Previous speculation that Apple's larger iPhone 14 would not be called the iPhone 14 Plus but the iPhone 14 Max has been confirmed by Apple's own website code.
Although it seemed obvious that Apple wanted to revive the old Plus name for the iPhone 14 Plus, there was speculation before the launch that the device would be called the iPhone 14 Max. Now, not only is it certain that Apple wanted to call it that, but Apple has also website not quite updated with the name Plus. As the Dutch edition of the magazine iCreate first discovered, the Apple website is full of references to the “iPhone 14 Max.” The name is mainly due to Apple’s support page “Identify your iPhone model” to see.
Apple's website still needs to be updated
Find the iPhone 14 Plus image on the page and start the download. The name displayed in the download dialog contains "iphone-14-max" by default. If you use Developer Mode in Safari to examine the code on Apple's pages, you'll find even more clues on the website. Again, these are image filenames or alt tags, labels for images intended to help the visually impaired. They're scattered throughout the website—the best way to see them is to search for "iPhone 14 Max" in the developer view. It's undeniable that the name is still in the code, so it's equally undeniable that Apple intended to call it the iPhone 14 Max. However, iCreate concludes that this means the change was made last minute—which seems unlikely.
iPhone 14 Plus will be released on October 7th
Every Apple product is referenced in countless documents and web pages, from internal accounting to public support pages. It takes nearly a year to create support pages and other documents and several months to finalize packaging, so it's unlikely the change was decided at the last minute. However, it suggests the decision was made after all the website teams had started working and since most of the references are to images, it could also mean the decision was made during mass production of the iPhone 14 range, which began in May or June 2022. (Image: Apple)
