News about Apple

A yellow iPhone 14 could be just around the corner

Historically, Apple has tried to give its iPhones a sales boost with a fresh new color halfway through their first year — and right around the launch of Samsung's newest flagship. For the iPhone 13 last March, this was a green hue, while the iPhone 12 got a vibrant purple shade back in April 2021.

Now, Macotakara(opens in new tab) reports that Apple will be freshening up the iPhone 14 this week with a fresh new color.

So what will be joining the existing five iPhone 14 colors? It’s reportedly going yellow, the first time Apple has adopted the sunny shade since 2019’s iPhone 11.

While the green shade found its way onto both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro (the latter with the fancier sounding ‘Alpine Green’ moniker), the report suggests that this new shade is exclusively for the regular iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.

We should find out soon enough: the site reports that a briefing will be held this week to introduce the new color. Given the iPhone 14 launched 170 days ago, we’re pretty close to the halfway point between the current model and the upcoming iPhone 15, so it does seem a sensible time to give it another sales push.

Plus, we're sure that Apple would be happy to try to steal at least a little thunder from the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus.

What about the iPhone 14 Pro?

It’s true that few people will be suddenly motivated to buy an iPhone thanks to a new color — iPhone 14 cases will likely hide the design, after all. But sprucing up the lineup is still helpful in generating attention for a handset six months into its life, after the initial sheen has worn off a bit.

But if it’s true that the iPhone 14 Pro series won’t be getting a new shade to match, that’s perhaps an indication of the contrasting fortunes of Apple’s two handset tiers.

According to display analyst Ross Young, in November the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max handsets accounted for 64% of iPhone 14 units sold — up from 51% of the iPhone 13 era split. Or to put it another way, they only accounted for 36% of sales this time around, as opposed to 49% last time around.

Perhaps that’s unsurprising given how limited an upgrade the iPhone 14 is — as I’ve written before, it makes sense to just buy a discounted iPhone 13 Pro instead.

In short, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max handsets likely don’t need any extra sales help. But whether a yellow shade will give the iPhone 14 Plus a much-needed boost remains to be seen.

A report from Korean media The Elec said Apple is still expected to adopt under-screen Face ID technology next year, which will provide a more usable display area for iPhone 16 Pro models.

Last year Ross Young, a leading display industry consultant, said that Apple would adopt an under-screen Face ID on the iPhone 16 Pro model in 2024, followed by an under-screen Face ID and an under-screen front-facing camera on the iPhone 18 Pro model in 2026.

According to a new report from The Elec, given the current state of smartphone production processes, Apple shouldn’t have much trouble securing the technology needed for external light to penetrate the display and enter the TrueDepth camera system.

The report says, “From a display perspective, under-screen Face ID works on the same principle as the UPC (under-screen camera) that Samsung Display is using in Samsung Electronics’ foldable Galaxy Z Fold series. The camera lens hole is not visible when the camera function is not in use. Currently, in order to implement UPC, the camera module can only be specified at the 4-megapixel level. This is because the UPC space must be divided so that part of it supports the display function and another part supports the camera function by receiving external light, and today’s premium smartphones have front-facing camera specifications well in excess of 10 megapixels.”

“If current trends continue,” the report added, “Apple could have off-screen Face ID in the non-Pro iPhone lineup by 2025, and UPC in the Pro iPhone lineup by 2026. “

Apple’s iPhone Pro Edition models will generally be the first to adopt the new display technology, and just as the iPhone 14 Pro Series had the exclusive Dynamic Island last year, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus retained the bangs, this year the Dynamic Island is expected to appear on all iPhone 15 models.

In a surprise reversal, iPhone SE 4 development is reportedly underway, with the rumored affordable Apple phone tipped to get a larger OLED display as well as a 5G chip designed in-house by Cupertino.

That’s according to Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo who tweeted(opens in new tab) that Apple has “restarted the iPhone SE 4” after the analyst had claimed work on that phone was put on pause at the end of 2022.

This would be a change in fortune for the SE line, as it was previously rumored that Apple may have canceled the more affordable iPhone after poor sales of the iPhone SE 2022. However, going by the rumors so far, the next-generation iPhone SE looks set for a 2024 reveal, which would stick to the release cadence of every two years established by the iPhone SE 2020.

An OLED display would be a significant upgrade from the LCD screens of previous iPhone SE models, offering a more colorful and potentially brighter panel than the current iPhone SE. 

Kuo also noted that the SE 4 would be a “minor modification” of the current 6.1-inch iPhone 14. Renders of the iPhone SE 4 have shown off a design that’s a lot like the iPhone 14 only with curved sides; just take such renders with a pinch of skepticism.

More significantly, if Kuo’s claims are on the money, the iPhone SE 4 will be the first iPhone to have a 5G modem designed by Apple and based on a 4-nanometer process node. However, what’s curious here is Kuo reckons the chip will only support the sub-6GHz spectrum rather than the faster but less widespread millimeter wave frequencies. Nevertheless, this would mark a departure for Apple from using Qualcomm’s modem chips, and such changes could pave the way for future iPhones to use Apple-designed modems (if not the iPhone 15, which is set to debut this fall with a Qualcomm-supplied modem).

Other specs for the iPhone SE 4 remain more open to speculation. We’d expect there to be an upgraded A-series chip, potentially the A16 Bionic if the phone ships next year, and to have storage that starts at more than 64GB of memory. Improved cameras would also be welcome, especially the addition of a night mode, which was a rather large omission in the iPhone SE 2022.

With a new design, there could be a concern that the iPhone SE 4 would be more expensive than its predecessors, which came in at the $400 mark in 2020. The SE 3 jumped up to $430, but that’s still a competitive price for an iPhone. We only hope Apple can keep the next iPhone SE below $500 so it remains competitive with affordable Android phones.

A sealed original iPhone model from 2007 has sold at auction for over $63,000 – the most ever for the device to date.

The lot, held by LCG Auctions, opened on February 2 and ended on February 19. After receiving 27 bids, the iPhone sold for $63,356.40, over 105 times the device's original $599 retail price.

According to Business Insider, the iPhone's original owner was given the device as a gift from her friends in 2007, but never used it since iPhones at the time could only be used on AT&T's network. She simply left the phone unopened for the following 15 years. The auction listing read: 

Highly desirable factory sealed first-generation original Apple iPhone from 2007.

One of the most important and ubiquitous inventions of our lifetime, the iPhone was first introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007 at MacWorld San Francisco. Just over five months later it was released at retail for $499/$599 on June 29th. The original iPhone included 4/8 GB of storage, an innovative touchscreen, a 2-megapixel camera, and a web browser. The iconic box featured a life-size image of the iPhone with 12 icons on the screen. It quickly became Apple's most successful product, forever changed the smartphone industry, and was named the Time Magazine Invention of the Year in 2007.

The original first-release iPhone in factory sealed condition is widely regarded as a blue-chip asset amongst high-end collectors. Impressive public sales of $35,414 in August and $39,339 in October of last year resulted in widespread media coverage from major outlets including the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fox Business, and others. There's little doubt that interest in culturally relevant collectibles is rapidly increasing, and despite the impressive sales numbers, many believe the space is still in its infancy.

We are pleased to present an iconic factory sealed, first-release iPhone in outstanding condition. Our offering was consigned by the phone's original owner, Karen Green, and is coupled with a great backstory that was first shared on the Treasure Hunt segment of the syndicated television show "The Doctor & The Diva". Almost 16 years old, the phone presents magnificently, showcasing sharp corners front and back, rich color, and "case fresh" features. The labels on the reverse are pristine beneath the seal and shelf wear is minimal. This is the first original iPhone in acceptable condition to hit the auction block since the record-breaking sale in October. A truly remarkable piece with great appeal to both collectors and investors alike.

In August and October last year, a similar original iPhone sold for $35,000 and $39,000 at auction, becoming of the highest ever sums paid for the device. The $63,356.40 selling price of the latest listing is therefore a record-breaking new high for a sealed iPhone at auction.