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iPhone 14 Pro notch saga could have a ‘Far out’ twist in store

Apple’s long-rumoured ‘hole + pill’ replacement for the unpopular notch feature within the iPhone 14 Pro display may still hold a surprise, according to a new report.

While the iPhone 14 Pro is still highly likely to dispense with the notch in favour of the new cutouts, they may not be distinct and separate when the display is illuminated.

According to MacRumors sources, the cutouts are not “visually separated when the display is powered on”. Instead they’ll appear as a “contiguous, longer pill shape” the anonymous tipster says.

The rumour says Apple will achieve this by turning off the pixels between the cut outs to “create the appearance of a unified pill shape.” Essentially this would just move the notch down a bit.

The source says Apple has further plans for the area around the cutouts. It could make more pixels around the sensors black in order to “host content” like status icons, but that sounds less likely.

The report says:

For example, Apple could make the area slightly wider to fit status icons on the left and right sides, or even extend it downward into a large rounded square when delivering certain notifications.

Apple plans to unveil the iPhone 14 a week from now on September 7 during its Far out event. A report today also suggests the larger two of the four iPhone 14 models could be named ‘Plus’ rather that the current ‘Max’ name.

Elsewhere, the company is also expected to unveil the Apple Watch Series 8 and the potentially show-stealing Apple Watch Pro. It’s possible the company could launch new iPhone, Mac or AirPods products, but Apple reportedly has another hardware event lined up for October.

We’ll be covering the iPhone 14 launch as it happens. What are you hoping for from Apple’s ‘Far out’ event on September 7? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.

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