The iPhone 14 line is fast approaching, with four new Apple handsets expected to launch on September 7. Thanks to leaks and rumors we have a good idea of what they might offer too – and what they might not.
Key upgrades that we’ve heard about include a punch-hole camera in place of a notch on the Pro models, leading to a more Android-like design than we’ve previously seen from Apple.
That’s a good thing as far as we’re concerned, but there are lots of other Android features the iPhone 14 line could borrow too. Below we’ve listed the ones we’d most like to see – though for the most part they’re not things we’re actually expecting.
1. 10x optical zoom
This is a feature we want to see on more phones period – both Android ones and iPhone. Currently, no iPhones have this and only a handful of Android handsets do – most notably the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
It’s a really great feature though, letting you capture images that are simply impossible with shorter range zoom – or would be severely compromised by using digital zoom.
Current iPhones top out at 3x optical zoom and while there is talk of Apple working on improved optical zoom, leaks suggest we won’t see this until the iPhone 15 – and that it will top out at 5x.
2. Truly fast charging
Every phone in the iPhone 13 line tops out at under 30W fast charging, which by 2022 standards makes them pretty slow. In fairness, their main competitors – Samsung’s Galaxy phones – also tend to charge slowly, but many other Android phones don’t.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro for example offers 120W charging, which is enough to fully juice the phone up in just 18 minutes. Even wirelessly it can manage 50W, and while that’s one of the speediest examples, a bunch of other phones from Xiaomi, OnePlus and other brands come close. In fact, the OnePlus 10T can manage even more, topping out at 150W.
We don’t need 150W charging from the iPhone 14, but would, say, 50W or 80W be so much to ask for?
3. An under-display camera
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is one of a small but growing number of Android phones that have an under-display camera, and it’s something that iPhones – with their massive notches – could really benefit from.
Sure, it’s looking likely that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will ditch the notch and instead have a pair of camera cut-outs, but these look like they’ll still take up a lot of visible space, so hiding those components under the screen would be ideal.
4. A USB-C port
There have been whispers that Apple will soon abandon its proprietary Lightning port in place of USB-C, and that day can’t come soon enough.
It’s the industry standard, and with good reason, as it’s faster and better than Lightning. Sadly though it’s not likely that Apple will make the change this year.
5. An under-display fingerprint scanner
As well as an under-display camera we’d also like the iPhone 14 line to offer an under-display fingerprint scanner. Yes, Face ID works well, and we don’t want that to go anywhere, but there are rare occasions when it fails, so having a speedy alternative would be desirable.
Some people also just prefer fingerprint scanners, and – with the exception of the Pixel 6 – most modern Android phones have slick, speedy, secure ones, which are completely hidden under the display, which is ideal.
6. A big battery
Apple has never been one to put massive batteries in its phones, with even the large iPhone 13 Pro Max only having a 4,352mAh battery. That’s despite similar size Android phones tending to have 5,000mAh juice packs, so it’s quite a difference.
Until recently iPhones unsurprisingly therefore didn’t tend to offer great life, but actually the iPhone 13 Pro Max lasts a long time between charges. Imagine though the sort of longevity Apple could achieve with a 5,000mAh battery.
It would be great to see, but while a battery size bump is looking possible for the iPhone 14 line, we’d be incredibly surprised if any of them got that much of an increase.
