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First iPhone 15 Leak Drops – It’s About The Notch…

Apple’s iPhone 15 will launch in 2023 which is a ways off yet. But we’ve already got our first iPhone 15 leak through, and it concerns the notch…


The inclusion of the notch on Apple’s iPhone X way back when was done to include its then new and highly innovative FACE ID sensor.

The FACE ID notch was divisive, of course – changes always are. Plenty of iPhone users weren’t too keen on it, while others – myself included – didn’t mind it too much. But since the release of the iPhone X, there has been talk of Apple killing off the notch.

Since then, however, there have been 15 different iPhones released and they all used a notch, save for Apple’s iPhone SE which was based on the iPhone 8’s design.

But the notch has remained in place ever since and while there is talk of it going on Apple’s Pro and Pro Max models this year, it will not be until 2023 that the notch is fully removed from Apple’s phones.

iPhone 15 Will Feature Completely Notch-Less Design

Display expert, Ross Young, claims Apple will not only remove the notch on all of its iPhone 15 models but also reduce the size of the hole that replaces it. On this year’s iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, Apple will switch out the notch for a pill-shaped hole, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will use a notch, just like the iPhone 13, 12, 11, and XS, and XR, and X.

iPhone 15 LeakPin

Ross claims the new home of FACE ID on the iPhone 15 will be even smaller than it is on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Young claims by the time the iPhone 15 gets a release – September 2023 – FACE ID and the iPhone’s front-facing camera will occupy such a small amount of space, the phone’s frontage will be almost entirely a display.

Of course, this is all conjecture at this point – the iPhone 14 isn’t even official yet, let alone the iPhone 15. But if Apple does change up the design of its iPhones, one of the simplest ways of doing this – and making its newer phones look “different” – would be the removal of the notch. All iPhones from the iPhone X up have used a notch, so having an iPhone without a notch would immediately make that particular phone look markedly different.

This is not, of course, anything new – Android phones like Samsung’s Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S22 have been using hole-punch front-facing camera modules for years. Apple is just dragging its heels because squaring away FACE ID inside a smaller space requires quite a bit of engineering and that costs money. And the more money you spend on R&D, the lower your profit margins.

To be frank, Apple DOES invest heavily in its iPhone technology but the company seldom messes with the design of the phone too much which makes scaling up production simpler. If all the phones look more or less the same, you have fewer potential issues to worry about. But killing off the notch on certain models, if this does indeed happen, will make the iPhone 14’s production less straightforward than the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13’s.

You can check out all the latest iPhone 14 news, leaks, and coverage for a broader look at what Apple is poised to release later on this year.

Richard Goodwin

Richard Goodwin has been working as a tech journalist for over 10 years. He has written for Den of Geek, Fortean Times, IT PRO, PC Pro, ALPHR, and many other technology sites. He is the editor and owner of KnowYourMobile.

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