With more than three months to go until Apple’s mid-September iPhone 14 event, we have no shortage of rumors detailing the next-gen models. Not only that, but there’s a clear consensus among the usual iPhone leakers about the iPhone design changes that Apple will deliver this year. The iPhone 14 will introduce a new notch design, but only the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will get the makeover.

We have seen the so-called pill-and-hole notch replacement in plenty of renders. And some case makers from Asia have manufactured iPhone 14 Pro dummy units based on the new design leaks. While that’s all par for the course when it comes to the iPhone rumor season that precedes the launch event, seeing a seemingly genuine Apple Pay ad featuring the new notch is definitely unexpected.

Will the iPhone 14 have a notch?

The iPhone 14 series will include four models, just like in the past two years. That’s what all rumors say. But Apple will only use two screen sizes this year. The non-Pro and Pro versions will each come in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch versions.

The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will get the new notch design that appeared in so many leaks so far. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will stick with the current iPhone 13/13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro screen design. They’ll be virtually identical to last year’s models, complete with a similar notch.

Apple did make changes to the Face ID cutout last year. The iPhone 13 notch is narrower and taller than before. Moreover, Apple plans to remove the notch from all its iPhones eventually. But it’ll take a few more years to develop dependable technology that will let Apple place the Face ID camera under the display.

iPhone 14 Pro's new notch in purported Apple Pay ad.
iPhone 14 Pro’s new notch in purported Apple Pay ad. Image source: YouTube

Apple Pay and the iPhone 14 Pro’s new notch

No matter how convincing the iPhone 14 leaks might be, Apple will never confirm them. That’s not what the company does with its products, especially the iPhone.

Apple will save the big iPhone 14 Pro design reveal for the mid-September launch event. That’s when we’ll see the new notch design officially. But Apple does make mistakes, and we’ve seen unexpected leaks coming from the company in the previous years.

With that in mind, we can’t but wonder whether the Apple Pay commercial below comes from Apple or whether it’s a fake.

Spotted by Macworld and posted on YouTube channel Apple Archive Thai, the ad seems genuine.

The ad is just 15-second long; it’s short and to the point. The commercial highlights the ease of use of Apple Pay on what looks like an iPhone 14 Pro model featuring the new notch design at the top.

Moreover, the YouTube ad also links to the English version of the ad, which is hosted on a different channel. But it’s not Apple’s YouTube account. Here’s that commercial version:

We’re looking at the same Apple Pay ad, with a huge change. The iPhone in this commercial has a traditional notch rather than the new pill-and-hole design.

The second commercial is definitely genuine. But we have no way of knowing whether the iPhone 14 Pro Apple Pay ad is real or fan-made. The latter seems more likely. But then again, maybe Apple’s marketing team made a mistake.


More iPhone coverage: For more iPhone news, visit our iPhone 14 guide.