iPhone 14 camera cutout may not be the shape that's expected

The iPhone 14 Pro has long been rumored to be switching from a notch to an i-shaped cutout, but a late rumor suggests something different.

Apple is expected to introduce an iPhone 14 Pro that puts its Face ID, and other technology, under one hole-punch and one pill-shaped display cutout. Now, however, a leaker says that these two parts will be made to look like a single, if smaller, notch.

That's specifically when the iPhone display is powered on. It's presumed that Apple may turn off pixels from the region between the two sensors, making them appear as one.

Presently, if an iPhone screen is not powered on, it shows nothing. But it is separately predicted that Apple will introduce always-on to the iPhone 14 range.

The same leaker also claims that once the screen is on, Apple may yet adjust what pixels are turned on or off. It could do so in order to better suit what is being displayed on the screen, such as by slightly shrinking a video image.

If the video being played is shrunk down on the screen by a few pixels, that space could be left black most of the time, but also then be used to display notifications.

The leak originally came from a single source, but MacRumors said on Wednesday that it has subsequently identified what may be Foxconn employees discussing the feature online.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has stated that he also believes the display cutouts will look like a single, wide pill shape.

This is true. It looks like one wide pill shaped cutout. Having that separation would look odd during use. https://t.co/SrAtYQsENx
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) August 31, 2022

If the rumors of the new cutouts for Face ID and other systems are true, it will mark five years since Apple switched to the notch. The iPhone X was the first to adopt the notch and so abandon the once-familiar home button.

Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone 14 Pro at its September 7 event, which will also see the launch of the Apple Watch Series 8.

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10 Comments

ericthehalfbee 4489 comments · 13 Years

About 2 years ago

The cutout in the examples above is worse than a notch.

If you took the exact same sized cutout and moved it up to the edge so it’s a smaller notch you get more usable screen space. The screen above/around the cutout is literally wasted space that can’t display any content. What benefit does it bring, except to appease the people who whine about the notch?

avon b7 8008 comments · 20 Years

ericthehalfbee said:

The cutout in the examples above is worse than a notch.

If you took the exact same sized cutout and moved it up to the edge so it’s a smaller notch you get more usable screen space. The screen above/around the cutout is literally wasted space that can’t display any content. What benefit does it bring, except to appease the people who whine about the notch?

You kind of defeat your own point here.

Both notches and cutouts take up usable screen space. The alternative to that is a forehead, moving everything into the frame via a curvature (frame bump) or under the screen (technology which isn't ready for the mass market yet). So it is a given that space will be lost in the current way manufacturers deal with the problem.

In that scenario the size of the lost space comes into its own, not the chosen format. Apple's notches have always been huge. The cutout option shown here looks smaller than the notch on any previous iPhone and, perhaps more importantly, looks less dated.

To me it looks more elegant.

Personally, I have no usage issue with either approach although I would prefer everything in the frame.

M68000 868 comments · 7 Years

avon b7 said:

ericthehalfbee said:

The cutout in the examples above is worse than a notch.

If you took the exact same sized cutout and moved it up to the edge so it’s a smaller notch you get more usable screen space. The screen above/around the cutout is literally wasted space that can’t display any content. What benefit does it bring, except to appease the people who whine about the notch?

You kind of defeat your own point here.

Both notches and cutouts take up usable screen space. The alternative to that is a forehead, moving everything into the frame via a curvature (frame bump) or under the screen (technology which isn't ready for the mass market yet). So it is a given that space will be lost in the current way manufacturers deal with the problem.

In that scenario the size of the lost space comes into its own, not the chosen format. Apple's notches have always been huge. The cutout option shown here looks smaller than the notch on any previous iPhone and, perhaps more importantly, looks less dated.

To me it looks more elegant.

Personally, I have no usage issue with either approach although I would prefer everything in the frame.

Did I just read this right? The notch looks dated??? After only a few years? Just how many practical form factors and designs are available in the devices we call smartphones? When the 12 series went back to square edges, there were some people saying it looks modern. Yet, that was already done on early iPhones…

my opinion is the notch looks futuristic and does have some symmetry where it is. Unlike some things going on with various phones.

omasou 632 comments · 7 Years

ericthehalfbee said:

The cutout in the examples above is worse than a notch.

If you took the exact same sized cutout and moved it up to the edge so it’s a smaller notch you get more usable screen space. The screen above/around the cutout is literally wasted space that can’t display any content. What benefit does it bring, except to appease the people who whine about the notch?

Guessing they cannot move the notch/pill up to align w/the edge of the display b/c the board/electronic underneath do not allow it.

Turning of the pixels makes sense and is way less distracting than having two cutouts.

Showing the display above the pill, could be argued to make the cutout "appear" smaller than the previous year's notch.

All this is so silly.

ranson 87 comments · 15 Years

"If the rumors of the new cutouts for Face ID and other systems are true, it will mark five years since Apple switched to the notch."

?? So if the rumors are false, it won't mark 5 years? WTF is this sentence even trying to say? No matter what happens, they switched to the Notch 5 years ago.