The iPhone 14 is one of 2022's most anticipated smartphones. When Apple's latest handset finally arrives, will it come with a notch? The notch has been a design staple of the iPhone since the iPhone X. Unsightly as it may be, the notch is what allows Face ID to work on any iPhone without a Home button. Holding a front-facing camera, flood illuminator, infrared camera, and a dot projector, there's a lot going on at the top of your iPhone screen.

But even Apple seems to be growing tired of the notch. Last year's iPhone 13 reduced the notch for the first time since its introduction in 2017. By moving the speaker grille further up and readjusting some of the other components, the iPhone 13 notch is 20 percent smaller than any notch that's come before it. The notch is certainly still there, but it's nowhere near as distracting.

Related: iPhone 14 Pro Rumored To Come With A Pill AND A Hole-Punch

As exciting as the iPhone 13's smaller notch was, Apple could be preparing even grander changes for the iPhone 14. According to the latest leaks and rumors, the iPhone 14 won't have a notch at all. Seriously! Five years after the notch made its debut, the iPhone 14 is expected to be the model that kills the notch. That's not to say the display won't have any cutouts or imperfections in it, but the notch as we know it is most likely going away.

The iPhone 14 May Ditch The Notch For Hole-Punch Cutouts

CAD render of iPhone 14 Pro

Instead of a notch, the iPhone 14 will likely feature hole-punch cutouts for the front-facing camera and Face ID sensors. This is something we've seen on other smartphones for years now. The Galaxy S22, Pixel 6, OnePlus 10 Pro, and dozens of other handsets all have a small cutout for their selfie cameras. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a whole lot less distracting than a large line across the middle of the screen.

The only catch is that — instead of a single hole-punch cutout — the iPhone 14 may have two of them. The latest CAD renders of the iPhone 14 Pro show two cutouts in the display, including a small rectangle and a circle next to it. This makes sense considering all of the sensors required to make Face ID work, but the switch to two cutouts instead of a single notch could take some getting used to.

It's also worth mentioning that this new hole-punch design is only expected for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Apple's cheaper iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max (the version replacing the iPhone mini) will likely still have the notch we've come to love/hate over the years. 2023's iPhone 15 series may remove the notch from every version, but at least for the iPhone 14, you'll need to splurge for a Pro variant if you're ready for an iPhone without a notch.

Next: Insider Says Apple Will Ditch The Notch In 2023

Source: Apple