The iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max will all be unveiled by Apple on September 7. News has surfaced that Apple will not introduce an "iPhone 14 Max" in an unexpectedly late leak. The tech giants will instead label its first 6.7-inch, sub-$1000 device the "iPhone 14 Plus." And for a variety of reasons, this makes absolute sense.

https://twitter.com/Tommyboiiiiii/status/1565008662283767808

The latest leak circulated in two parts. Part one was sent on Twitter after a picture appeared to be an actual next-generation iPhone case with "iPhone 14 Plus" branding surfaced. 9to5Mac was encouraged to look into this further and they confirmed the name and instructions supplied to the third-party case makers.

"According to sources with access to the facts, Apple has decided to call the upcoming, bigger iPhone the iPhone 14 Plus. Additionally, iPhone case manufacturers have been warned not to use the term iPhone 14 Max as that isn't the official name of the device, as per 9to5Mac. 

And given that Apple has constantly used the term "Max" to denote a premium version of something, in this case, the flagship iPhone and Apple's M1 chipset makes a reasonable thought. The M1 range is notable for having "Max" above "Pro": M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra.

It would have been confusing to inform iPhone users that while the M1 Pro has a lower price range than the M1 Max, the iPhone 14 Max has a higher price range than the iPhone 14 Pro.

In comparison, the branding for "Plus" is simpler. For four years, it was linked with the bigger (however not necessarily better) iPhone, and the iPhone 8 Plus debuted in 2017 behind the iPhone X, so it does not have the same exclusive reputation as Max. Overall, purchasers do not have to do the same logical thought processes.

It is interesting how this late branding leak matches with a larger trend of iPhone leaks in 2022, when more anonymous leakers challenge more well-known ones and alter the narrative. With this in mind, Apple fans should be thrilled since the most recent evidence suggests that the price of the iPhone 14 will be far lower than anticipated.