 (either iOS 16.1 or 16.0.1) “soon after launch,” according to the source.
Separately, a MacRumors source claims that the Pro’s always-on display will bring permanently visible widgets and notifications to the range for the first time — a long-awaited Android catch-up feature. In addition, because of the smaller space taken up by their new pill-shaped punch hole displays, the status bar on Pro models will have a full-width battery indicator. This was most recently seen on the iPhone 8.
Who said Plus? pic.twitter.com/O7GJAsKT8b
— Tommy Boi (@Tommyboiiiiii) August 31, 2022
As a result, telling iPhone owners that an iPhone 14 Max is less expensive than an iPhone 14 Pro, but an M1 Pro is less expensive than an M1 Max would have been perplexing.
‘Plus’ branding, on the other hand, is more straightforward. For four years, it was associated with the larger (but not necessarily better) iPhone, and the iPhone 8 Plus sat below the iPhone X when the two launched in 2017 — meaning it doesn’t have the same elite status as Max. Overall, it does not necessitate the same mental gymnastics for buyers.
This late branding leak, interestingly, is part of a larger pattern with iPhone leaks in 2022, in which established leakers are countered by smaller names who change the narrative. With this in mind, Apple fans should be ecstatic because the most recent example claims iPhone 14 prices will be significantly lower than expected.
