iPhone 14 Pro to Get Battery Percentage Indicator, Unique Lock Screen; Apple to Push for eSIM: Report

Apple is expected to launch its iPhone 14 series at its upcoming event to be held on September 7. With just a couple of days to go, more details about the company's upcoming iPhone models — tipped to be the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max — have surfaced online. The iPhone 14 Pro will reportedly get special lock screen enhancements along with 14 series getting upgrades in terms of battery capacity. Apple in general is also expected to push for eSIM technology and could even get rid of the physical SIM card this year.

According to a report by MacRumors citing an unnamed source, the iPhone 14 Pro models this year will get the special treatment, not just in terms of pill-shaped display cutout, but also in terms of the software interface that surrounds it. As per the source, the battery percentage indicator in its original format (battery percentage figure followed by the battery status indicator) will reportedly appear on the right side of the display cutout with the cellular signal indicator (along with the carrier's name) being moved to the left, when the device is locked. Current iPhone models, thanks to the large display notch, don't have enough space to show the percentage and users have to manually swipe down to access Control Centre to check their battery status.

The report also states that the iPhone 14 Pro models will have a unique always-on lock screen layout which interacts with the lock screen. When in always-on mode, the foreground elements of the lock screen wallpaper will get dimmed while the background (behind the clock) will be removed or darkened completely. All widgets that have been selected for the lock screen will also be visible on the always on display but will reportedly fade in and fade out at set intervals.

When using the always-on lock screen, all elements selected on it will have to be in sync with the lock screen. Core visual elements of the always-on lock screen may apparently be customised separately. Notifications will also be visible on the always-on lock screen and will roll out from the bottom just like on the lock screen as visible in the current software betas. Apple will also allow users to enable a notifications counter at the bottom of the always-on lock screen as well, according to the report.

Apple iPhone 14 series new rumoursWhile we can expect the iPhone 14 Pro models to get special software treatment, there's also news for the regular iPhone 14 models. According to Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter, Apple's iPhone 14 and 14 Pro models will get bigger batteries this year. As per an earlier report by 9to5Mac, which cited a Baidu post, the iPhone 14 could feature a 3,279mAh battery, while the 14 Pro could use a 3,200mAh battery. Strangely, the iPhone 14 Pro Max's battery could feature a slightly smaller battery than the current model, which is said to have 4,323mAh unit compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max' 4,352mAh capacity.

Another interesting update from Gurman also shed light on Apple's focus on pushing for a SIM-free iPhone, which he claimed could happen starting this year or next year, but with a few models. Gurman claims that Apple will give eSIMs a bigger push as operators have already started steering users towards adopting eSIM functionality instead of a physical SIM, which should in theory also free up space inside a smartphone making room for bigger batteries or newer smartphone technologies.