Apple is rumored to be ditching the notch in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max in favor of a pill-shaped cutout and a space for the selfie cam, and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published a patent application that shows Here’s how the company can do that, according to patent Apple (via 9to5Mac).
The patent application covers several possible variations of a device that combines a camera, an infrared light emitter, and a “light folding element” that can redirect IR light. The app explains how a light-folded projector can be used to reduce the footprint of these components, leaving more display area on the phone.
The notch currently houses a lot of technology, including a selfie camera, an infrared camera, a depth sensor, and a dot projector, and Apple already shrunk the notch by 20 percent with the iPhone 13 lineup last year. But with this patent, Apple is saying that it may organize some of that technology in a way that allows it to reduce the size of the notch.
Here’s an excerpt from the patent claims description in case you’re curious (and we’ve included the application at the end of this article in case you want to flip through):
That said, the USPTO publishing this application does not guarantee that the technology will appear in Apple devices. But there have been some other hints that point to a significant redesigned notch area for the next Pro iPhone.
Perhaps the best evidence is that Apple whisperer Mark Gurman has pointed out that Apple is moving towards pill-shaped cutouts and hole punch selfie cams. And Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported on a no-notch Pro iPhone 14 just days before the iPhone 13 hits store shelves. But some Twitter accounts that have been known to leak phone information in the past have recently shared some interesting new images that could reveal what the new notch area looks like on a real phone, as reported by MacRumors. .
Twitter user “duanrui”, who posted images on Twitter titled the iPhone 12 mini before Apple announced it publicly, tweeted pictures of the tablet cutout and selfie cam punch hole on the iPhone 14 Pro. Take these with a grain of salt – Duanrui says in his profile that most of his content is reposted from Chinese social media, so it’s unclear where they are from – but at the very least, the images reveal it That rumor is what the new design might look like.
And Ice Universe posted an image described as “iPhone 14 Pro dummy”. Note that the pill in this image appears to be of a slightly different design than the one shared by Duanrui, as there are two clear holes in the middle of the pill.
Luckily, we won’t have to wait too long to see if Apple is actually turning up the notch and if so, what the results could look like. The company is hosting its next product event on September 7, where it is widely expected to announce the entire iPhone 14 lineup.