In a tweet, display analyst Ross Young claims that the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models will have a hole-punch cutout alongside a pill-shaped cutout, and the former will not be concealed behind the display layer.
The analyst for Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) claims that the new design would place a conventional hole-punch cutout on the left-hand side of a pill-shaped cutout, creating a unique layout that would help the iPhone 14 Pro models stand out from the sea of Android devices with different styles of hole-punch cutouts for the front-facing camera.
We now believe Apple will have a hole + pill design on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. The smaller hole will not be invisible…The two hole concept will be unique to Apple, like the notch, not similar to all the pill models from Huawei…Let's see those new renders pic.twitter.com/Udt8cTKzPZ
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) January 12, 2022
Previous rumors from the likes of Jon Prosser and Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that Apple would do away with the bathtub notch, at least on the iPhone 14 Pro models. However, those rumors indicated that Apple would opt for either a hole-punch cutout or a pill-shaped one for the front camera. However, Young is only the second to mention the possibility of Apple’s unique implementation. The other speculation came from an anonymous Twitter account in September.
iPhone 2022 will likely to have this design. Camera on the right. FaceID system on the left. This one is view from behind. LTPO
Two type they are testing: 6,1” and a 6,7”
FaceID.if they can put it under screen, they would wait to put camera down too instead of leave one up (3) pic.twitter.com/ov5XjKXF8C— ShrimpApplePro 🍤 ずっと真夜中でいいのに (@VNchocoTaco) September 9, 2021
Corroborating this older rumor, we believe that the pill cutout on the right would house the hardware required to enable Face ID while the circular hole on the left would be for the selfie camera unit. Note that the image in the tweet above is the inside of the display, so iPhone 14 would have the circular cutout on the right-hand side and the pill-shaped cutout to its left when viewed right-side-up.
Our Take
In theory, the idea of two distinct cutouts seems to serve the purpose of distinguishing the iPhone 14 from other smartphones, but not much else. Moreover, we could not think of any use for the screen space between the two cutouts and above them. The area would be wasted, and app developers would have to optimize apps so menu items and names aren’t hidden behind the cutouts. It’s a weird concept, but if Apple could nuke the headphone jack, it could go this route too.
Do you think Apple would implement such a cutout design on a production-spec iPhone, even if it isn’t the iPhone 14? We would love to read your opinions in the comments.
