Leaker claims to have hands-on iPhone 14 details from developers

A leaker based in China says they have details about the iPhone 14, including speed, colors, and storage — and what is claimed to be an "exclusive" MagSafe accessory.

Leaker "yeux1122" has most recently claimed that an M2 iPad Pro with a larger screen is coming in October. Previously the leaker has said that the iPhone 14 Pro will have 8GB RAM, where other sources say all iPhone 14 models will get 6GB RAM.

Now in a blog, he or she claims (in translation) to have one or more US developer sources.

"Some of them already have iPhone 14 basic models," writes the leaker, "as well as pro models of finished mass-produced products."

Machine translation means that certain details remain unclear, but the leaker does say that "storage space is the same as that of the iPhone 13 series." Also, "A16 [processor] performance is a few percent of what it was in development tests," but performance in thermal management are improving that as it goes through production.

That improvement during production is the kind of detail that would presumably not be clear to a developer who gets an iPhone 14 whenever Apple decides. Similarly, it seems unlikely that developers testing hardware would be told about pricing details, but the leaker claims at least some have been.

"Prices may be in a completely different direction than expected," continues the poster.

Previously, it's been generally assumed that the iPhone 14 Pro models will cost more than their iPhone 13 Pro equivalents. That's not expected to be the case with the non-Pro versions.

The claims also include that the new iPhones will support "30W wired fast charging for the first time," which does fit with other reports. "However, there is no change in the wireless charging speed."

There is, according to the leaker, a change in MagSafe. "MagSafe magnetic force is stronger... MagSafe exclusive battery accessory has been added." What that means isn't clear.

It's really not clear whether the leaker claims one developer source or many, except in a segment about the notch redesign. "A lot of developers say that punch holes look weird at first glance," claims the leaker, "but they look better than notch."

Colors and casing materials

According to this report, the regular iPhone 14 will come in green, purple, blue, black, white, and red. The iPhone 14 Pro will come in green, purple, silver, gold, and graphite.

What the iPhone 14 range won't come in, though, is titanium. "A prototype of the titanium housing body actually existed," continues the leaker. "However, it was dropped due to cost and manufacturing process issues."

That part of the report tallies with rumors from 2021 about a titanium iPhone 14.

All the real details will be revealed by Apple at its September 7, 2022, launch of the iPhone 14 range, and the Apple Watch Series 8.

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3 Comments

currentinterest 206 comments · 12 Years

About 2 years ago

The most interesting claim is that the iPhone 14 (not Pro) will not have a price increase, but move in an opposite direction. The single biggest innovation Apple could do would be to slide the 6.1 inch phone into the $699 price slot and price the 6.7 inch at $799. They might be able to pull it off since there is minimal change to the base iPhone 14. By keeping the A15 and much the same cameras, they may be able to pull it off. A $799 6.7 inch iPhone would be very popular.

M68000 868 comments · 7 Years

currentinterest said:

The most interesting claim is that the iPhone 14 (not Pro) will not have a price increase, but move in an opposite direction. The single biggest innovation Apple could do would be to slide the 6.1 inch phone into the $699 price slot and price the 6.7 inch at $799. They might be able to pull it off since there is minimal change to the base iPhone 14. By keeping the A15 and much the same cameras, they may be able to pull it off. A $799 6.7 inch iPhone would be very popular.

Your comment makes me wonder - does the A16 cpu cost more to manufacture than the A15? My guess would be no.

sdw2001 17459 comments · 23 Years

M68000 said:

currentinterest said:

The most interesting claim is that the iPhone 14 (not Pro) will not have a price increase, but move in an opposite direction. The single biggest innovation Apple could do would be to slide the 6.1 inch phone into the $699 price slot and price the 6.7 inch at $799. They might be able to pull it off since there is minimal change to the base iPhone 14. By keeping the A15 and much the same cameras, they may be able to pull it off. A $799 6.7 inch iPhone would be very popular.

Your comment makes me wonder - does the A16 cpu cost more to manufacture than the A15? My guess would be no.

We can just speculate, but I'd say "not likely an appreciable difference." That being said, I'd expect all components to cost more compared to last year. The chip could even be less expensive, but the phone may cost more. RAM, screen, camera, battery and even casing materials are likely up, as is transportation/shipping. If Apple can find a way to mitigate those increases through production and distribution efficiencies, that could presumably pull off a real coup by lowering the prices on some models. In fact, from a PR and market standpoint, that would be the best of both worlds for them. Lower the price on the 14 and 14 Max. Raise the price on the Pro and Pro Max. From a PR standpoint, they can say "we want to help people access our products during this inflationary time." But, they can also say "the premium market is strong." From a cost-to-build standpoint, the regular 14's will be similar to the 13's. They will get an updated design and some spec bumps, but the real upgraded hardware will go into the Pro models.