Apple’s 2022 iPhone family will debut with an in-display fingerprint sensor, market analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reportedly predicted in a note to investors. The lineup, speculated to be the iPhone 14 series, is likely to include the regular iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Kuo forecasts that high-end models in the series would come with a 48-megapixel wide-angle camera. The 2022 iPhone lineup is also expected to not include the ‘iPhone mini’ form factor — that debuted last year as iPhone 12 mini and is speculated to get an upgrade in the 2021 iPhone 13 series.
9to5Mac reports that Kuo said in his note that Apple would launch two high-end iPhone models in 6.1- and 6.7-inch sizes and two low-end iPhone models in 6.1- and 6.7-inch sizes. All four new iPhones will come in the second half of 2022, the analyst has predicted.
In a major change in specifications over the existing iPhone range, the iPhone 14 lineup is expected to have in-display fingerprint support using Apple’s proprietary technology. It is currently unclear whether the new models would retain the facial recognising TrueDepth Camera system for Face ID.
The 2022 iPhone lineup is said to include a 6.7-inch iPhone, which is rumoured to be called the iPhone 14 Pro Max, with the “lowest price ever” for the size. Kuo reportedly said that it could be under $900 (roughly Rs. 66,800). To give some perspective, the iPhone 12 Pro Max starts at $1,099 (Rs. 81,500) in the US.
Kuo also reportedly said in the note that high-end models in the 2022 lineup would feature a wide-angle 48-megapixel camera. Currently, Apple has provided a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera across the iPhone 12 series. The analyst also earlier suggested 8K video recording support on the 2022 iPhone models.
The 2022 iPhone family is also speculated to have no ‘iPhone mini’, which could have been called iPhone 14 mini to be precise. Kuo previously suggested the absence of the mini version due to poor sales performance of the iPhone 12 mini. However, Apple is speculated to have a 5.4-inch iPhone this year that could be called iPhone 13 mini or iPhone 12s mini.
Kuo also previously predicted that iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max in the 2022 series would carry a hole-punch display design and ditch the notch. Other details about what would be the design-level changes on the 2022 iPhone models are yet to be suggested.