Apple iPhone 14 Plus review - is Apple's bigger iPhone better? - Digital Spy

2 years ago 45

If you emotion the thought of a ginormous Apple telephone but ne'er felt capable to warrant the splurge connected the monolithic Pro Max models, we've got immoderate bully quality for you.

The iPhone 14 Plus isn't conscionable a bigger iPhone 14, it's the astir "affordable" mode to get ahold of a large-screen iPhone successful years - starting astatine £949 alternatively than the £1,000+ starting prices of each "Max" exemplary each the mode backmost to the 11 Pro Max.

It has superior artillery beingness that bests the caller 14 Pro Max successful definite situations. Leaving your power bank astatine location is nary longer a disaster, with this susceptible of lasting for up to 3 days of mean use.

We've been investigating the 6.7-inch overgrown iPhone for astir a fortnight, and portion it's a shame that Apple's ditched the utile iPhone mini model successful bid to adhd this to its lineup, we deliberation the bigger artillery and surface existent property should marque the Plus a tempting enactment for anyone wanting a small much from their iPhone.

iPhone 14 Plus cardinal specs

Screen size: 6.7 inches
Resolution: 1284 x 2778 pixels
Processor: Apple A15 Bionic
Cameras: Two rear cameras (12MP main and 12MP ultra-wide angle) and 12MP beforehand camera
RAM: 6GB
Storage space: 128GB, 256GB oregon 512GB
MicroSD paper slot: No
Weight: 203g

iPhone 14 Plus (256 GB)

Apple amazon.co.uk

iPhone 14 Plus artillery life

The archetypal happening to accidental astir the iPhone 14 Plus is that everything we wrote astir the iPhone 14 applies present too. However, portion the modular iPhone 14 is simply a beauteous iterative upgrade implicit the iPhone 13 (making it hard to recommend), determination was ne'er immoderate enactment for a surface this large connected the erstwhile model. And, with that accrued size comes a large artillery beingness improvement. We're not joking, we're talking astir multi-day artillery life.

We recovered it a existent conflict to get this to tally retired of juice. In our tests with mean usage – that's a spot of listening to podcasts and Spotify, a fewer YouTube videos and the mean emails and messaging – we managed to get it to 3 consecutive days, and adjacent nether aggravated usage it'll get done astir 2 days without a recharge.

This is simply a large selling point, and Apple's ain selling awards the telephone with the favoritism of "the champion artillery beingness successful an iPhone". It's rated to past longer than the arsenic sized iPhone 14 Pro Max erstwhile it comes to audio playback (up to 100 hours, arsenic opposed to 95 hours), though the Pro variant tin negociate a small much video playback. If you request a comparatively "affordable" iPhone and artillery beingness is simply a priority, we deliberation the Plus is the 1 to pick.

iPhone 14 Plus camera

What tin we accidental astir the iPhone 14 Plus camera strategy that we didn't already accidental successful our reappraisal of the iPhone 14? Well, it's the aforesaid setup, aft all. Apple's 12MP main wide camera is wherever you'll spot the existent upgrades, and the larger stabilised sensor and faster aperture amended low-light photography, portion determination are immoderate flimsy tweaks to the ultra-wide camera connected the backmost too. Love posting selfies to your Instagram stories oregon utilizing BeReal? You'll bask the updates to the beforehand camera too, arsenic it present has a higher solution for your FaceTime videos and auto-focus for acold amended selfies.

As mentioned, we deliberation the upgrades are astir noticeable implicit connected the main rear camera though, which is present comparable to what Apple delivered successful the iPhone 13 Pro past year. If this focal magnitude is your most-used one, we deliberation you'll spot a minor, albeit noticeable, betterment to your nighttime shots. It conscionable means you're little apt to observe a blurry radical representation the time aft your get-together successful that edifice that was a small excessively dimly lit. And we tin archer the quality erstwhile it comes to the selfie show too, it's conscionable that small spot better, and the autofocus gives you assurance that the shots won't crook retired blurry.

Simon Cocks

There's nary motion of a telephoto here, conscionable similar connected the regular 14, and it is simply a shame that you tin wage astir £1,000 for a smartphone without that option. More affordable Androids similar the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 person a larger main sensor and tin usage the centre of it for zoomed-in shots. You can't bash that astatine each here. So if you privation due zooming capabilities, you'll person to opt for the pricier iPhone 14 Pro oregon Pro Max.

In mundane use, we recovered ourselves picking the highest-quality main lens arsenic often arsenic possible, and it delivers detailed, realistic and dynamic shots successful astir scenarios. We cognize iPhone results travel retired a spot neutral by default, which we deliberation is perfect if you'll beryllium editing aft shooting, but if you privation your effect to beryllium a small punchier, warmer oregon much contrasty, we urge playing astir with the "photographic styles" that Apple introduced with the iPhone 13 models past year. We similar to adhd a spot much richness and opposition to our photos and we're blessed to permission that mounting connected each the time.

Below we've included a enactment of photos that we’ve changeable with the 14 Plus, including immoderate that usage representation mode, immoderate connected the ultra-wide and immoderate connected the selfie camera – these are each unedited, though immoderate were changeable utilizing the affluent opposition "photographic style" mentioned above.

iPhone 14 Plus display

We each cognize that the crushed you're present speechmaking astir the iPhone 14 Plus is that you privation a bigger surface than you'll get connected the regular 6.1-inch iPhone. If you're unsure astir a bigger display, though, this isn't for you – it's tricky to usage one-handed, won't acceptable successful smaller pockets oregon handbags and tin look much similar a tablet than a phone.

We don't deliberation you'll beryllium capable to clasp it for ages connected a video call, though it is worthy mentioning that it's (impressively) really lighter than the smaller iPhone 14 Pro (and astir the aforesaid value arsenic the Pixel 7).

We'd conjecture you've stuck with america this acold due to the fact that you bash privation a bigger phone, though. Our verdict? Apple's done an fantabulous occupation with this one. Yes, it tin consciousness astir comically ample to hold, but determination are a full load of positives to the accrued size.

Let's beryllium honest, each contented looks amended connected a bigger display, whether that's however you're capable to spot much of a connection thread, much of your Twitter feed, acold much item successful your streaming videos connected the likes of Disney+ oregon Apple TV+, oregon bigger photos connected societal media. We emotion utilizing this larger show to ticker YouTube oregon TikTok, and it improves mundane tasks by allowing you to spot much reminders and much calendar events astatine once.

The surface itself is simply a agleam and contrasty OLED, and anyone upgrading from an older non-OLED surface similar those connected the iPhone XR oregon 11 volition announcement conscionable however overmuch crisper this is. Sadly, though, it doesn't person the precocious refresh complaint that you'll find connected astir Android rivals astatine little prices (and connected the astir costly Pro iPhones). This is simply a shame, and we can't recognize wherefore it's missing – it’s an summation that truly helps animations astir the interface consciousness much fluid.

Simon Cocks

iPhone 14 Plus design

Once again, determination isn't a batch to accidental astir the iPhone 14 Plus plan that we didn't already accidental astir its smaller counterpart. We emotion the consciousness of the aluminium and the squared-off edges of each caller iPhones and portion the backmost solid is simply a small slippery, we cognize astir radical (including us) volition popular a lawsuit connected their telephone consecutive away.

Sure, immoderate mightiness accidental that the notch plan is simply a small outdated, but we deliberation there's thing incorrect with it. If you see conscionable however clever the 3D depth-sensing tech that powers Face ID is, it's a occurrence it fits successful a abstraction truthful small. We person utilized the iPhone 14 Pro models, however, and can't contradict that the caller cutout-enhancing "Dynamic Island" diagnostic is genuinely utile and amusive – it's a flimsy disappointment that Apple reserved that diagnostic lone for the astir costly handsets.

iPhone 14 Plus drawbacks

Aside from the deficiency of the "Dynamic Island" mentioned above, the information that it has the aforesaid spot arsenic past year's iPhones and the meagre 60Hz refresh complaint of the display, there's precise small we'd critique here. Apple promised a bigger variant of the iPhone 14 and that's what it delivered. So we’ve got nary complaints. The terms is connected the steep side, but compared to different iPhones, it's decent worth for the show size you're getting. If you're aft the large iPhone acquisition without forking retired loads of cash, we'd either suggest picking a woody that involves an upfront outgo (around £400) and a £30 per period contract oregon dealing with the afloat upfront outgo and making savings connected a lower-cost SIM-only deal.

iPhone 14 Plus verdict

If you ain an older iPhone similar the XR oregon 11 and you don't deliberation there's capable country connected the surface oregon artillery life, this is the upgrade you're after. The bigger surface and other foodstuff unsocial marque it worthy it, and it packs successful a earnestly awesome camera compared to those older iPhones too. If you already person an iPhone 13, though, we inactive don’t deliberation determination are rather capable changes present to warrant the upgrade. Unless, of course, you simply indispensable person that bigger surface oregon capable powerfulness to get you done a agelong play without having to bring a charger.