The iPhone 14 and its three companion devices (14 Pro, 14 Max, and 14 Pro Max) will launch next month. Apple has kept quiet about the details and even the existence of the new handsets, but even without official announcements, we’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect.

This year’s iPhone update is set to be unprecedentedly risky, with one form factor removed and another added, greater than ever differences between the Pro and non-Pro models, and sky-high prices. Some people are bound to be unhappy with the things that have changed; others will be furious about the things that have stayed the same.

But there are also plenty of reasons to be cheerful. In this article we explain why we’re excited about the launch of the iPhone 14.

The beginning of the end for the notch

At first sight, most Apple fans hated the notch, the inconvenient lozenge scooped out of the top of their iPhone X screens. After a while we learned to tolerate it, but it was never a comfortable relationship.

Which is why we’re pleased to inform you that the iPhone 14 Pro (but not the vanilla iPhone 14, unfortunately) will be the first post-notch iPhone. Its front-facing sensors will be contained instead (according to multiple reliable sources) in a subtler “hole and pill” pair of apertures.

It’s not perfect. Obviously what we really want is an all-screen design with sensors concealed under the glass. But this is a very welcome compromise that obstructs less of the display and looks nicer, and more up to date, than the increasingly elderly-looking notch.

Always-on screen

In 2019, with the launch of the Apple Watch Series 5, Apple introduced its first always-on display: one that continues to show essential information, albeit in a simplified and dimmed form, even when the device has entered its idle state. Three years later, the feature is set to arrive on the iPhone 14 Pro.

The timing should work out well, with the new launch coming as Apple allows iPhone owners to significantly customize their Lock Screens for the first time. You’ll be able to choose which widgets are essential enough to appear on the iPhone’s ‘sleep’ Lock Screen–and it looks like there will be sleep versions of Apple’s wallpapers, too.

Here’s how the always-on screen is likely to work.

This will probably be a feature that’s limited to the Pro models, but while we’re talking screens, there could be good news for the non-Pro buyers too: ProMotion is expected to appear on all new models this year.

A whole lotta megapixels

Ming-Chi Kuo reckons Apple is about to upgrade the wide-angle camera lens in its Pro iPhones from the current 12MP to 48MP. Android fans have got used to some faintly silly numbers when it comes to camera specs, but that’s a startling increase for Apple, which has sat on 12MP for years.

Foundry

Apple has always championed experience over specs, but it’s hard not to get a little bit excited about a sudden quadrupling of the megapixel rating. Considering how good the iPhone 13 Pro camera is at 12MP, this is a tantalising prospect, with leaks claiming performance is amazing in bright light.

Reports also claim the rear camera will be capable of shooting 8K video, at least on the Pro models, while the front camera will gain autofocus and a wider aperture: f/1.9 instead of f/2.2.

A big phone for non-Pro buyers

Apple fans experienced a lot of big feelings when they heard that the iPhone mini line would be discontinued this year. The 13 mini delivered world-beating performance in an elegant and ultra-portable chassis, and although the head says Apple is right to kill it off, the heart will miss the little engine that could.

But when Apple closes a door, it opens a window, and we’re unashamedly excited about the new iPhone 14 Max that will replace the mini in the line-up. In the past, iPhone buyers who wanted the very biggest screen were obliged to buy a handset with flagship specs in every other department, and the Pro Max models have been almost notoriously expensive. Now mobile gamers and film watchers can compromise slightly on the camera or RAM allocation (or the hole + pill design or always-on screen) and buy an up-to-date model with a whopping screen at a relatively sensible price.

Time will tell if this really is what the market is looking for, but it seems like a more plausible target audience than the “tiny hands, huge wallets” crowd that were supposed to buy the iPhone mini.

A new color!

This is pretty shallow, but every year we get excited about the new color Apple is going to add to its iPhone line-up. The non-Pro line gained pink in 2021, a beautiful dark blue in 2020 and purple in 2019; the Pro models have gained and lost various greens and blues in recent years, while the gold option never seems to be quite the same.

What will Apple add in 2022? The Pantone colors for this fall include bold shades of orange, red, pink, yellow and green, so expect the iPhone 14 to offer something bright. The iPhone 14 Pro, meanwhile, is expected to come in purple.

For all the latest rumors ahead of September’s launch event, check out our regularly updated guide to the iPhone 14.