The iPhone 14 line is rapidly approaching, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max is expected to be the best, most expensive, and arguably the most interesting of the four rumored handsets.
There’s a lot to be excited about here, with talk of a significantly changed design, no notch, and significant camera upgrades, among other improvements. Indeed, if every promising leak comes true, the iPhone 14 Pro Max could be the most exciting upgrade Apple has released in years.
We’ll go over everything we’ve heard so far about this superphone, including a possible release date and price. We’ll also update this article as we learn more, so come back soon to stay up to date on everything Pro Max.
iPhone 14 Pro Max release date and price
Our best guess for the iPhone 14 Pro Max – and the rest of the iPhone 14 lineup – is September 13. We didn’t get that number out of thin air; rather, a leaker specifically mentioned it.
So far, only one source has confirmed it, so we’d take it with a grain of salt, but no other specific dates have been rumored, and September 13 makes a lot of sense, as Apple has always announced new numbered iPhones around the middle of September, and usually on a Tuesday, which September 13 is.
However, that is not when you will be able to get your hands on the phone; expect it to ship around 10 days later, most likely on Friday September 23.
However, while those dates appear to be accurate, there’s a chance they’re incorrect, especially since Chinese lockdowns have apparently pushed production back a few weeks. Apple is reportedly working to get back on track.
According to one source, we may be looking at prices similar to the iPhone 13 line, which would imply a starting price of around $1,099 / £1,049 / AU$1,849 for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Another source claims that the upcoming phone will start at $1,199 (approximately £955 / AU$1,665), which is $100 (approximately £80 / AU140) more than the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Given the number of upgrades expected for this phone, a price increase would be understandable.
iPhone 14 Pro Max design
The iPhone 14 Pro Max may not resemble any previous iPhone because Apple is reportedly removing the notch. We’ve heard this from a few different sources, the first of which dates back to September and includes the render you see below.
This image suggests a small camera cut-out in place of the notch, as seen on many Android phones. There’s also less of a camera bump on the back here, which appears to have been achieved by making the phone thicker.
The source also claims that the frame is made of titanium rather than stainless steel, which we’ve heard before.
The original leak comes from Jon Prosser, but a number of other high-profile leakers, including Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman, have stated that the iPhone 14 Pro Max will not have a notch.
However, some of the details in the render above appear to be incorrect, as instead of a single camera cut-out, a number of sources now suggest the iPhone 14 Pro Max will have two – a small punch-hole one and a larger pill-shaped one next to it. Below are leaked schematics and CAD (computer-aided design) renders that show how this might look.
One of those renders also shows a large camera bump on the back, which may be more accurate, as a leaked schematic indicates the rear camera block will be larger than on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, rather than smaller, as the initial leak stated.
iPhone 14 Pro Max display
While the iPhone 14 Pro Max appears to be a significant upgrade in many ways, its screen may not be one of them, according to Ross Young, a reliable leaker, who claims it will have a 6.68-inch 1284 x 2778 OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 458 pixels per inch. With those specifications, it would have the same display as the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
We’ve also heard from Ming-Chi Kuo that the upcoming phone will have a 6.7-inch screen, and we wouldn’t expect Apple to change the size because it’s not something the company does often.
It’s still possible that some display details, such as brightness, will change, but so far, it sounds very similar to the screen on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Except, of course, there won’t be a notch protruding from the top this time.
iPhone 14 Pro Max camera
The camera on the iPhone 14 Pro Max appears to be getting a significant upgrade, with a 48MP sensor replacing the 12MP main (wide) sensor on its predecessor. According to respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has made the claim several times, but another analyst has now echoed it.
This camera would apparently be capable of recording 8K video (up from 4K on the iPhone 13 Pro Max) and would be accompanied by two other cameras. We’ve heard less about the other two, but they could be the same as before, with a 12MP ultrawide sensor and a 12MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.
There has been some speculation about a periscope camera with 5x optical zoom, but the current consensus is that it will not be available before the iPhone 15 line next year.
iPhone 14 Pro Max specs and features
The iPhone 14 Pro Max is expected to have an A16 Bionic processor, which is not surprising given that the current model has an A15 Bionic.
It’s unclear how much of an improvement this new chipset will be. While some sources claim it will be manufactured on a 4nm or even 3nm process, down from 5nm for the A15 Bionic, the most recent leak indicates it will remain at 5nm.
Smaller numbers are better in this case, and a move to a smaller number would typically indicate a significant increase in power and/or efficiency, but even if it stays at 5nm, there will be some improvements.
Meanwhile, depending on who you ask, the RAM could remain at 6GB or increase to 8GB. However, we’ve heard the 6GB claim more than once, so that seems more likely for the time being.
Storage, on the other hand, could see a significant increase, potentially reaching a whopping 2TB. That’s twice as much as the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Another, less likely, change is the use of an eSIM instead of a physical SIM. Current iPhones have both, and if Apple makes this change, there will almost certainly be versions of the iPhone 14 Pro Max that support physical SIM cards, as not all mobile networks currently support eSIMs.
iPhone 14 Pro Max battery
According to one source, the iPhone 14 Pro Max may have a larger battery than its predecessor. This is an encouraging claim, given that the iPhone 13 Pro Max already has an excellent battery life.
However, we’ve also heard – from a less reliable source – that its battery capacity may be slightly lower at 4,323mAh, down from 4,352mAh in the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
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Meanwhile, there have been rumblings of a switch from Lightning to USB-C in the realm of unlikely features. This is likely to happen eventually, especially now that the EU has made it a requirement beginning in 2024, but we doubt it will happen on the iPhone 14 line.
There has also been talk of a future portless iPhone that only supports wireless charging, but it doesn’t appear that Apple will go that far for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.