The upcoming high-end iPhone 14 is expected to come with a pill-shaped cutout rather than the notch that's been present on the iPhone in some form since 2017. While we're still months away from the next iPhone, we already have a solid idea of what a pill-shaped cutout would look like in practical use.
A mockup on Twitter by developer Jeff Grossman shows, at least on the Home Screen, what a pill-shaped cutout on an iPhone would look like. The cutout, rather than being continuous with the device's bezel like a notch, is centered slightly below the bezel while being shorter in length and height, offering significantly more screen real estate on either side.
Apple made the notch smaller with the iPhone 13, but the extra space can't be utilized. For example, users still can't show the battery percentage in the status bar but must instead swipe down into Control Center. One would think that with a pill-shaped cutout, Apple may let users display more information in the status bar rather than let it remain unused screen real estate.
If you're interested in trying out the experience of a pill-shaped cutout on your own iPhone, Jeff has shared the screenshot used in his original image. View the image on your iPhone, lock your screen rotation, and turn your iPhone upside down to experience, more or less, what an iPhone 14 Pro may look like in your hand.
A pill-shaped cutout would mark a significant design shift from the notch that's been a hallmark of the iPhone design language since the iPhone X. A pill-shaped cutout would require Apple to fit several sensors and the TrueDepth camera system in a smaller footprint. Rumors so far suggest that only the high-end iPhone 14 models will feature a pill-shaped cutout, while the lower-end variants will continue with the full-sized notch, although that could always turn out not to be the case.
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone.
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found.
Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future.
"I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public.
There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre.
Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....
I prefer the notch. The area above the pill hole is utterly useless, no functionality at all. This design also make the camera hole much more visible to the eye than the notch.
Let's hope they keep the approach of the notch getting smaller and smaller & move the bar above the notch line:
Still not getting why there’s so much notch hate, I hardly notice it
This comment comes up quite a bit.
Where do you think you hear the majority of this ‘Notch hate’? (Yup, you guessed it…) It’s only on sites like this. Do you really think people outside Macrumors discuss how much they have distain for the notch in the general public? No. Consumers generally don’t care. Most people have more important things to discuss, versus a trivial iPhone feature.
