Apple reportedly plans two iPhone 14 Max models, mini is no more

Ming-Chi Kuo, a prolific source of Apple leaks and analysis, just posted fresh predictions about the upcoming iPhone “14” lineup. According to Kuo, Apple plans to unveil four iPhones in the second half of the year with substantial changes in available sizes and internals.

If you are a fan of the iPhone mini form factor, there is bad news for you: Kuo says Apple does not plan to release another small iPhone. Your only choice would be the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, or the recently released iPhone SE3 (you can see how it compares with iPhone SE2 and iPhone 8). Instead of shipping a new mini iPhone, Apple reportedly wants to release a cheaper Max model with a bigger screen.

Here is how the alleged iPhone “14” series may look:

• iPhone “14” with a 6.1-inch screen.
• iPhone “14 Max” with a 6.7-inch screen.
• iPhone “14 Pro” with a 6.1-inch screen.
• iPhone “14 Pro Max” with a 6.7-inch screen.

A new cheaper Max model is not the only peculiar titbit about the upcoming iPhones. Kuo claims Apple does not plan to equip standard iPhone “14” models with a newer processor. Instead, the company would leave them hanging with the previous-year A15 chip. Only Pro models would upgrade to a better “A16” CPU.

Another upcoming hardware difference is RAM. Although all four models are to get 6 GB of RAM, iPhone “14” and “14 Max” would use LPDDR4X chips. iPhone “14 Pro” and “14 Pro Max” would get faster and more efficient LPDDR5 RAM. The iPhone 13 and 13 mini currently use 4 GB of RAM, and Pro variants offer 6 GB of RAM.

Previously, all iPhone models in a single lineup offered the same chips and performance, with main changes focusing on RAM. Now it appears that Apple wants to increase the distinction between “regular” and Pro models by giving the latter a better CPU. Of course, chip shortage may be another reason Apple considers leaving less expensive iPhone “14” variants with the A15 CPU.