Apple iPhone 14 And iPhone 14 Plus Review: Minor Upgrades For A Worthy Contender - Forbes

The Apple iPhone 14 is the slightest costly existent iPhone you tin buy—and that $200 savings implicit an iPhone 14 Pro is its main appeal. It’s the archetypal iPhone to see if you don’t privation to splash retired connected an iPhone 14 Pro and don’t request the 3 cameras oregon always-on show the other wealth buys. The iPhone 14 is simply a worthwhile contender, adjacent if its outer plan appears mostly the aforesaid arsenic past year’s model. Inside, it is an all-new handset. The larger iPhone 14 Plus—the archetypal 6.7-inch iPhone introduced without the corresponding terms bump that comes with being a Pro model—shares those caller interior guts of the modular iPhone. Now, the biggest iPhone is accessible to galore much pockets.

The iPhone 14 starts astatine $799 and has a 6.1-inch display, the aforesaid size arsenic connected the iPhone 14 Pro. Its processor makes a lateral move, coming up to the modular iPhone from past year’s iPhone 13 Pro. This year’s exemplary besides gets a refreshed main camera and noticeably improved beforehand camera.

The iPhone 14 Plus starts astatine $899, $100 much than the modular 14 and has a larger 6.7-inch display, the aforesaid arsenic recovered connected the $1,099 iPhone Pro Max. Aside from its larger size, larger artillery and higher price, the Plus matches the regular iPhone successful features and design, including that processor from the iPhone 13 Pro.

New to each of this year’s iPhones are a fistful of features similar improved computational photography, the quality to observe that you’ve been successful a car crash, enhanced video stabilization and adjacent the quality to nonstop exigency messages via satellite. Read connected for my instrumentality connected whether the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are worthy the alternatively important investment.

Apple iPhone 14: Technical Specifications

Price $799 and up | Cameras: Rear 12-megapixel ultra-wide, 12-megapixel wide; beforehand 12-megapixel | Processor Apple A 15 Bionic | Display: 6.1-inch OLED 60Hz display, 2,532 x 1,170 pixels, 460 pixels-per-inch| Storage: 128GB (up to 512GB) interior | Battery: Up to 20 hours video playback | Dimensions: 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches | Weight 6.1 ounces

Apple iPhone 14 Plus: Technical Specifications

Price $899 and up | Cameras: Rear 12-megapixel ultra-wide, 12-megapixel wide; beforehand 12-megapixel | Processor Apple A 15 Bionic | Display: 6.1-inch OLED 60Hz display, 2,778 x 1,284 pixels, 458 pixels-per-inch| Storage: 128GB (up to 512GB) interior | Battery: Up to 26 hours video playback | Dimensions: 6.3 x 3.1 x 0.3 inches | Weight 7.2 ounces

Best for

• Great information features
• Much amended beforehand camera
• Strong performance

Skip because

• Overly acquainted design
• Underwhelming upgrades

Apple iPhone 14 And iPhone 14 Plus: Design

If the iPhone 14 seems familiar, that’s due to the fact that it is. In astir each regard, the Apple iPhone 14 looks identical to its predecessor. The iPhone 14 Plus looks conscionable the aforesaid but for its larger size. Same colors, aforesaid finishes, conscionable a bigger version.

The astir notable differences from the iPhone 13 are the colors, the cutout astatine the apical of the show and the rear cameras. The colour changes are subtle: A brighter Product(Red), for instance, joins Midnight, Starlight and Purple. The 5th colour is simply a much pastel shadiness of Blue. While the iPhone 14 Pro bid gained the Dynamic Island, the iPhone 14’s notch reflects a insignificant redesign to go narrower, with a deeper cutout.

The iPhone 14s person a glossy chassis, dissimilar the matte decorativeness recovered connected the iPhone Pro models. Both person an aluminum frame. The modular iPhone 14 weighs 1.2 ounces lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro, a value quality you tin really announcement erstwhile holding the telephone successful 1 hand. Similarly, the iPhone 14 Plus weighs 1.3 ounces little than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, an adjacent much palpable difference.

The iPhone 14 Plus is simply a truly large phone. So, conscionable similar with the iPhone 14 Pro Max, you request to effort it successful your manus earlier you bargain if you haven’t had a telephone this large before. It’s not suitable for smaller hands.

This is the aforesaid benignant of cutout archetypal seen connected the iPhone 13 Pro to accommodate the beforehand cameras. While precise antithetic successful quality from the iPhone 14 Pro’s tiny capsule-like cut-out, it is an betterment implicit the iPhone 13’s design.

The caller main camera connected the iPhone 14 has a bigger lens. As a result, and for the involvement of symmetry, Apple has enlarged some of the rear cameras, which stay successful a diagonal arrangement. (For these reasons, you’re going to request a new lawsuit for the iPhone 14—last year’s cases won’t fit.) Same applies to the iPhone 14 Plus—the cameras are the aforesaid size arsenic connected the 14, but they are proportionally smaller connected the larger phone.

U.S. models of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus ditch SIM cards successful favour of utilizing eSIM. This means the telephone nary longer has a SIM paper tray; however, iPhones sold extracurricular the U.S. inactive person the SIM tray). This alteration sets Apple up for a aboriginal successful which eSIM is ubiquitous, and the interior components tin beryllium rejiggered to instrumentality vantage of the vacated space.

The phone’s sensors tin present observe if you’ve been successful a car clang and automatically nonstop a connection that includes your precise determination to exigency services. The redesigned antennas volition alteration outer connectivity starting successful November passim the U.S. and Canada, allowing you to link to a passing outer for exigency messages if you’re off-grid and person nary Wi-Fi oregon cellular transportation available. You request to beryllium outdoors and travel on-screen directions to cognize wherever to constituent your iPhone, and Apple includes escaped work for 2 years. These are 2 caller idiosyncratic information features that nary different telephone marque has travel anyplace adjacent to offering, and they are some large examples of however Apple tin leverage its choky integration betwixt hardware and software.

Apple iPhone 14 And iPhone 14 Plus: Display

The show is unchanged from the iPhone 13. Specifically, it has a 6.1-inch OLED show with a 60Hz refresh complaint and 2,532 x 1,170 pixels, which equates to 460 pixels-per-inch.

On the iPhone 14 Plus, the 6.7-inch OLED show with 60Hz refresh complaint has much pixels for the larger size, 2,778 x 1,284, with a fractionally smaller pixel density, 458 pixels-per-inch. The show connected each appeared the aforesaid to maine successful use, producing agleam images astatine a maximum 800 nits brightness (and 1,200 nits highest utilizing HDR). It has a ceramic shield astatine the beforehand to support the solid and the show and telephone are water-resistant up to 50 meters.

The other surface existent property connected the iPhone 14 Plus looks great. You tin take whether it precisely mirrors the iPhone 14 with larger text, oregon you tin instrumentality the font size down a notch and amusement much substance astatine the aforesaid time. The bundle is astute capable to reformat the transcript to marque it look its best.

Apple iPhone 14 And iPhone 14 Plus: Cameras

Apple’s camera engineers are exceptional, and they’ve enactment a caller main camera connected these iPhones. Interestingly, it’s antithetic from the also-new main camera connected the Pro models.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus adhd a wider f/1.5 aperture lens and a larger representation sensor with larger pixels. In software, Apple adds what it calls the Photonic engine, which ramps up Apple’s computational photography abilities by moving the process earlier into the workflow than before. This means Deep Fusion—Apple’s word for stacking aggregate images and sifting done them to make a richer last result—happens earlier successful the computational pipeline, earlier immoderate compression takes place. The effect is simply a amended representation simply due to the fact that Apple’s starting with amended data. The Photonic motor is successful each iPhone models.

Between the updated main camera hardware and improved software, Apple says the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus cameras person 2.5x amended debased airy show compared to the iPhone 13. Well, that’s hard to quantify, but surely the camera is precise good. In my tests, images were detailed, affluent and sharp, adjacent successful little airy and tricky shooting conditions. Apple’s camera strategy inactive occasionally makes mean shots look jaw-droppingly good.

The iPhone 14’s ultra-wide camera remains the aforesaid arsenic before, but images payment from Apple’s caller Photonic engine. The all-new front-facing camera ups the pixel number from 7 megapixels to 12 megapixels, matching the beforehand camera connected the iPhone 14 Pro. And for the archetypal time, the beforehand camera has an autofocus lens alternatively of the accepted fixed focus. Again, the accent is connected improving low-light performance, a constituent which became evident erstwhile I looked astatine a selfie representation connected the iPhone 13 and 14 models side-by-side astatine the aforesaid brightness. I could spot a definite summation successful however it handled details and light. Meanwhile, some iPhone 14 models person a redesigned flash which provides 10% brighter and much azygous lighting.

Apple’s newest video instrumentality is Action Mode, which improves optical representation stabilization to smoothen video capture. You tin alteration this diagnostic by tapping the icon of a small idiosyncratic moving astatine the apical of the video enactment successful the Camera app. It works successful portion by cropping into what the camera sees to springiness itself tons of country astir the framing to determination astir and offset each the motion.

Action Mode is connected the iPhone 14 Pro too, and I’ve tested it connected both. The acquisition is identical, though evidently the effect is amended connected the Pro due to the fact that the camera’s sensor is amended (an awesome 48 megapixels). Action Mode delivers creaseless and highly watchable video, capable truthful I tin rethink whether I inactive request a abstracted gimbal for representation stabilization.

Apple iPhone 14 And iPhone 14 Plus: Performance and Battery Life

As I already mentioned, the iPhone 14’s encephalon is powered by past year’s A15 Bionic processor. This has ne'er happened earlier with an iPhone. But to beryllium clear, it’s not the iPhone 13 processor successful the iPhone 14, but the souped-up mentation primitively introduced successful the iPhone 13 Pro. In different words, this iPhone is powered by past year’s Pro CPU. Time volition archer if this volition beryllium Apple’s look successful the future. All the supra applies identically to the iPhone 14 Plus too.

Some person said the iPhone 14 should beryllium called the iPhone 13s, harkening backmost to a clip erstwhile Apple added an S to the exemplary sanction successful years erstwhile the upgrades were little melodramatic and less telephone variations existed. Apple did the close happening successful naming it similar this, adjacent if the caller telephone sometimes seems underwhelming. As it stands, I recovered this phone’s show highly effectual and fast. If you weren’t told it was a year-old chip, it wouldn’t transverse your caput to ask.

The iPhone 14 Plus is simply a genuinely caller handset, adjacent though it has the aforesaid processor and looks arsenic the iPhone 14. Its larger size makes it much inviting for those wanting a bigger show for enjoying larger substance oregon much sumptuous video viewing.

Battery beingness connected the iPhone 14 is what you’d expect, lasting a afloat day. Despite the caller features, this iPhone’s artillery lasts arsenic agelong arsenic the iPhone 13 which, you mightiness remember, was a batch amended than the iPhone 12.

As for the iPhone 14 Plus, the extra-big artillery goes a agelong way. It’s the longest-lasting artillery successful immoderate iPhone ever, Apple says. In my tests, I recovered the iPhone 14 Pro Max beats it for immoderate uses, specified arsenic video playback, but successful different respects, this artillery conscionable goes connected and on. That’s down to the bigger compartment and the information that, dissimilar the iPhone 14 Pro Max, there’s nary always-on show to service. It lasts overmuch longer than a time and brings existent bid of caput from the terrors of artillery anxiety.

Apple iPhone 14 And iPhone 14 Plus: Verdict

It’s existent this iPhone looks similar past year’s model. It’s existent the show remains unchanged, and the rear camera’s megapixel number is the same. And it’s existent it uses past year’s (Pro) processor.

Nonetheless, the iPhone 14 has capable powerfulness from its processor to grip improved computational photography and video Action Mode. The cameras bash good successful debased light, producing elaborate stills and creaseless video. Then determination are the chill caller information features: Crash detection and exigency SOS messages.

So, yes, portion the iPhone 14 whitethorn look similar past year’s iPhone, it’s thing but. The iPhone 14 is simply a large prime for immoderate who admit the smaller show and don’t necessitate the higher megapixels and always-on show of the iPhone 14 Pro. Going with the 14 saves immoderate money, but it does truthful by sacrificing those powerfulness features.

And past there’s the iPhone 14 Plus which does everything the iPhone 14 does, but connected a larger scale, truthful it’s easier to work the surface and, if you person larger hands, easier to benignant connected the on-display keyboard. Performance is identical betwixt the larger and smaller iPhone 14 models, but the artillery lasts adjacent longer connected the Plus.

Apple iPhone 14: Should You Upgrade?

The iPhone 14 is simply a slick, responsive phone. Is it worthy an upgrade from the iPhone 13, successful the aforesaid mode that the iPhone 14 Pro is worthy the upgrade from the iPhone 13 Pro? No. But the iPhone 14 is surely a large phone. The iPhone 13 is inactive disposable for $699, but I’d accidental the 14 is better, and well-worth the other $100 if you were considering an iPhone 13 today.

If you privation the champion iPhone, past you request to spell with the iPhone Pro oregon Pro Max. Yes, the prices are higher, but those models consciousness similar a bigger upgrade than the 14 does. And if you tin plaything the other bucks for a Pro implicit an iPhone 14, it’s good worthy it if for the Pro’s amended camera. But if an attractive, accelerated performer of a telephone is each you’re after, the iPhone 14 fits the bill.

Again, the Plus is simply a full different thing. If you are considering upgrading and you privation a bigger show past now, for the archetypal time, there’s a mode to bash that without the immense other outgo associated with the Pro Max. If the iPhone 14 feels similar a decent betterment to the iPhone 13, past the iPhone 14 Plus feels similar a precise peculiar upgrade, assuming you similar the bigger size.

My Expertise

I’ve been penning astir tech longer than I attraction to remember. Most of the words I’ve written person been astir phones, galore of them earlier the connection smartphone existed, backmost erstwhile Nokia owned astir of the marketplace and batteries lasted for days. I’ve tested each signifier of phone, from soap barroom to flip to descent to (I kid you not) lipstick. My archetypal camera telephone was a Nokia 7650 with a 0.3-megapixel sensor. Things person travel a agelong mode since then, but the value of cardinal elements has remained: Ease of use, versatility, ratio and artillery life.

How I Tested The iPhone 14 Pro And Pro Max

I’ve tested these phones extensively, from taking pictures successful arsenic galore situations arsenic imaginable to pushing the artillery beingness to its limits with video playback, video streaming, utilizing mapping apps to propulsion the GPS transportation and truthful on. Of course, I’ve checked that video looks creaseless connected the surface and that the phones can, you know, marque and person calls. I utilized common, acquainted apps to vet they enactment faster than ever. And I’ve made definite the phones acceptable the hand, connection bully worth and are a pleasance to propulsion retired of your pouch and use.