I’m not very good at predicting the future. I’m more of a what’s right in front of my face kind of guy. So whenever I see iPhone 14 rumors float around about upcoming phones and tablets, I’ll take them in, and if they seem reasonable, I’ll assume it’s just as good a guess as any other. But when Jon Prosser released a series of renders for the iPhone 14 a full week before the reveal of the iPhone 13, some parts of it gave me pause.
Actually, saying that they gave me pause is disingenuous. I flat-out said I didn’t believe them.
I'm just going to go ahead and say it now. I'm not buying today's iPhone 14 leak. On a scale of 1-10 here's my confidence level.
No camera bump – 2
No Notch – 2
Titanium body – 5
Round buttons – Whatever
Bookmark this tweet. This feels like nothing more than a fanboy's wishlist
— Adam Doud #BlueCheck (@DeadTechnology) September 8, 2021
Apple generally doesn’t follow the crowd by iterating on a concept before ultimately landing on a final design. Quite the opposite — Apple waits until something is perfect before implementing it. We’ve seen under-screen cameras already, which is the next step after hole-punch cameras, and my gut says Apple will wait for that tech to evolve to a point where they’re good. Spoiler alert: Under-screen cameras are not good yet, as my colleague, Ajay Kumar, experienced on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Apple’s design language seems to be further embracing the notch, having just introduced two new MacBooks with a notch. To me, that makes it feel like it’ll be around for at least the foreseeable future. The notch can become part of its brand image since most Android phones have abandoned the notch in favor of the hole-punch. I’m not so sure it makes sense for Apple to follow suit.
But lately, we’ve seen no less than three other experts predict that FaceID will come in the form of a hole-punch. Some reports indicate that the hole-punch could be pill-shaped, which, if you ask me, sounds less like a hole-punch and more like a notch with a hat. Whatever the case, when four different sources say Apple’s going to do a thing, it may be wise to listen.
But that said, it just doesn’t feel very Apple. Making the hole-punch pill-shaped could be Apple iterating on established design practices, but I’m not sure it’s any better than. The thing about Apple is that it’s historically slow to adopt features used elsewhere, but typically when it does, it makes those features better. There are certainly exceptions to that rule; anyone who has ever tried to copy and paste on an iPhone knows that.
So, where does that leave us? Personally, despite the entire world predicting otherwise, I have to think that Apple will stick to its guns this fall and keep the notch for another generation or two. The hole-punch is not any better than the notch, and the pill-shaped hole is even less so. This just doesn’t feel like the right level of refinement that Apple has been waiting for. I could be wrong, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that I probably am wrong. Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see this fall to find out Apple has up its sleeve for the iPhone 14.
At the 2026 Android Dev Summit, Google has announced some interesting features coming to both Android XR and Android CLI. Developers can now build and test apps for smart glasses without owning the hardware, while Android's command-line tools are getting upgrades that help AI coding agents test applications and identify performance problems. Both announcements could eventually mean better apps for both Android and extended reality hardware users.
Building Android XR apps without owning smart glasses
Google updated its adaptive Compose skill to help developers adapt existing Android apps for laptops, foldable phones, tablets, and other form factors, including the upcoming Googlebook platform. The goal of this update is to help AI coding agents customize apps for different screen sizes and input methods without developers having to maintain separate codebases for different devices.
The new skill goes beyond responsive layouts, adding support for desktop-focused features and foldable-specific interface adjustments. Google is also signaling that adaptive app experiences will be more prominent on Google Play, with the company planning to pay more attention to how apps and games perform on foldable devices next year.
Meta wants to make its AI feel like a cute tiny friend through a newly launched pet journal app called Waddle World. Think of it as Tamagotchi, but the pixelated pet can actually chat with you and doodle little illustrations based on what you tell it about your day. Right now, this free app is available on iOS and Android only in the Philippines, with access limited to adults.
Waddle World is a pet that wants to know about your day