Every iPhone 14 Feature I Want to See at Apple's Next Event
Apple's iPhone 13 and 13 Pro are undeniably among the best phones you can buy in 2022. They offer a brilliant blend of impressive all-around performance with camera skills that can rival professional cameras. But since Apple's next launch event is set for Sept. 7, a new iPhone is likely arriving soon with a range of enhancements.
We expect to see Apple's iPhone 14 in the coming weeks -- here's everything you should know about it's rumored release date, price and new design. Although time is running out, I still want Apple to give my wish list a read and make sure it ticks everything off. Because that's how it works, right?
In no particular order then, here are my top hopes for the iPhone 14.
No notch on the iPhone 14
The notch. It has to go. Yes, it's served its purpose, housing as it does the front-facing camera and the various scanners to let you unlock your phone just by looking at it. And while the notch did get slightly smaller on the iPhone 13, it's still a big chunk of screen that's cut away. So it's time for a better solution that lets that screen really shine.
Perhaps Apple could perfect under-display cameras that are there but essentially invisible. We've seen that already on phones from ZTE and Vivo, but the technology is far from perfect. Then there are the weird pop-up selfie cameras seen on some Oppo phones that spring up from the top edge, keeping the display unbroken.
The notch has outstayed its welcome.
Sarah Tew/CNETI'd even compromise with a simple punch-hole solution, filling the front with the display but just popping a couple of small, less obtrusive holes for the cameras to peep through.
Read more: iPhone 14 Might Kill the Notch, but Only for the Pro
In-screen fingerprint scanner as well as Face ID
Speaking of things hidden in the screen, let's pop a fingerprint scanner under there too. Apple's Face ID works well for the most part, or at least it did before the pandemic hit. Wearing masks in public is a much more common occurrence than it was prior to the pandemic, and before the release of iOS 15.4 in March, face unlock simply didn't work without also pairing up with an Apple Watch. Although you can now unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask thanks to the iOS update, I think Apple should still bring back fingerprint scanning.
Even on the affordable OnePlus Nord CE you'll find a fingerprint scanner hidden beneath the display.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETIn-screen scanning technology is common now, with affordable phones from OnePlus invisibly hiding scanners into the display of their phones and I find that they work pretty much as well as physical scanners that were once on the back or side of the phone. It's not a step backward to put this technology in -- it would simply be acknowledging that maybe the world needs a different solution to what we had before -- which can be said of so many things.
A bigger zoom and larger sensor for iPhone 14's camera
The iPhone 13 Pro camera is superb, taking beautiful images in the daylight and capturing bright, sharp shots in the middle of the night. It's one of the best cameras you can find on a phone, but I'm a photographer, so naturally I'm going to demand more.
The main thing I want here is a bigger zoom. Yes, Apple upped the zoom level to 3x with the iPhone 13 Pro, but that still pales against the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's whopping 10x zoom. Zoom lenses are superb tools for finding interesting compositions in your environment, for getting up close on those details that would simply be lost if you took your shot with a wide angle lens. Even the 4x zoom on Google's new Pixel 6 Pro was enough of a jump to allow for more telephoto-style images.
Captured with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which also has a 10x zoom, it's clear to see how much benefit there can be from having a longer zoom option.
Patrick Holland/CNETBut while we're on the camera, I'm always keen to see overall improvements in quality. So let's also slap an even bigger image sensor in there -- maybe a 1-inch size as we've seen on Sony's recent Xperia Pro I, or hell, let's go APS-C or full frame, if we're dreaming. The bigger the sensor, the better the overall image quality and with each generation of camera upgrade we've had, the less I need to take my camera out with me.
Maybe with the iPhone 14 I can just sell my DSLR and shoot solely on my phone.
The iPhone is the only one out of these three that doesn't use USB-C.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETUSB-C charging to replace Lightning
Apple has adopted USB-C for almost all of its products now from the iPads to the MacBooks to the AirPods. The iPhone still uses Apple's legacy Lightning port, which makes it the only device on my desk I need to find a different cable for when I want to charge it. All my Android review phones, my tablets and even my mouse and keyboard plug into my USB-C power cables and the iPhone feels somewhat outdated as a result.
But Apple has always had its own ways of charging. When everyone else was using Micro-USB, Apple had that massive 32-pin connector first seen on the iPod and that was a pain, too. So expecting Apple to step in line with the rest of the industry feels about as likely as asking giraffes to maybe try having shorter necks like the rest of us, OK? You too, swans. Donkeys, you're fine, you've got enough going on.
But what I don't want is for Apple to remove the port entirely, which was rumored when it launched MagSafe charging. Because then, I still need a dedicated charging cable. Plus MagSafe charges slower than the Lightning cable and doesn't currently support data transfer. You see, it wouldn't work. So USB-C it is. Thanks. In the meantime, at least I can make use of any USB-C to Lightning cable to get at least half of the convenience I'm looking for.
Foldable phones are great for making a big screen fit into a smaller body.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETA foldable iPhone 14
Foldable phones have been the biggest physical design revolution we've seen in phones since basically the advent of the smartphone. But they've not really caught on -- possibly because of their high prices but also possibly because they just don't really offer a compelling reason to make use of that fold.
But Apple has a decent track record of taking an existing innovation and actually finding a way to make it work well enough to have an impact in our lives. Apple didn't invent tablets, but the iPad was the first one that really showed how useful they can be, and now it's basically the only tablet that matters. And I like foldable phones. They're fun and they allow a big screen that's great for videos and photo editing to fold in half and be much more pocket friendly.
So I'd love to see Apple's take on this genre of device and see what its team would do with a product that's halfway between an iPhone and an iPad. Maybe not as the only phone it launches, but maybe as an additional one, called the iPhone 14 Fold that sits above the iPhone 14 Pro. And while there are only a few foldable iPhone rumors to suggest that this will ever be a real thing, I'd put good money on a working Apple folding phone concept sitting somewhere right now deep down in its research labs on that spaceship campus.
The iPhone 13 Pro is one of the top phones you can buy right now.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETBut those are my top five things I'd like to see from the iPhone 14. Some of them are more credible than others but who knows what the rumors will point to over the coming months.
For more, check out all the iPhone 14 rumors we've heard so far including its release date and price. You can also take a look at the best features in iOS 16. Plus, we break down the best iPhones you can buy right now.
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Apple has set the date for its latest iPhone's debut. The new device, which is expected to be called the iPhone 14 and include an always-on display, will be unveiled on Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET). Rumors suggest the new iPhone lineup will nix the Mini in favor of a new Max model, joining the rumored iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, and potentially increase the price by about $100 over last year's. Apple may also have plans to excise the iPhone 14's notch in favor of a hole-and-pill-shaped front camera, at least for the Pro models.
In addition to the iPhone 14, Apple's may also use the event to unveil the Apple Watch Series 8, which will reportedly look similar to last year's model but have more health features such as a fever sensor, as well as improved durability.
The tech giant has invited press to its Apple Park headquarters in California for the event, though it'll also offer a livestream on Apple.com and other streaming services. As is typical, Apple didn't say much in its invitation about its upcoming iPhone event. The invitation shows an Apple logo seemingly set in a night sky, suggesting potential camera improvements or last year's rumored satellite emergency calling. The image looks like something we might see from the James Webb Space Telescope, whose stunning photos have already begun changing how we see the cosmos since first being released earlier this summer. In its announcement, Apple included the teaser words "Far out."
Read more: How to Watch the iPhone 14, Apple Watch Series 8 Launch
The new features for both the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch 8 may help Apple stand out from Samsung and other device makers during what is expected to be heightened competition this year. People have been cutting back on tech purchases, leading to surprisingly low sales reports from chipmaker Intel, as well as sudden ad business shortfalls for Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta. And they're not alone.
Our collective confidence in the economy has fallen through the floor, thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic mixed with continual inflation and a looming recession. One survey from the University of Michigan found that consumer sentiment is at its lowest point in at least 70 years.
That means Apple will have to fight even harder to win over new iPhone owners. Samsung, for its part, made Apple's job a little easier by announcing its flagship Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 at their standard prices of $1,800 and $1,000, respectively, earlier this month. It also raised the prices of its Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro by $30 apiece.
Apple so far isn't acting worried. Over the past couple of years, Apple's notched its biggest revenue and profits each holiday shopping season, largely on the popularity of 2021's iPhone 13 and 2020's iPhone 12. Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously cited the advanced cameras, long battery life and well-regarded software as reasons people continue choosing iPhones. But he also said that 5G, the super-fast wireless technology Apple began using two years ago, is likely to push even more people to upgrade.
"5G has been an accelerant," he said when speaking to investors on a conference call last month. He added that although the technology is spreading through some places, like China, the EU and US, other parts of the world haven't begun using it as much. And so as 5G expands, he said, "I think there's reason to be optimistic."
While the iPhone will be a key product we see at Apple's event this year, and likely what most people focus their attention on, the company's expected to have other devices to show off. Those include new Mac computers with upgraded chips and new iPads.
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