The iPhone 14 series will debut a new display design, the first significant update since the iPhone X’s introduction five years ago. However, the so-called pill-and-hole display won’t be available on all iPhone 14 models. The same happened in 2017 when the iPhone X and iPhone 8 series rocked different designs.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will stay on the current notch design seen on the iPhone 13 series. The pill-and-hole notch replacement is coming only to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
That’s what all iPhone 14 rumors claim, and the leaks seem to be unanimous. But Apple will return to iPhone design uniformity next year, according to a well-known insider. The iPhone 15 phones will all feature pill-and-hole displays, just like the iPhone 14 Pro models.
What will the iPhone 14 Pro look like?
We’ve seen plenty of renders imagining what the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will look like with the new pill-and-hole design. The following image is one such example. We’re looking at a screen with two cutouts at the top, where the notch used to be. The first hole has the shape of a pill, and it will house the Face ID components. The second opening is circular, covering the selfie camera.
Both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro Max will have slightly taller screens as a result. It’s not the just pill-and-hole that’s impacting screen size. The Pro versions will also feature thinner bezels. The display size differences will be minor, however.
Display analyst Ross Young listed the size differences on Twitter, indicating that they’ll be negligible. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will have identical displays with the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. That’s 6.06-inch and 6.68-inch, respectively. The pill-and-notch display for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will measure 6.12-inch and 6.69-inch, respectively.
Therefore, pill-and-hole or notch, it’s likely Apple will round the screen sizes to 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch for the iPhone 14 series.
The same Young noted on Twitter that he expects the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Max to have the same sizes as the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Put differently, the screen industry analyst expects the cheaper iPhone 15 models coming in 2023 to rock screens pill-and-hole screens like the iPhone 14 Pro. That’s the only way for them to match the sizes of the iPhone 14 Pro.
The pill-and-hole display will be a temporary solution
Young also had a different tweet out that further reinforces the idea that the iPhone 14 Pro’s pill-and-notch screen is coming to all iPhone 15 models.
The schematic above offers a roadmap for the iPhone’s screen design changes in the coming years. If Young’s information is correct, Apple will continue to upgrade the iPhone display design every two years, with the Pro models being first in line to get the changes.
The 2024 iPhone 16 series should introduce the first under-panel Face ID system, which means they’ll feature hole-punch displays similar to what’s available on Android right now. Apple will still use the iPhone 14 pill-end-hole design on the cheaper iPhone 16 models.
Then, the 2026 iPhone 18 series will debut the first iPhone display with no notch or pill-and-hole cutouts. Both Face ID and the selfie camera will sit under the screen. But the cheaper iPhone 18 models will feature hole-punch screens.
However, Apple’s iPhone display design above is an unconfirmed rumor at this stage. We’ll have to wait until next year to see whether the iPhone 14 pill-and-hole display will trickle down to the regular iPhone 15 models.
More iPhone coverage: For more iPhone news, visit our iPhone 14 guide.
