The iPhone 14 lineup looks set to bring the biggest change to Apple’s lineup in years. This is for several reasons. First, your iPhone mini could be dead and being replaced with a new iPhone 14 Max model.
In addition, as the iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Pro preview shows, we can see the biggest differences of all between the regular and Pro lineup. So what can you pay for all this? We’ve only seen one reliable iPhone 14 price rumor so far from LeaksApplePro, which doesn’t have a track record, but the numbers are very interesting and seem reasonable.
First let’s dive into what the price rumor has to say:
iPhone 14 price rumored
- iPhone 14: $799 (same as iPhone 13)
- iPhone 14 Max: $899 (new model)
- iPhone 14 Pro: $1,099 (increment $100)
- iPhone 14 Pro Max: $1,199 ($100 increase)
The price list above was published in late March by LeaksApplePro on iDropNews as part of a report on pricing and feature differences for the iPhone 14 range. If you’re not following all the rumors, the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max is expected to replace the 5.4-inch iPhone mini. We’ve seen a number of reports of Apple dropping the iPhone mini in exchange for the iPhone 14 Max, due to slow sales of small phones.
The iPhone 13 mini starts at $699, so jumping to $899 seems like a lot. But the iPhone 14 Max will give you the same screen size as the iPhone 14 Pro Max for hundreds less. And if LeaksApplePro’s price predictions prove accurate, we might be talking about a $300 delta. The regular iPhone 14 should still cost $799 the same as the iPhone 13.
So what about the supposed rise in the price of the iPhone 14 Pro from $999 to $1,099? First, let me just say this is going to be a tough sell, as the economy is on a shaky ground due to inflation. But based on the rumors I’ve heard about the iPhone 14 Pro, we could be talking about a lot of upgrades between the Regular and the Pro line.
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max should still have three cameras (including the telephoto lens) compared to the two lenses of the regular iPhone 14 models. And it wouldn’t be surprising to see Apple retain an exclusive ProMotion 120Hz display for the iPhone 14 Pros. But we’ve heard about other upgrades that could be unique to the Pro and Pro Max.
This includes a new notch-free design for the iPhone 14 Pro series that will replace the notch with a punch-hole and a pill-shaped slot. The hope is that you get a more full screen experience. In addition, the iPhone 14 Pro lineup could get a new 48MP camera (up from 12MP) with the ability to shoot 8K video.
Last but not least, the iPhone 14 Pro series could exclusively have USB-C connectivity, leaving the Lightning connector in the past. This is said to happen to accommodate high-speed file transfers, which will be appreciated by professionals who work with large photo and video files.
Another rumor suggests that the iPhone 14 Pro is getting a new powerful A16 processor and faster RAM, so there may be a noticeable performance gap between the pros and the iPhone 14. In fact, one rumor says that Apple will continue with the A15 Bionic chip on iPhone 14 and maybe rename it.
iPhone 14 pricing: Outlook
Is all of the above worth the rumored price hike? In a world where prices for everything from gas to groceries haven’t gone up, I’d say yes. But we are in a difficult situation now financially for a lot of people.
Perhaps that’s why Apple is exploring a new iPhone subscription plan for its devices — to help mitigate the sting that potentially expensive iPhone 14 models can take.
My opinion is that the iPhone 14 Max may ultimately be the best value of the bunch. If you can get a big screen, good performance, and cameras for $899, it might look like a bargain next to the potentially expensive Pro phones.