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The iPhone 14 is coming tomorrow; here’s every new feature

Apple iPhone 14 review: it’s the iPhone 13S
The iPhone 14 is good. You probably shouldn’t buy an iPhone 14.
If those two phrases sound at odds with each other, then let me explain. The iPhone 14 is highly capable. Its chipset can handle everything from day-to-day tasks to graphics-intensive gaming. Its cameras are capable of very good photos, and it records the best video clips you’ll see from any phone in its class. This is all true of the 14, but it’s also true of the iPhone 13.
The iPhone 14 is a very good phone, with a handful of useful upgrades over the 13. But it’s a small handful, and that leaves the 14 in a tight spot. The iPhone 13, which came out a year ago and Apple is still selling, is nearly identical to the 14 and $100 cheaper, while the iPhone 14 Pro introduces a lot of interesting new features. And the upcoming iPhone 14 Plus has the same hardware as the 14 but a massive 6.7-inch screen. If the Great iPhone Mini Experiment taught us anything, it’s that people love big screens.
7 Verge Score Apple iPhone 14 $ 799 The Good Better selfie camera
Good battery life
Crash detection and satellite SOS are neat The Bad It’s more like an iPhone 13S
Display is still 60Hz
eSIM transition will be easy for most but painful for some $799.00 at Apple$799.00 at Best Buy
The iPhone 14 does have some genuinely cool new features: an upgraded sensor on the main camera and a slightly wider aperture and autofocus on the selfie cam; car crash detection; and satellite SOS, but aside from those, it really is almost identical to the iPhone 13. It looks the same, with the same flat aluminum rails and roughly the same dimensions. There are still just two rear cameras — a standard wide and ultrawide — but the camera bump is a bit chunkier to accommodate the bigger main sensor, enough so that an iPhone 13 case won’t fit.
A slightly larger camera bump means an iPhone 13 case doesn’t quite fit the 14.
The similarities between the iPhone 14 and 13 go deeper than the surface. While the 14 Pro and Pro Max get the new A16 Bionic chipset, the 14 uses an A15 Bionic, which is the same generation used by the iPhone 13 series, albeit with one more GPU core than the 13 has. That’s an unusual move for Apple, which typically puts its newest chip in all of its new iPhones.
The A15 is still very capable. But having the latest processor isn’t just about getting the very best performance now — it also presumably has some relationship to how many OS updates a phone gets and whether it will support certain new features that Apple adds to iOS over the next few years. Even when previous iPhone models included modest updates over their predecessors, getting that current-gen chipset was an argument in favor of buying the latest model — if nothing else, you’d probably get OS upgrades a little longer. That feels less certain with the iPhone 14.
Like the iPhone 13, the 14 has 15W MagSafe charging, IP68 water resistance, and between 128GB and 512GB of storage. The US version of the 14 supports both sub-6GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G, though the international version is sub-6GHz-only, which is fine because the US is the only country pretending to care about mmWave. You’ll see a mmWave window on the side of the phone, but one thing you won’t spot on the US version is a physical SIM tray — it’s all eSIM, baby. More on that later. There’s Wi-Fi 6 support, as there was in the 13, and Bluetooth has been upgraded from 5.0 to 5.3.
The 6.1-inch display is still just 60Hz.
The iPhone 14’s screen is everything that the 13’s is — because for all intents and purposes, it’s the same display. It’s still a 6.1-inch OLED with a little better than 1080p resolution (Super Retina XDR if you’re fluent in Apple) with a standard 60Hz refresh rate. It’s a good screen, but the competition is running laps around Apple here. Android phones from the flagship class all the way to the $350 Samsung A53 5G offer screens with 120Hz refresh rates. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s an area where it feels like the standard iPhone is overdue for an update. For the super-smooth 120Hz ProMotion display, you still need to pony up for the Pro model.
Battery life is another place I’d expect to see year-over-year improvement in a new flagship model, and in this department, Apple does quote a small increase in performance. The 14 will get up to 20 hours of video playback versus 19 on the iPhone 13, according to the official specs. In the real world, after three to four hours of screen-on time, I had between 40 and 50 percent charge at the end of the day. Whether that’s substantially better than the already quite excellent iPhone 13 is hard to say, but it’s good enough to get most people through a full day, and that’s what counts.
So far, I’ve mostly talked about what hasn’t changed, so here’s what’s new.
With a couple of new hardware features, Apple is touting the iPhone 14 as a literal lifesaver. The first is Crash Detection, and it looks very similar to Google’s car crash detection. The 14 has a new “high dynamic range” gyroscopic sensor and a high-g accelerometer. If data collected by the phone’s sensors indicate that you’ve been in a crash, it will ask you if you’re okay and will call emergency services if you don’t respond in a certain amount of time. The iPhone 13 doesn’t have those new sensors, so it’s unlikely that older phones would be able to support Crash Detection, even if Apple was feeling generous enough to bring it to older iPhones.
I haven’t been in a car crash in the week I’ve been testing the phone, so I can’t say for sure that it works. I’ll leave that one to gutsier testers than me, but in any case, it’s something that just happens on the phone and doesn’t require anything of the user to enable. It’s the definition of a nice-to-have feature.
Apple is touting the iPhone 14 as a literal lifesaver.
The 14 also has Emergency SOS, a separate service that’s coming this November. In areas without cell coverage, the phone is able to get a message out to emergency responders by communicating via satellite. This is thanks to some custom components and software unique to the iPhone 14 series, according to Apple’s launch presentation, so don’t expect to see it ported to older models either. You’ll answer a few questions to help emergency services better understand your situation, and the UI directs you to point your phone at the nearest satellite.
If you regularly spend time outside of cell coverage, then satellite SOS could give you some peace of mind
I got a demo of the feature in a field on Apple’s Cupertino campus — not exactly a wilderness area, so take this with a gigantic grain of salt — but it looked fairly intuitive. You can even see the satellite’s position changing on your phone screen as it crosses the sky. According to Apple’s documentation, sending a message can take anywhere from 15 seconds to “over a minute” depending on how much your view of the satellite is obstructed. In a spot with some light foliage, messages in my demo went through in less than 30 seconds.
If you regularly spend time outside of cell coverage, then satellite SOS could give you some real peace of mind. I do some hiking around the greater Seattle area, and you don’t have to get too far outside of the city to find yourself in a wireless dead zone. That’s where getting turned around or twisting an ankle on a less busy trail can put you in real trouble. I’m not a serious enough hiker to invest in a separate GPS unit and its subscription service, but something like this built right into my phone is very appealing. The big question on my mind is the cost — it will come with two years of free service on the iPhone 14, but outside of that, you’ll need to pay up, and Apple’s not saying yet how much it will cost.
Maybe it’s Photonic Engine; maybe it’s just good old-fashioned physics
Crash Detection and satellite SOS conjure up some pretty grim scenarios, so let’s look on the light side: the iPhone 14’s cameras. This is where you will see an improvement from the 13 to the 14 — it’s not dramatic, but it’s there. For starters, there’s some upgraded hardware. The 14 essentially inherits the 13 Pro and Pro Max’s main camera, with a bigger sensor, larger pixels, and a faster f/1.5 aperture compared to f/1.6. The selfie camera gets a wider aperture, too — no change to the ultrawide hardware, though.
On the software side, Apple has made some changes to how it processes images with a technology it calls “Photonic Engine.” It’s applying Deep Fusion earlier in the image processing pipeline on uncompressed data, which Apple says improves low-light performance compared to the Photonic-Engine-less iPhone 13. After shooting side-by-side samples in all kinds of conditions, I can report that the iPhone 14’s low-light images are a little more detailed than the 13’s, but I’m not convinced that Photonic Engine has a lot to do with it. In a lot of instances, the 14 is just able to use a lower ISO than the 13 thanks to that larger sensor. With less noise to deal with, there’s more detail, and colors in low-light photos are more accurate. Maybe it’s Photonic Engine; maybe it’s just good old-fashioned physics.
The iPhone 13’s ultrawide (left) versus the Photonic-Engine-ified iPhone 14’s ultrawide (right).
The difference is more obvious when I look at selfie and ultrawide shots side by side on the 13 and 14. In low light, the 14’s ultrawide shots look less watercolor-y, and selfie photos have much more detail and better skin tone rendering. Using the front-facing cameras on both while standing at the front of a moving ferry boat, I got a sharp shot out of the iPhone 14 while the iPhone 13 struggled mightily.
The main camera’s portrait mode looks a little improved, too. Nothing can cope with the segmentation torture test that is my child’s hair, but the way the 14 handles cat fur looks a little more refined. Still, it’s not going to dethrone the current portrait mode champ: the Samsung Galaxy S22. Its ability to identify a subject down to the finest details is unmatched right now.
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There’s also a new stabilization mode for video shooting called Action mode that’s designed to correct for more extreme movement. And, as I have learned through trial and error, it’s very much designed to be used in bright outdoor light. With anything less, the camera complains and footage looks horribly blotchy. It’s not the best option when you’re chasing your toddler across the house.
Outdoors, it does produce very smooth footage, but so does the iPhone 13, actually. Action mode may cope a little better with very intense motion, but for most use cases, the iPhone’s standard stabilization system was already good enough.
The iPhone’s video is still on top
On the video front, you can now use Cinematic mode up to 4K resolution — previously it was capped at HD resolution. It still looks a little weird, but that 24p frame rate kind of helps it pass as film-like footage a little better. There’s no change to the other video modes — there’s still slow motion, timelapse, and all the usual standard video recording options, plus 10-bit Dolby Vision. This is one area where Apple can afford to stand still because the iPhone’s video is still on top.
Agree to Continue: Apple iPhone 14 and 14 Pro Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we’re going to start counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate. To use any of the iPhone 14 models, you have to agree to: The iOS terms and conditions, which you can have sent to you by email
Apple’s warranty agreement, which you can have sent to you by email These agreements are nonnegotiable, and you cannot use the phone at all if you don’t agree to them. The iPhone also prompts you to set up Apple Cash and Apple Pay at setup, which further means you have to agree to: The Apple Cash agreement, which specifies that services are actually provided by Green Dot Bank and Apple Payments, Inc. and further consists of the following agreements:
The Apple Cash terms and conditions
The electronic communications agreement
The Green Dot Bank privacy policy
Direct payments terms and conditions
Direct payments privacy notice
Apple Payments, Inc. license If you add a credit card to Apple Pay, you have to agree to: The terms from your credit card provider, which do not have an option to be emailed Final tally: two mandatory agreements, six optional agreements for Apple Cash, and one optional agreement for Apple Pay.
The iPhone 14 does have one bold new feature, or maybe a bold new omission: the physical SIM tray. On US models, Apple went all in on eSIM, which is just a digital version of the tiny SIM card that identifies you to your carrier’s wireless network. The iPhone 14 can store up to eight eSIMs, with two active at once. iPhones have had dual-SIM support for years, but last year’s iPhone 13 was the first that could have two eSIMs active at the same time. Earlier iPhones only supported dual-SIM with one physical and one eSIM. Outside the US, where eSIM adoption isn’t as far along, the iPhone 14 will still have a physical SIM tray, and it’ll still support dual SIMs — either with two eSIMs or one eSIM and one physical.
No SIM tray to see here.
Dropping the physical SIM card is a hotly contested topic — roughly half of my Twitter feed thinks it’s a good thing, and half hates eSIM with the fire of a thousand suns. On one hand, eSIMs make it easier to start service with a new carrier since you don’t need to go to a store or wait for a physical SIM to arrive in the mail. And because the iPhone can store multiple eSIMs, swapping phone lines is a lot easier — no more popping out a tiny tray and fiddling with physical SIM cards.
If you buy an iPhone 14 through a carrier or buy a carrier version from Apple, it comes preloaded with your number. And if you buy an unlocked version, transferring your number from an old iPhone should be easy. On major US carriers, you can transfer your number from a phone with a physical SIM directly to an eSIM on the iPhone 14. Or (depending on your carrier), you might be able to convert your physical SIM to an eSIM and then transfer that. Once you switch to eSIM, your physical SIM card is deactivated. It was a little nerve-racking to commit to moving my Verizon number from a physical SIM on my iPhone 11 to an eSIM on my review iPhone 14 in the back of an Uber in the middle of a busy travel day, but hey, it worked.
All signs point to a future without physical SIMs
If you’re coming from an Android with a physical SIM or your carrier is one of the many smaller carriers that support eSIM but don’t have Quick Transfer or carrier activation, getting your number onto the iPhone 14 may not be as easy. Your carrier will have to issue an eSIM — which you may be able to do on the website or through an app — which you can then add with a QR code or the carrier’s app.
Depending on your current phone and carrier — or how often you go to parts of the world without eSIM — it could be a pain to switch to eSIM, or it could be easy enough to do in the back of a moving car. Either way, with Apple going eSIM-only, all signs point to a future without physical SIMs as other phone makers get on board. You’ll probably have to make the jump to eSIM sometime in the future. That’s not really an argument for or against the iPhone 14, though there’s something to be said for giving the carriers another year or two to iron out the kinks.
There’s an argument in favor of the iPhone 14 for a very narrow group of people.
At the time of this writing, Apple is selling the iPhone 13 for $699. The cameras aren’t quite as good as the 14’s, particularly in low light, but they’re still highly capable. Last year’s iPhone still has some of the best video image quality of any phone released this year. There’s also the 14 Plus on the way for $899, and while we haven’t been able to test it yet, it offers a bigger screen and promises better battery life — two things that a lot of people really want out of a new phone.
You have to put a stake in the ground somewhere: one product will be The New Thing, and another will be old
And don’t forget about the Galaxy S22. For the same price as the 14, it includes a 3x telephoto camera, a display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate plus an always-on display, and is promised three more years of OS upgrades beyond the Android 13 update that’s coming soon. That’s not quite as good as the four or five iOS upgrades the iPhone 14 will likely receive, but it’s close.
The 14 Pro and Pro Max represent the start of some new ideas from Apple, including an always-on display, a shape-shifting screen notch — ahoy there, “Dynamic Island” — that shows system information at a glance, and a high-resolution main camera. Apple hasn’t exactly nailed them on the first try, but they’ll get a little more useful as third-party app makers adopt them and as Apple refines them with future iOS updates. The 14 Pro feels like the first iteration of a new iPhone, while the 14 feels like the final version of the old iPhone.
It’s notch dead yet.
Most people should consider other options, but there is an argument for the iPhone 14 if you meet a narrow set of criteria: you’re on an iPhone 12 or older, you really want the satellite SOS feature, you prefer a 6.1-inch screen size (it is, after all, the right one), you want the best camera quality at this price point, you just need a new phone right now, and your carrier is offering a sweet trade-in deal. For this particular set of circumstances, the iPhone 14 will suit you just fine. Otherwise, it’s well worth taking a look at your other options.
When you shift to new technologies in a product line, you have to put a stake in the ground somewhere: one product will be The New Thing, and another will be old. The 14 is on the “old” side of that dividing line. The “old” was good, and so is the iPhone 14. But in the broader landscape of good phones you can buy right now — iOS or otherwise — it’s hard to see an argument for the 14.
Apple iPhone 14 review: The most iterative update ever to a great smartphone
The iPhone 14 is the most iterative upgrade ever with little new. Is it worth buying over last year's iPhone 13? We find out in this review.
The iPhone 14 is such an incredibly minor update that no iPhone 13 owner with a sane mind should consider upgrading to it. The fact that iPhone 14 doesn't even do the bare minimum to justify an upgrade from its predecessor is a reminder of Apple's incredible grip over the smartphone market and how it can afford to get away with controversial moves that others simply can't. Can you imagine any Android brand releasing a flagship with the same chipset as its predecessor, and getting away with it?
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The iPhone 14 is Apple trying to sell you the same old wine in the old bottle but with a new label. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little here. There are some notable upgrades here, and one of the biggest changes Apple didn't even talk about during the event (but more on that later). The list of hardware upgrades is relatively small this year. You get the same chipset as the last year but with an extra GPU core, a brand new selfie shooter, an improved primary camera, basic satellite connectivity, and Crash Detection. In addition, the US models also drop the physical SIM card slot to fully embrace the eSIM future.
As you can see, there's not a lot to convince the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 owners to make a switch. The divide between the standard and Pro models is wider than ever as most of the cool features, including Dynamic Island, the new A16 Bionic chipset, and a 48MP main camera, are exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. That also means there's more incentive to shell out extra money on the Pro models as the advantages and perks you get are more clearly defined and easy to rationalize.
Apple iPhone 14 The iPhone 14 offers improved cameras and satellite connectivity in a familiar package. View at Best Buy
Apple iPhone 14: Specifications
Specification Apple iPhone 14 Dimensions & build Aluminum mid-frame
Glass front and back
"Ceramic Shield" for front glass
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8mm
172g Display 6.1-inch OLED display,
2556 x 1179-pixel resolution at 460 PPI
60Hz refresh rate
HDR display, True Tone, Wide color (P3)
800 nits max brightness, 1200 nits peak brightness (HDR) Camera Primary : 12MP wide, f/1.5 aperture, 1.9μm sensor-shift OIS Seven-element lens 5x digital zoom
: 12MP wide, f/1.5 aperture, 1.9μm Secondary: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4 aperture Battery 3,279mAh rated for up to 20 hours of video playback
20W wired charging
15W MagSafe charging
7.5W Qi wireless charging SoC, RAM & Storage A15 Bionic chipset
6GB RAM
128GB, 256GB, and 512GB Sensors Face ID
Barometer
High dynamic range gyro
High-g accelerometer
Proximity sensor
Dual ambient light sensors Ports Apple Lightning port
No headphone jack OS iOS 16 Colors Midnight, Purple, Starlight, Blue, Red IP rating IP68 water and dust resistance Connectivity 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave)
Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2×2 MIMO
Bluetooth 5.3
Ultra Wideband (UWB)
NFC Price $799(128GB)
$899 ($256GB)
$1,099 (512GB)
About this review: This iPhone 14 is my personal purchase. Apple didn't have any editorial input in this article. The review is written after spending ten days with the device.
Apple iPhone 14: Price & Availability
The iPhone 14, along with the iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, are now available for purchase worldwide from Apple Store and other official retail channels. The standard iPhone 14 starts at $799, but you can save big by taking advantage of deals and discounts.
The iPhone 14 starts at $799 for the base model and goes up to $1,099 for the 512GB model.
It comes in Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED colors.
Design & Display
The iPhone 14 has an identical design and display to the iPhone 13.
However, Apple has redesigned the internal architecture of the phone.
If you're trying to spot any visual difference between iPhone 14 and iPhone 13, you'll find none, except for the different colorways. You're looking at an identical exterior design as the last year. Not a bad thing, as the iPhone 13 was a pretty solid phone, but you can't help but feel that the standard iPhone lineup is in dire need of a design overhaul. There's still that unsightly notch at the top, and the flat side rails take some time getting used to if you have mostly used phones with curved backs. It's not a bad-looking phone by any means, but just how many times can you get excited about the same design?
The iPhone 14 is 2g lighter than the iPhone 13, and expectedly, the difference wasn't noticeable when I held both phones side by side. The front is still protected by a Ceramic Shield, while the flat aluminum frame provides a reassuring grip. As you would expect, the phone feels great in hand — solid and incredibly sturdy. I must admit, though, that after exclusively using Android phones with curved backs all these years, I found the iPhone 14 uncomfortable due to its sharp edges. But this was easy to address with a protective case.
At first, I was contemplating getting the iPhone 14 Plus as I feared the 6.1-inch size would be too small for me. But having used the iPhone 14 for over ten days, I feel like this is the perfect size — not too small, not too big.
The mute switch we all love and appreciate is still there, and so is the unwanted Lightning port we all hate and wish was already dead. Apple has removed the physical SIM tray in favor of eSIM on the US models, but those in Europe and Asia can still find it on the left side.
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While the iPhone 14 looks identical to the iPhone 13 from the outside, it's radically different under the hood. As revealed by iFixit's teardown, Apple has completely redesigned the internal architecture of the iPhone 14, making it the most repairable iPhone to date. That's a big win for the right-to-repair movement and great news for anyone who likes holding onto their phone for a long time.
The iPhone 14's 6.1-inch display is the same as the last year. It's an OLED panel with 1170 x 2532 resolution, DCI-P3 wide color gamut, and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support. As you would expect, it's a high-quality panel that offers true-to-life colors, deep blacks, and great viewing angles. Unfortunately, Apple still limits the higher refresh rate Pro Motion display to Pro models. As a result, you'll have to put up with a 60Hz panel. But other than that, there's not much to complain about here. It's one of the best displays you can get at this price point in terms of color accuracy and brightness.
On max setting, the panel gets bright enough that I have had no issue using it even under harsh sunlight. Apple's True Tone feature is on board, and it automatically adjusts the white balance and illumination based on your surround lighting to make text and content easier on the eyes. However, there's no Always-on Display or a Dynamic Island similar to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. The display also has an oleophobic coating applied which makes it easier to wipe off fingerprints and smudges. However, using a screen protector would still be a good idea.
iPhone 14: Camera
The iPhone 14's main camera has been updated with a wider aperture and larger pixel size.
Spectacular video performance as always.
While the Pro models get a brand new 48MP primary camera, the standard iPhone 14 and 14 Plus opt for the more conservative 12MP dual camera setup similar to its predecessors. There's a 12MP main shooter, which now has a bigger aperture — f/1.5 compared to f/1.6 on the iPhone 13 — and a larger 1.9μm pixel size for improved low-light performance. The ultra-wide camera is seemingly unchanged.
In broad daylight, the iPhone 14 captures pleasant photos with an affinity for true-to-life colors that sometimes may appear a bit dull compared to Samsung's more saturated and vibrant tones. If you prefer richer colors and higher contrast, you can always turn to the Photographic Styles from the camera settings.
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In broad daylight, the iPhone 14 captures pleasant photos
Shots from the main camera have on-point white balance, accurate and repeatable exposure, and very little noise. Images generally resolve a good amount of detail, but we also observed oversharpening in tree leaves and water in some photos. High-contrast scenes are also handled quite well, with the camera striking a good balance between highlight and shadow details. However, the dynamic range isn't as wide as what we have seen on the iPhone 14 Pro or Xiaomi 12S Ultra, which leads to blown-out highlights in certain conditions, such as when shooting under harsh sunlight or against the sun. But such instances have been far and few between during the review, and most of the time, Apple's image processing does a good job of keeping highlights and shadows in check. In addition, the iPhone 14's super fast autofocus and sensor-shift OIS make it possible to take great landscape shots while traveling by car or bus.
Low-light photos
Low-light photos from the main camera are excellent and have good detail retention. They have accurate colors, great contrast, and low luminance noise. Night Mode automatically kicks in when the light is low and helps to bring out more detail in scenes by brightening up the darker portions. Low-light photos also benefit from Apple's new image pipeline, Photonic Engine, which claims to improve mid-to-low light performance up to 2x on the ultra-wide camera and up to 2.5x on the main camera. Basically, Photonic Engine applies Deep Fusion's computations on raw data much earlier in the imaging process. Apple says this leads to better color reproduction, retention of subtle textures, and more detail in photos.
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I briefly compared the iPhone 14 with iPhone 13 in low light and didn't notice any dramatic improvements in photo quality. The iPhone 14 was able to preserve more details and output a slightly brighter shot, but these differences were only noticeable after careful examination and pixel peeping.
Video performance
All three cameras on the iPhone 14 are capable of shooting 4K videos at 60fps. You can also shoot HDR videos in Dolby Vision format with a 10-bit high dynamic range. In terms of real-world performance, the iPhone 14 delivers spectacular video performance and can easily outperform competing Android smartphones in this price range. No matter which format or resolution you opt for, the footage looks buttery smooth, showcasing exceptional dynamic range, great detail, and rich colors in both daylight and low-light conditions.
The iPhone 14 delivers spectacular video performance and can easily outperform competing Android smartphones in this price range
The only issue I have with video performance is the excessive camera lens flare and reflections when shooting in brightly lit areas. These issues are especially noticeable at night (see the third video sample).
The Cinematic mode that debuted on the iPhone 13 is still here, but now it's available in 4K at 30fps and 4K at 24fps. It's still a hit-and-miss and struggles a lot when multiple subjects are in the frame, but it's fun to play with.
There's also a new video feature called Action mode that lets you capture super-smooth hand-held videos even when there's intense motion and activity, such as running or cycling. It definitely smooths out shakes and vibrations, but you'll need to ensure there's ample light in the scene. Otherwise, you'll end up with grainy footage. In addition, you're limited to 2.8K resolution. Just like Cinematic mode, it's good to have and fun to play with once in a while, but for the most part, you'll be better off shooting with the standard video mode.
Improved selfie camera
The biggest camera upgrade on the iPhone 14 is the selfie camera, which is the same as the one on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The new 12MP TrueDepth camera has a wider f/1.9 aperture and autofocus. Selfies from the new camera are excellent, offering accurate skin tone rendering, wide dynamic range, and great contrast. However, the iPhone 14's insistence for selfies to be as true to life as possible and capturing everything to its finest detail may be a real turn-off for those accustomed to selfies with an overly processed or smoothened look. Portrait mode is available on the selfie camera, and it works quite well — it uses Face ID's structured-light 3D scanner for more accurate edge detection.
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The iPhone 14 doesn't have a 3D LiDAR sensor for depth estimation, but it can capture portrait shots just fine — as long as lighting conditions are favorable, that is. Apple's edge detection is still not on par with those of Samsung and Google, so you'll notice the iPhone 14 sometimes not being able to accurately identify the subject and blurring out finer details such as strands of hair.
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Overall, there's hardly anything to complain about here, as the iPhone 14's cameras rarely fail. In most cases, you can point and shoot and walk away confident that you have captured the moment perfectly. I was amazed how I rarely had to take a second shot, which I often have to do when using other phones. This is the camera system you can rely on to take solid photos and video, no matter the lighting conditions. Not many smartphones offer this peace of mind, and it's empowering for average users who want to take good photos without much effort.
Performance
The iPhone 14 packs last year's A15 Bionic chipset but with an extra core of GPU.
Overall performance is fantastic but the 60Hz display means scrolling feels sluggish.
For the first time, the standard iPhone doesn't feature Apple's latest and greatest chipset. The new A16 Bionic chipset is exclusive to Pro models this year, while the standard models have to settle for the same A15 chipset as the iPhone 13 series. This is more than likely to start a new trend where all future iPhones, including the upcoming iPhone 15, will continue to feature a year-old chipset. That means those wanting to get their hands on the latest Apple silicone will now have to shell out more money for the Pro model.
That said, the A15 chip inside the iPhone 14 is still one of the most powerful smartphone chipsets on the market and can handily beat Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. It has two performance cores running at 3.23GHz speed and four efficiency cores at 1.82GHz.
Although the iPhone 14 has the same chipset as its predecessor, it comes with several performance improvements. For one, the new model has a 5-core GPU which Apple says is 18% faster than the iPhone 13's 4-core GPU. Secondly, the phone has 6GB of RAM, up from 4GB in the iPhone 13. Finally, it has an updated internal design for better heat management.
Scrolling feels less fluid on the iPhone 14 due to its 60Hz panel
Coming to real-world performance, the iPhone 14 is a fast and reliable performer. Apps and game launch quickly, and iOS's animations are as smooth and silky as ever. Gaming performance isn't an issue, either. I tried out Genshin Impact and Call of Duty, and they ran smoothly for the most part. The device starts to get warm when you game for an extended period, but there was no serious performance throttling or frame dropping or such.
While the overall performance is fantastic, scrolling is a different story. The iPhone 14 continues to use a 60Hz panel, and that means the scrolling and moving around the system feel less fluid compared to phones with a higher refresh rate display. If you're upgrading from an iPhone 11 or have never used a phone with a higher refresh rate display, you have nothing to worry about. But as someone who has been exclusively using an Android phone with a 120Hz display, the difference was immediately noticeable and felt quite jarring. iOS animations do their part in masking this shortcoming, but they don't compensate enough. There's no excuse for Apple not to include a higher refresh rate display when it's the only smartphone brand still shipping a 60Hz panel on its premium phones. Even budget Android smartphones nowadays come with a 90Hz or 120Hz panel. Hopefully, this will finally change with the iPhone 15.
Battery Life & Charging
The iPhone 14 delivers all-day battery life.
The charging speed is still really slow.
The iPhone 14 packs a 3,279mAh battery, an insignificant 39mAh increase from the iPhone 13's 3,240mAh battery. With this minor capacity bump and other efficiency improvements, Apple promises an extra hour of endurance over last year's model. However, the charging speed hasn't improved at all. The phone tops out at 20W with USB Power Delivery, 15W with MagSafe, and a measly 7.5W with Qi wireless charging.
The iPhone 13 already had great battery life, and the iPhone 14 isn't any different. During my ten days with the phone, it consistently delivered a full-day battery with average 4.5 to 5 hours of screen on time. Even on weekend days when I used the phone heavily, I didn't find myself in need of a quick top-up before bedtime. As long as you start your day with more than 80% battery and don't play demanding games for an extended period, you shouldn't have any issues getting a full day of usage.
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The iPhone 14's 20W charging feels painfully slow in comparison to what OnePlus and Xiaomi have to offer. Not to mention it still uses the proprietary Lightning cable. With a 20W or faster charger, you can get up to 50% of the charge, which isn't too bad. But it takes roughly two hours to go from 0 to 100%, which may seem like an eternity if you're like me and have been spoiled by phones with super fast charging speeds.
We know that crazy charging speeds can wreak havoc on battery health in the long run, and we certainly don't expect or want Apple to go to the extent of OnePlus or Oppo. That said, 20W is definitely on the conservative side, and a small boost to 25W or 30W would have been nice—one more thing to add to the iPhone 15 wishlist.
Software
There is a lot to love about iOS 16's new, highly customizable Lock Screen.
The iPhone 14 runs iOS 16 out of the box and comes packed with several exciting features. The most exciting of all is the new Lock Screen experience. There are various customizations to fully personalize the look and feel of the lock screen to your liking. You can choose from many different photo styles, change font and color, add a blur effect to the home screen, and more. In addition, you can also add lock screen widgets to quickly glance at important information that normally requires unlocking the device and opening an app. These include calendar events, reminders, weather, stocks update, and news flash.
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You can add up to five widgets on the lock screen at a time. And you can set up multiple lock screens, each with its own widgets and Focus mode, and easily switch between them with a swipe.
There is also a clever photo cutout feature that lets you remove a photo's background by simply long pressing on the subject. You can then copy and paste the subject to a photo editing app or share it with your friends for fun. Meanwhile, Live Text in videos is a neat feature that lets you copy text from a paused video. This is very handy when you're watching a tutorial and want to take a quick note of something.
Other notable additions in iOS 16 include the ability to unsend and edit iMessages, Live Activities that display score cards and your ongoing workout right on your lock screen, improvements to Live Text and Focus mode, haptic feedback for the keyboard, Safety Check, and more. Check out our separate feature on iOS 16 if you want to learn more about the new software.
Connectivity, Call Quality, and Audio
Superb connectivity and call quality.
Stereo speakers get plenty loud.
Crash Detection and satellite connectivity are two new features of the iPhone 14. Crash Detection works similarly to Google's Car Crash Detection. The feature uses a new high g-force accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope to detect if you were in a car crash and can automatically notify your contacts and emergency services. It's also available on the Apple Watch Series 8. Emergency SOS via satellite is one of the main highlights of the iPhone 14. It can help you get a message out to emergency services when you're lost or stuck in a remote place with no cellular connectivity. The feature isn't available at launch so I wasn't able to test it out. It will go live sometime in November in the US and Canada. It's unclear if it will be coming to other markets later on.
The iPhone 14 delivers exceptional network performance. I have had no instances of unexpected call drops or connectivity issues during my review period. 5G isn't available yet in India, so I couldn't test it, but I got excellent download and upload speeds on Jio and Airtel's LTE networks. Call quality has also been quite good; some people even complimented how clearer I sounded and asked if I was calling from a new phone. And as for stereo speakers, they're really loud and one of the best I have tested. They deliver clean sound with punchy bass as long as you don't push the volume slider all the way up — as the audio starts to distort at near max volume.
Should you buy the iPhone 14?
You should buy the iPhone 14 if:
You're coming from an iPhone 11 or older.
You want a phone that can shoot exceptional photos and videos without much effort.
You want a phone that's relatively easier to repair.
You foresee the use of the SOS satellite connectivity feature and live in supported markets.
You shouldn't buy the iPhone 14 if:
You own an iPhone 13 or iPhone 12.
You want a telephoto camera.
You want a higher refresh rate display and fast charging.
The iPhone 14 is the most incremental upgrade ever if looked at from the lens of year-on-year improvements. You can even say Apple took the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" a bit too seriously with the iPhone 14, because it practically is an iPhone 13, which in itself was a small bump up from the iPhone 12. But for someone coming from an iPhone 11 or iPhone XS, it's a worthwhile upgrade as there are many notable improvements and refinements in store that they will definitely notice and appreciate. This is to say that the iPhone 14 is a good product, but the iPhone 13 was almost equally good as well.
The bottom line is that the iPhone 14 plays it way too safe, and that makes the Pro models even more appealing and stand out options this year. Dynamic Island, a brand new 48MP camera, and the A16 chipset are all reserved for the iPhone 14 Pro lineup.
Apple's decision to once again go with a 60Hz is hard to swallow, especially considering pretty much every OEM has now switched to a higher refresh rate panel. In fact, the iPhone 14 is the only smartphone at this price point with a standard 60Hz panel. And while the iPhone 14 promises big improvements in low-light camera performance with Photonic Engine, the difference is hardly noticeable in most situations, especially on the main camera. And I also fail to see why a software feature like Photonic Engine can't be expanded to the iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13, which have the same processing package.
The iPhone 14's Emergency SOS via satellite is a cool feature, but it's not live at launch. Moreover, it will be limited to the US and Canada, so it's unlikely to be deciding factor for those in other markets. The feature will also move towards a paid plan after the expiry of its free trial, details of which are not immediately available.
Apple iPhone 14 Apple iPhone 14 The iPhone 14 is powered by A15 Bionic chipset and offers improved cameras. View at Best Buy
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There is no compelling reason to choose the iPhone 14 over last year's iPhone 13 unless you want satellite SOS (which isn't even available yet), slightly better cameras, or a more repairable phone. Picking up the iPhone 13 at a discounted price looks like a wise choice. You won't be missing out on anything major.
The iPhone 14 is coming tomorrow; here’s every new feature
The iPhone 14 is coming in just a few days. We’ve been rounding up the latest rumors and expectations over the last year, and it’s almost time for an official announcement. The iPhone 14 lineup will include four models across two screen sizes, design changes, camera upgrades, and more. Here’s everything we know.
What will the iPhone 14 be called?
Given that the iPhone introduced in 2021 was indeed branded as the iPhone 13, we expect the 2022 iPhone to be the iPhone 14. Whether or not Apple ever returns to the “S” branding remains to be seen, but rumors indicate the 2022 iPhone will be a big enough upgrade to warrant a new number altogether.
We’re expecting the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max to be three of the names. What’s unclear, however, is the name of Apple’s new 6.7-inch non-Pro iPhone. While this device has been commonly referred to as the “iPhone 14 Max,” more recent reporting suggests it could actually be called the iPhone 14 Plus
Apple marketing names stay under wraps until the last minute. This means we’ll have to wait until the event itself to learn more about what this year’s release will be officially called.
iPhone 14: No notch, but…
The biggest change that we currently expect with the 2022 iPhone is the removal of the notch cutout. The notch design was first introduced with the iPhone X, and it has stayed the same since then. The notch is where Apple houses its sensors for things like Face ID.
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple will drop the notch in 2022, starting with the high-end iPhone 14 Pro. Instead of the notch, the iPhone 14 will use a new “pill hole” design. Rather than a simple hole-punch cutout used by many Android phones, Apple will use a combination of the hole punch cutout and a pill-shaped cutout.
This will allow Apple to squeeze the front-facing camera and Face ID hardware in, while also increasing the amount of available screen real estate. In March, 9to5Mac exclusively reported that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will have slightly larger screens. This was also corroborated by analyst Ross Young.
iPhone 13 Pro – 6.06″
iPhone 14 Pro – 6.12″
iPhone 13 Pro Max – 6.68″
iPhone 14 Pro Max – 6.69″
Here’s the technology currently located in the iPhone’s notch:
Infrared camera
Flood illuminator
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
Speaker
Microphone
Front camera
Dot projector
In a report, Young explained:
We now believe Apple will have a hole + pill design on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. The smaller hole will not be invisible…The two hole concept will be unique to Apple, like the notch, not similar to all the pill models from Huawei.
The pill-hole design might not be as ambitious as some had hoped, but it’s the next step in the process of making the iPhone truly all-screen, without any cutouts at all.
But, Apple is also reportedly planning to use software trickery to bridge the gap between the two cutouts. This would put dead space between the two cutouts, creating the illusion that it’s actually longer pill-shaped cutout, rather than two separate ones.
In this space between to the two cutouts, sources tell 9to5Mac that Apple plans to put privacy indicators for the camera and microphone. This means you would see an orange dot in this space when an app is using your microphone and a green light when an app is using your device’s camera. Apple’s goal is to make the experience similar to the green indicator light that the Mac currently uses.
iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on display
Speaking of the iPhone 14 Pro’s display technology, this will be the year that Apple finally adds always-on display support to the iPhone lineup. The company is reportedly planning to add always-on display support to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. This would allow users to see glanceable information on their iPhone display, even when it’s powered off.
You may be wondering why the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max can’t have this always-on display functionality. The key is that the iPhone 14 Pro models will have an updated ProMotion display technology that allows it to scale all the way down to a 1Hz refresh rate. The existing ProMotion displays used by Apple can scale down to a minimum of 10Hz.
The iPhone 14 Pro’s support for even lower refresh rates will help preserve battery life while simultaneously offering the always-on functionality. For context, the Apple Watch’s always-on display can scale to a 1Hz refresh rate as well.
There is a ton of evidence within iOS 16 to indicate that Apple is readying always-on display technology for the iPhone 14. 9to5Mac has found direct evidence of the feature in iOS 16, while Apple is also preparing its collection of default wallpapers to support the new technology.
Face ID is here to stay
While early iPhone 14 rumors indicated that Apple would bring under-display Touch ID to the iPhone, this no longer appears to be the case. More recent reporting from Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that Apple has been forced to delay under-display Touch ID to 2023 instead.
According to Kuo, Apple has faced “lower than expected development progress” on its work to integrate Touch ID into the iPhone’s display. It’s also possible Apple will take a less ambitious approach and integrate Touch ID into the iPhone’s power button, similar to the iPad Air and iPad mini. But ultimately, Touch ID is not expected to be an iPhone 14 feature this year.
iPhone 14 to offer biggest camera updates in years
The iPhone 14 will include dramatic improvements to the front-facing camera, according to Kuo. The biggest change will be upgrades to the front-facing camera’s auto-focus features. This has been described as the front camera’s “biggest upgrade in years.” The addition of auto-focus support alone will significantly improve the camera’s performance.
Other upgrades include a six-part lens, versus the existing five-part lens. The iPhone 14’s front camera is also expected to have a larger f/1.9 aperture, which would let in more light. More details here are unclear, but the front-facing iPhone camera has a way to go to catch up to the rear camera.
In terms of the rear camera, Kuo says the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be upgraded to 48-megapixels, an increase from the 12-megapixel sensor in iPhone 12.
Although the sensor is 48 megapixels, it is possible that output images from the iPhone will still be 12-megapixels in resolution. Similar to some Android phones, Apple could use a smart scaling algorithm that takes the raw 48-megapixel data and creates a 12-megapixel output image with more detail and less noise.
Kuo believes the video camera system will also be upgraded for the iPhone 14, supporting 8K recording for the first time.
An even bigger camera bump?
While early reports indicated that some models of the iPhone 14 will not feature a camera bump, this is no longer believed to be the case. In fact, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are expected to have bigger camera bumps than their predecessors.
Kuo offered reasoning for this, saying that the wide camera upgrade is to blame:
The main reason for the larger and more prominent rear-camera bump of the 14 Pro/Pro Max is upgrading the wide camera to 48MP (vs. 13 Pro/Pro Max’s 12MP). The diagonal length of 48MP CIS will increase by 25-35%, and the height of 48MP’s 7P lens will increase by 5-10%.
iPhone 14 will be the last iPhone with Lightning
For several years, reports have suggested that Apple could introduce a port-less iPhone. This iPhone would not feature a Lightning port, instead, it would be completely wireless. This was once rumored to come in 2021, but that did not happen.
The port-less iPhone is rumored to be something Apple is still testing, but it’s several years away at this point. In fact, Apple is expected to switch to USB-C in 2023. But the iPhone 14 coming this year will still use Lightning.
Apple is rumored to boost Lightning data transfer rates to USB 3.0 starting with the iPhone 14 Pro this fall, though. USB 2.0 supports transfer speeds of 480 Mbps, while USB 3.0 supports speeds of up to 5 Gbps. With 8K video recording on the way, faster data transfer speeds are a necessity.
While some rumors had anticipated that the iPhone 14 might use a new chip produced using 3-nanometer technology, that is no longer expected to be the case. Currently, Apple’s chip partner TSMC is expected to use an enhanced 5nm manufacturing process for the chip in the iPhone 14, likely referred to as the A16.
Best iPhone charging accessories:
iPhone 14 performance: A major change
The iPhone 14 lineup is expected to herald a major change to differentiation strategy between the “Pro” models and the non-Pro models.
For the first time ever, Apple is expected to only upgrade the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max to its newest processor. These two models are expected to be upgraded to the A16 chip, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will retain the same A15 chip inside the current iPhone 13 lineup.
The A16 chip inside the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be manufactured with the same 5-nanometer process as the A15, which is also the same as the A14. This limits the year-over-year performance improvements, but it doesn’t mean we won’t see any improvements.
A recent supply chain report indicated that initial testing of the A16 chip inside the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max indicated a performance boost of “just a few percent” compared to the A15 chip. Since then, however, Apple has reportedly worked to improve the thermal management of the A16 chip to further increase performance. This ultimately means the actual real-world change could be more notable for the A16 than initially expected.
iPhone 14 colors
What will your color choices be this year? According to what we know right now, there are some notable changes in store compared to the iPhone 13 lineup.
First off, reports say that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will be available in the following colors: green, purple, blue, black, white, and red. For context, the iPhone 13 is available in red, starlight, midnight, blue, and pink. This means Apple is planning to drop the pink color this year. This leak likely doesn’t accurately refer to the names of the colors. For instance, “black” is likely to midnight and “white” is likely referring to starlight.
The same report indicates that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in green, purple, graphite, silver, and gold.
Satellite connectivity
The ability for the iPhone to communicate via satellite connectivity was first rumored for the iPhone 13 last year, but that did not come fruition.
This feature is once again being rumored as a possibility for the iPhone 14 lineup. In fact, Ming-Chi Kuo says the hardware development for this feature has already been completed. The question is whether Apple has inked the necessary financial deals to launch it this year.
As reported by Bloomberg, satellite connectivity for the iPhone will allow users to communicate even when they are out of range of traditional cellular networks. The idea is that this feature will be limited to emergency situations and communication. For instance, you’d be able to communicate with emergency responders via the Messages app as well as to report major emergencies such as plane crashes, sinking ships, and other disasters.
Again, it’s unclear if this feature is ready for the iPhone 14. The hardware, however, is there. 9to5Mac has also found evidence in iOS 16 that Apple is continuing to work on the feature. In fact, the artwork for the event might very well hint at the new satellite features.
Other iPhone 14 tidbits
There are a handful of other iPhone 14 features and changes that have been rumored. Some of these are sketchier than others, but they are all worth noting as we head into the big day.
Stronger MagSafe magnets
A new “exclusive” MagSafe accessory
Faster 30W top charging speed
No improvements to wireless charging speeds
No improvements to durability
6GB of RAM in all models
iPhone 14 pricing
Unfortunately, it looks like Apple is planning a price increase for at least the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. According to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will increase the price of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max by around $100 compared to the iPhone 13 lineup.
This means that the iPhone 14 Pro will start at $1,099 and the iPhone 14 Pro Max will start at $1,199. While some were hoping that the company would increase the base storage to help offset the price increase, it does not appear that will be the case. We expect iPhone 14 devices to still start with 128GB of storage, just like the iPhone 13.
Apple has announced its iPhone 14 event, and it will be held on September 7 at 10:00 PT/1:00 ET. As such, we expect the iPhone 14 to go up for sale on September 9, with the first orders arriving on September 16. There are no indications that the iPhone 14 will face any delays, but the iPhone 14 Plus/Max could be more supply constrained than the rest of the lineup at the start.
What do you think of the iPhone 14 rumors? Are you planning to upgrade? Let us know down in the comments!
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Apple iPhone 14 review: it’s the iPhone 13S
The iPhone 14 is good. You probably shouldn’t buy an iPhone 14.
If those two phrases sound at odds with each other, then let me explain. The iPhone 14 is highly capable. Its chipset can handle everything from day-to-day tasks to graphics-intensive gaming. Its cameras are capable of very good photos, and it records the best video clips you’ll see from any phone in its class. This is all true of the 14, but it’s also true of the iPhone 13.
The iPhone 14 is a very good phone, with a handful of useful upgrades over the 13. But it’s a small handful, and that leaves the 14 in a tight spot. The iPhone 13, which came out a year ago and Apple is still selling, is nearly identical to the 14 and $100 cheaper, while the iPhone 14 Pro introduces a lot of interesting new features. And the upcoming iPhone 14 Plus has the same hardware as the 14 but a massive 6.7-inch screen. If the Great iPhone Mini Experiment taught us anything, it’s that people love big screens.
7 Verge Score Apple iPhone 14 $ 799 The Good Better selfie camera
Good battery life
Crash detection and satellite SOS are neat The Bad It’s more like an iPhone 13S
Display is still 60Hz
eSIM transition will be easy for most but painful for some $799.00 at Apple$799.00 at Best Buy
The iPhone 14 does have some genuinely cool new features: an upgraded sensor on the main camera and a slightly wider aperture and autofocus on the selfie cam; car crash detection; and satellite SOS, but aside from those, it really is almost identical to the iPhone 13. It looks the same, with the same flat aluminum rails and roughly the same dimensions. There are still just two rear cameras — a standard wide and ultrawide — but the camera bump is a bit chunkier to accommodate the bigger main sensor, enough so that an iPhone 13 case won’t fit.
A slightly larger camera bump means an iPhone 13 case doesn’t quite fit the 14.
The similarities between the iPhone 14 and 13 go deeper than the surface. While the 14 Pro and Pro Max get the new A16 Bionic chipset, the 14 uses an A15 Bionic, which is the same generation used by the iPhone 13 series, albeit with one more GPU core than the 13 has. That’s an unusual move for Apple, which typically puts its newest chip in all of its new iPhones.
The A15 is still very capable. But having the latest processor isn’t just about getting the very best performance now — it also presumably has some relationship to how many OS updates a phone gets and whether it will support certain new features that Apple adds to iOS over the next few years. Even when previous iPhone models included modest updates over their predecessors, getting that current-gen chipset was an argument in favor of buying the latest model — if nothing else, you’d probably get OS upgrades a little longer. That feels less certain with the iPhone 14.
Like the iPhone 13, the 14 has 15W MagSafe charging, IP68 water resistance, and between 128GB and 512GB of storage. The US version of the 14 supports both sub-6GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G, though the international version is sub-6GHz-only, which is fine because the US is the only country pretending to care about mmWave. You’ll see a mmWave window on the side of the phone, but one thing you won’t spot on the US version is a physical SIM tray — it’s all eSIM, baby. More on that later. There’s Wi-Fi 6 support, as there was in the 13, and Bluetooth has been upgraded from 5.0 to 5.3.
The 6.1-inch display is still just 60Hz.
The iPhone 14’s screen is everything that the 13’s is — because for all intents and purposes, it’s the same display. It’s still a 6.1-inch OLED with a little better than 1080p resolution (Super Retina XDR if you’re fluent in Apple) with a standard 60Hz refresh rate. It’s a good screen, but the competition is running laps around Apple here. Android phones from the flagship class all the way to the $350 Samsung A53 5G offer screens with 120Hz refresh rates. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s an area where it feels like the standard iPhone is overdue for an update. For the super-smooth 120Hz ProMotion display, you still need to pony up for the Pro model.
Battery life is another place I’d expect to see year-over-year improvement in a new flagship model, and in this department, Apple does quote a small increase in performance. The 14 will get up to 20 hours of video playback versus 19 on the iPhone 13, according to the official specs. In the real world, after three to four hours of screen-on time, I had between 40 and 50 percent charge at the end of the day. Whether that’s substantially better than the already quite excellent iPhone 13 is hard to say, but it’s good enough to get most people through a full day, and that’s what counts.
So far, I’ve mostly talked about what hasn’t changed, so here’s what’s new.
With a couple of new hardware features, Apple is touting the iPhone 14 as a literal lifesaver. The first is Crash Detection, and it looks very similar to Google’s car crash detection. The 14 has a new “high dynamic range” gyroscopic sensor and a high-g accelerometer. If data collected by the phone’s sensors indicate that you’ve been in a crash, it will ask you if you’re okay and will call emergency services if you don’t respond in a certain amount of time. The iPhone 13 doesn’t have those new sensors, so it’s unlikely that older phones would be able to support Crash Detection, even if Apple was feeling generous enough to bring it to older iPhones.
I haven’t been in a car crash in the week I’ve been testing the phone, so I can’t say for sure that it works. I’ll leave that one to gutsier testers than me, but in any case, it’s something that just happens on the phone and doesn’t require anything of the user to enable. It’s the definition of a nice-to-have feature.
Apple is touting the iPhone 14 as a literal lifesaver.
The 14 also has Emergency SOS, a separate service that’s coming this November. In areas without cell coverage, the phone is able to get a message out to emergency responders by communicating via satellite. This is thanks to some custom components and software unique to the iPhone 14 series, according to Apple’s launch presentation, so don’t expect to see it ported to older models either. You’ll answer a few questions to help emergency services better understand your situation, and the UI directs you to point your phone at the nearest satellite.
If you regularly spend time outside of cell coverage, then satellite SOS could give you some peace of mind
I got a demo of the feature in a field on Apple’s Cupertino campus — not exactly a wilderness area, so take this with a gigantic grain of salt — but it looked fairly intuitive. You can even see the satellite’s position changing on your phone screen as it crosses the sky. According to Apple’s documentation, sending a message can take anywhere from 15 seconds to “over a minute” depending on how much your view of the satellite is obstructed. In a spot with some light foliage, messages in my demo went through in less than 30 seconds.
If you regularly spend time outside of cell coverage, then satellite SOS could give you some real peace of mind. I do some hiking around the greater Seattle area, and you don’t have to get too far outside of the city to find yourself in a wireless dead zone. That’s where getting turned around or twisting an ankle on a less busy trail can put you in real trouble. I’m not a serious enough hiker to invest in a separate GPS unit and its subscription service, but something like this built right into my phone is very appealing. The big question on my mind is the cost — it will come with two years of free service on the iPhone 14, but outside of that, you’ll need to pay up, and Apple’s not saying yet how much it will cost.
Maybe it’s Photonic Engine; maybe it’s just good old-fashioned physics
Crash Detection and satellite SOS conjure up some pretty grim scenarios, so let’s look on the light side: the iPhone 14’s cameras. This is where you will see an improvement from the 13 to the 14 — it’s not dramatic, but it’s there. For starters, there’s some upgraded hardware. The 14 essentially inherits the 13 Pro and Pro Max’s main camera, with a bigger sensor, larger pixels, and a faster f/1.5 aperture compared to f/1.6. The selfie camera gets a wider aperture, too — no change to the ultrawide hardware, though.
On the software side, Apple has made some changes to how it processes images with a technology it calls “Photonic Engine.” It’s applying Deep Fusion earlier in the image processing pipeline on uncompressed data, which Apple says improves low-light performance compared to the Photonic-Engine-less iPhone 13. After shooting side-by-side samples in all kinds of conditions, I can report that the iPhone 14’s low-light images are a little more detailed than the 13’s, but I’m not convinced that Photonic Engine has a lot to do with it. In a lot of instances, the 14 is just able to use a lower ISO than the 13 thanks to that larger sensor. With less noise to deal with, there’s more detail, and colors in low-light photos are more accurate. Maybe it’s Photonic Engine; maybe it’s just good old-fashioned physics.
The iPhone 13’s ultrawide (left) versus the Photonic-Engine-ified iPhone 14’s ultrawide (right).
The difference is more obvious when I look at selfie and ultrawide shots side by side on the 13 and 14. In low light, the 14’s ultrawide shots look less watercolor-y, and selfie photos have much more detail and better skin tone rendering. Using the front-facing cameras on both while standing at the front of a moving ferry boat, I got a sharp shot out of the iPhone 14 while the iPhone 13 struggled mightily.
The main camera’s portrait mode looks a little improved, too. Nothing can cope with the segmentation torture test that is my child’s hair, but the way the 14 handles cat fur looks a little more refined. Still, it’s not going to dethrone the current portrait mode champ: the Samsung Galaxy S22. Its ability to identify a subject down to the finest details is unmatched right now.
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There’s also a new stabilization mode for video shooting called Action mode that’s designed to correct for more extreme movement. And, as I have learned through trial and error, it’s very much designed to be used in bright outdoor light. With anything less, the camera complains and footage looks horribly blotchy. It’s not the best option when you’re chasing your toddler across the house.
Outdoors, it does produce very smooth footage, but so does the iPhone 13, actually. Action mode may cope a little better with very intense motion, but for most use cases, the iPhone’s standard stabilization system was already good enough.
The iPhone’s video is still on top
On the video front, you can now use Cinematic mode up to 4K resolution — previously it was capped at HD resolution. It still looks a little weird, but that 24p frame rate kind of helps it pass as film-like footage a little better. There’s no change to the other video modes — there’s still slow motion, timelapse, and all the usual standard video recording options, plus 10-bit Dolby Vision. This is one area where Apple can afford to stand still because the iPhone’s video is still on top.
Agree to Continue: Apple iPhone 14 and 14 Pro Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we’re going to start counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate. To use any of the iPhone 14 models, you have to agree to: The iOS terms and conditions, which you can have sent to you by email
Apple’s warranty agreement, which you can have sent to you by email These agreements are nonnegotiable, and you cannot use the phone at all if you don’t agree to them. The iPhone also prompts you to set up Apple Cash and Apple Pay at setup, which further means you have to agree to: The Apple Cash agreement, which specifies that services are actually provided by Green Dot Bank and Apple Payments, Inc. and further consists of the following agreements:
The Apple Cash terms and conditions
The electronic communications agreement
The Green Dot Bank privacy policy
Direct payments terms and conditions
Direct payments privacy notice
Apple Payments, Inc. license If you add a credit card to Apple Pay, you have to agree to: The terms from your credit card provider, which do not have an option to be emailed Final tally: two mandatory agreements, six optional agreements for Apple Cash, and one optional agreement for Apple Pay.
The iPhone 14 does have one bold new feature, or maybe a bold new omission: the physical SIM tray. On US models, Apple went all in on eSIM, which is just a digital version of the tiny SIM card that identifies you to your carrier’s wireless network. The iPhone 14 can store up to eight eSIMs, with two active at once. iPhones have had dual-SIM support for years, but last year’s iPhone 13 was the first that could have two eSIMs active at the same time. Earlier iPhones only supported dual-SIM with one physical and one eSIM. Outside the US, where eSIM adoption isn’t as far along, the iPhone 14 will still have a physical SIM tray, and it’ll still support dual SIMs — either with two eSIMs or one eSIM and one physical.
No SIM tray to see here.
Dropping the physical SIM card is a hotly contested topic — roughly half of my Twitter feed thinks it’s a good thing, and half hates eSIM with the fire of a thousand suns. On one hand, eSIMs make it easier to start service with a new carrier since you don’t need to go to a store or wait for a physical SIM to arrive in the mail. And because the iPhone can store multiple eSIMs, swapping phone lines is a lot easier — no more popping out a tiny tray and fiddling with physical SIM cards.
If you buy an iPhone 14 through a carrier or buy a carrier version from Apple, it comes preloaded with your number. And if you buy an unlocked version, transferring your number from an old iPhone should be easy. On major US carriers, you can transfer your number from a phone with a physical SIM directly to an eSIM on the iPhone 14. Or (depending on your carrier), you might be able to convert your physical SIM to an eSIM and then transfer that. Once you switch to eSIM, your physical SIM card is deactivated. It was a little nerve-racking to commit to moving my Verizon number from a physical SIM on my iPhone 11 to an eSIM on my review iPhone 14 in the back of an Uber in the middle of a busy travel day, but hey, it worked.
All signs point to a future without physical SIMs
If you’re coming from an Android with a physical SIM or your carrier is one of the many smaller carriers that support eSIM but don’t have Quick Transfer or carrier activation, getting your number onto the iPhone 14 may not be as easy. Your carrier will have to issue an eSIM — which you may be able to do on the website or through an app — which you can then add with a QR code or the carrier’s app.
Depending on your current phone and carrier — or how often you go to parts of the world without eSIM — it could be a pain to switch to eSIM, or it could be easy enough to do in the back of a moving car. Either way, with Apple going eSIM-only, all signs point to a future without physical SIMs as other phone makers get on board. You’ll probably have to make the jump to eSIM sometime in the future. That’s not really an argument for or against the iPhone 14, though there’s something to be said for giving the carriers another year or two to iron out the kinks.
There’s an argument in favor of the iPhone 14 for a very narrow group of people.
At the time of this writing, Apple is selling the iPhone 13 for $699. The cameras aren’t quite as good as the 14’s, particularly in low light, but they’re still highly capable. Last year’s iPhone still has some of the best video image quality of any phone released this year. There’s also the 14 Plus on the way for $899, and while we haven’t been able to test it yet, it offers a bigger screen and promises better battery life — two things that a lot of people really want out of a new phone.
You have to put a stake in the ground somewhere: one product will be The New Thing, and another will be old
And don’t forget about the Galaxy S22. For the same price as the 14, it includes a 3x telephoto camera, a display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate plus an always-on display, and is promised three more years of OS upgrades beyond the Android 13 update that’s coming soon. That’s not quite as good as the four or five iOS upgrades the iPhone 14 will likely receive, but it’s close.
The 14 Pro and Pro Max represent the start of some new ideas from Apple, including an always-on display, a shape-shifting screen notch — ahoy there, “Dynamic Island” — that shows system information at a glance, and a high-resolution main camera. Apple hasn’t exactly nailed them on the first try, but they’ll get a little more useful as third-party app makers adopt them and as Apple refines them with future iOS updates. The 14 Pro feels like the first iteration of a new iPhone, while the 14 feels like the final version of the old iPhone.
It’s notch dead yet.
Most people should consider other options, but there is an argument for the iPhone 14 if you meet a narrow set of criteria: you’re on an iPhone 12 or older, you really want the satellite SOS feature, you prefer a 6.1-inch screen size (it is, after all, the right one), you want the best camera quality at this price point, you just need a new phone right now, and your carrier is offering a sweet trade-in deal. For this particular set of circumstances, the iPhone 14 will suit you just fine. Otherwise, it’s well worth taking a look at your other options.
When you shift to new technologies in a product line, you have to put a stake in the ground somewhere: one product will be The New Thing, and another will be old. The 14 is on the “old” side of that dividing line. The “old” was good, and so is the iPhone 14. But in the broader landscape of good phones you can buy right now — iOS or otherwise — it’s hard to see an argument for the 14.
Apple iPhone 14 review: The most iterative update ever to a great smartphone
The iPhone 14 is the most iterative upgrade ever with little new. Is it worth buying over last year's iPhone 13? We find out in this review.
The iPhone 14 is such an incredibly minor update that no iPhone 13 owner with a sane mind should consider upgrading to it. The fact that iPhone 14 doesn't even do the bare minimum to justify an upgrade from its predecessor is a reminder of Apple's incredible grip over the smartphone market and how it can afford to get away with controversial moves that others simply can't. Can you imagine any Android brand releasing a flagship with the same chipset as its predecessor, and getting away with it?
XDA VIDEO OF THE DAY
The iPhone 14 is Apple trying to sell you the same old wine in the old bottle but with a new label. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little here. There are some notable upgrades here, and one of the biggest changes Apple didn't even talk about during the event (but more on that later). The list of hardware upgrades is relatively small this year. You get the same chipset as the last year but with an extra GPU core, a brand new selfie shooter, an improved primary camera, basic satellite connectivity, and Crash Detection. In addition, the US models also drop the physical SIM card slot to fully embrace the eSIM future.
As you can see, there's not a lot to convince the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 owners to make a switch. The divide between the standard and Pro models is wider than ever as most of the cool features, including Dynamic Island, the new A16 Bionic chipset, and a 48MP main camera, are exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. That also means there's more incentive to shell out extra money on the Pro models as the advantages and perks you get are more clearly defined and easy to rationalize.
Apple iPhone 14 The iPhone 14 offers improved cameras and satellite connectivity in a familiar package. View at Best Buy
Apple iPhone 14: Specifications
Specification Apple iPhone 14 Dimensions & build Aluminum mid-frame
Glass front and back
"Ceramic Shield" for front glass
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8mm
172g Display 6.1-inch OLED display,
2556 x 1179-pixel resolution at 460 PPI
60Hz refresh rate
HDR display, True Tone, Wide color (P3)
800 nits max brightness, 1200 nits peak brightness (HDR) Camera Primary : 12MP wide, f/1.5 aperture, 1.9μm sensor-shift OIS Seven-element lens 5x digital zoom
: 12MP wide, f/1.5 aperture, 1.9μm Secondary: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4 aperture Battery 3,279mAh rated for up to 20 hours of video playback
20W wired charging
15W MagSafe charging
7.5W Qi wireless charging SoC, RAM & Storage A15 Bionic chipset
6GB RAM
128GB, 256GB, and 512GB Sensors Face ID
Barometer
High dynamic range gyro
High-g accelerometer
Proximity sensor
Dual ambient light sensors Ports Apple Lightning port
No headphone jack OS iOS 16 Colors Midnight, Purple, Starlight, Blue, Red IP rating IP68 water and dust resistance Connectivity 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave)
Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2×2 MIMO
Bluetooth 5.3
Ultra Wideband (UWB)
NFC Price $799(128GB)
$899 ($256GB)
$1,099 (512GB)
About this review: This iPhone 14 is my personal purchase. Apple didn't have any editorial input in this article. The review is written after spending ten days with the device.
Apple iPhone 14: Price & Availability
The iPhone 14, along with the iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, are now available for purchase worldwide from Apple Store and other official retail channels. The standard iPhone 14 starts at $799, but you can save big by taking advantage of deals and discounts.
The iPhone 14 starts at $799 for the base model and goes up to $1,099 for the 512GB model.
It comes in Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED colors.
Design & Display
The iPhone 14 has an identical design and display to the iPhone 13.
However, Apple has redesigned the internal architecture of the phone.
If you're trying to spot any visual difference between iPhone 14 and iPhone 13, you'll find none, except for the different colorways. You're looking at an identical exterior design as the last year. Not a bad thing, as the iPhone 13 was a pretty solid phone, but you can't help but feel that the standard iPhone lineup is in dire need of a design overhaul. There's still that unsightly notch at the top, and the flat side rails take some time getting used to if you have mostly used phones with curved backs. It's not a bad-looking phone by any means, but just how many times can you get excited about the same design?
The iPhone 14 is 2g lighter than the iPhone 13, and expectedly, the difference wasn't noticeable when I held both phones side by side. The front is still protected by a Ceramic Shield, while the flat aluminum frame provides a reassuring grip. As you would expect, the phone feels great in hand — solid and incredibly sturdy. I must admit, though, that after exclusively using Android phones with curved backs all these years, I found the iPhone 14 uncomfortable due to its sharp edges. But this was easy to address with a protective case.
At first, I was contemplating getting the iPhone 14 Plus as I feared the 6.1-inch size would be too small for me. But having used the iPhone 14 for over ten days, I feel like this is the perfect size — not too small, not too big.
The mute switch we all love and appreciate is still there, and so is the unwanted Lightning port we all hate and wish was already dead. Apple has removed the physical SIM tray in favor of eSIM on the US models, but those in Europe and Asia can still find it on the left side.
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While the iPhone 14 looks identical to the iPhone 13 from the outside, it's radically different under the hood. As revealed by iFixit's teardown, Apple has completely redesigned the internal architecture of the iPhone 14, making it the most repairable iPhone to date. That's a big win for the right-to-repair movement and great news for anyone who likes holding onto their phone for a long time.
The iPhone 14's 6.1-inch display is the same as the last year. It's an OLED panel with 1170 x 2532 resolution, DCI-P3 wide color gamut, and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support. As you would expect, it's a high-quality panel that offers true-to-life colors, deep blacks, and great viewing angles. Unfortunately, Apple still limits the higher refresh rate Pro Motion display to Pro models. As a result, you'll have to put up with a 60Hz panel. But other than that, there's not much to complain about here. It's one of the best displays you can get at this price point in terms of color accuracy and brightness.
On max setting, the panel gets bright enough that I have had no issue using it even under harsh sunlight. Apple's True Tone feature is on board, and it automatically adjusts the white balance and illumination based on your surround lighting to make text and content easier on the eyes. However, there's no Always-on Display or a Dynamic Island similar to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. The display also has an oleophobic coating applied which makes it easier to wipe off fingerprints and smudges. However, using a screen protector would still be a good idea.
iPhone 14: Camera
The iPhone 14's main camera has been updated with a wider aperture and larger pixel size.
Spectacular video performance as always.
While the Pro models get a brand new 48MP primary camera, the standard iPhone 14 and 14 Plus opt for the more conservative 12MP dual camera setup similar to its predecessors. There's a 12MP main shooter, which now has a bigger aperture — f/1.5 compared to f/1.6 on the iPhone 13 — and a larger 1.9μm pixel size for improved low-light performance. The ultra-wide camera is seemingly unchanged.
In broad daylight, the iPhone 14 captures pleasant photos with an affinity for true-to-life colors that sometimes may appear a bit dull compared to Samsung's more saturated and vibrant tones. If you prefer richer colors and higher contrast, you can always turn to the Photographic Styles from the camera settings.
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In broad daylight, the iPhone 14 captures pleasant photos
Shots from the main camera have on-point white balance, accurate and repeatable exposure, and very little noise. Images generally resolve a good amount of detail, but we also observed oversharpening in tree leaves and water in some photos. High-contrast scenes are also handled quite well, with the camera striking a good balance between highlight and shadow details. However, the dynamic range isn't as wide as what we have seen on the iPhone 14 Pro or Xiaomi 12S Ultra, which leads to blown-out highlights in certain conditions, such as when shooting under harsh sunlight or against the sun. But such instances have been far and few between during the review, and most of the time, Apple's image processing does a good job of keeping highlights and shadows in check. In addition, the iPhone 14's super fast autofocus and sensor-shift OIS make it possible to take great landscape shots while traveling by car or bus.
Low-light photos
Low-light photos from the main camera are excellent and have good detail retention. They have accurate colors, great contrast, and low luminance noise. Night Mode automatically kicks in when the light is low and helps to bring out more detail in scenes by brightening up the darker portions. Low-light photos also benefit from Apple's new image pipeline, Photonic Engine, which claims to improve mid-to-low light performance up to 2x on the ultra-wide camera and up to 2.5x on the main camera. Basically, Photonic Engine applies Deep Fusion's computations on raw data much earlier in the imaging process. Apple says this leads to better color reproduction, retention of subtle textures, and more detail in photos.
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I briefly compared the iPhone 14 with iPhone 13 in low light and didn't notice any dramatic improvements in photo quality. The iPhone 14 was able to preserve more details and output a slightly brighter shot, but these differences were only noticeable after careful examination and pixel peeping.
Video performance
All three cameras on the iPhone 14 are capable of shooting 4K videos at 60fps. You can also shoot HDR videos in Dolby Vision format with a 10-bit high dynamic range. In terms of real-world performance, the iPhone 14 delivers spectacular video performance and can easily outperform competing Android smartphones in this price range. No matter which format or resolution you opt for, the footage looks buttery smooth, showcasing exceptional dynamic range, great detail, and rich colors in both daylight and low-light conditions.
The iPhone 14 delivers spectacular video performance and can easily outperform competing Android smartphones in this price range
The only issue I have with video performance is the excessive camera lens flare and reflections when shooting in brightly lit areas. These issues are especially noticeable at night (see the third video sample).
The Cinematic mode that debuted on the iPhone 13 is still here, but now it's available in 4K at 30fps and 4K at 24fps. It's still a hit-and-miss and struggles a lot when multiple subjects are in the frame, but it's fun to play with.
There's also a new video feature called Action mode that lets you capture super-smooth hand-held videos even when there's intense motion and activity, such as running or cycling. It definitely smooths out shakes and vibrations, but you'll need to ensure there's ample light in the scene. Otherwise, you'll end up with grainy footage. In addition, you're limited to 2.8K resolution. Just like Cinematic mode, it's good to have and fun to play with once in a while, but for the most part, you'll be better off shooting with the standard video mode.
Improved selfie camera
The biggest camera upgrade on the iPhone 14 is the selfie camera, which is the same as the one on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The new 12MP TrueDepth camera has a wider f/1.9 aperture and autofocus. Selfies from the new camera are excellent, offering accurate skin tone rendering, wide dynamic range, and great contrast. However, the iPhone 14's insistence for selfies to be as true to life as possible and capturing everything to its finest detail may be a real turn-off for those accustomed to selfies with an overly processed or smoothened look. Portrait mode is available on the selfie camera, and it works quite well — it uses Face ID's structured-light 3D scanner for more accurate edge detection.
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The iPhone 14 doesn't have a 3D LiDAR sensor for depth estimation, but it can capture portrait shots just fine — as long as lighting conditions are favorable, that is. Apple's edge detection is still not on par with those of Samsung and Google, so you'll notice the iPhone 14 sometimes not being able to accurately identify the subject and blurring out finer details such as strands of hair.
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Overall, there's hardly anything to complain about here, as the iPhone 14's cameras rarely fail. In most cases, you can point and shoot and walk away confident that you have captured the moment perfectly. I was amazed how I rarely had to take a second shot, which I often have to do when using other phones. This is the camera system you can rely on to take solid photos and video, no matter the lighting conditions. Not many smartphones offer this peace of mind, and it's empowering for average users who want to take good photos without much effort.
Performance
The iPhone 14 packs last year's A15 Bionic chipset but with an extra core of GPU.
Overall performance is fantastic but the 60Hz display means scrolling feels sluggish.
For the first time, the standard iPhone doesn't feature Apple's latest and greatest chipset. The new A16 Bionic chipset is exclusive to Pro models this year, while the standard models have to settle for the same A15 chipset as the iPhone 13 series. This is more than likely to start a new trend where all future iPhones, including the upcoming iPhone 15, will continue to feature a year-old chipset. That means those wanting to get their hands on the latest Apple silicone will now have to shell out more money for the Pro model.
That said, the A15 chip inside the iPhone 14 is still one of the most powerful smartphone chipsets on the market and can handily beat Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. It has two performance cores running at 3.23GHz speed and four efficiency cores at 1.82GHz.
Although the iPhone 14 has the same chipset as its predecessor, it comes with several performance improvements. For one, the new model has a 5-core GPU which Apple says is 18% faster than the iPhone 13's 4-core GPU. Secondly, the phone has 6GB of RAM, up from 4GB in the iPhone 13. Finally, it has an updated internal design for better heat management.
Scrolling feels less fluid on the iPhone 14 due to its 60Hz panel
Coming to real-world performance, the iPhone 14 is a fast and reliable performer. Apps and game launch quickly, and iOS's animations are as smooth and silky as ever. Gaming performance isn't an issue, either. I tried out Genshin Impact and Call of Duty, and they ran smoothly for the most part. The device starts to get warm when you game for an extended period, but there was no serious performance throttling or frame dropping or such.
While the overall performance is fantastic, scrolling is a different story. The iPhone 14 continues to use a 60Hz panel, and that means the scrolling and moving around the system feel less fluid compared to phones with a higher refresh rate display. If you're upgrading from an iPhone 11 or have never used a phone with a higher refresh rate display, you have nothing to worry about. But as someone who has been exclusively using an Android phone with a 120Hz display, the difference was immediately noticeable and felt quite jarring. iOS animations do their part in masking this shortcoming, but they don't compensate enough. There's no excuse for Apple not to include a higher refresh rate display when it's the only smartphone brand still shipping a 60Hz panel on its premium phones. Even budget Android smartphones nowadays come with a 90Hz or 120Hz panel. Hopefully, this will finally change with the iPhone 15.
Battery Life & Charging
The iPhone 14 delivers all-day battery life.
The charging speed is still really slow.
The iPhone 14 packs a 3,279mAh battery, an insignificant 39mAh increase from the iPhone 13's 3,240mAh battery. With this minor capacity bump and other efficiency improvements, Apple promises an extra hour of endurance over last year's model. However, the charging speed hasn't improved at all. The phone tops out at 20W with USB Power Delivery, 15W with MagSafe, and a measly 7.5W with Qi wireless charging.
The iPhone 13 already had great battery life, and the iPhone 14 isn't any different. During my ten days with the phone, it consistently delivered a full-day battery with average 4.5 to 5 hours of screen on time. Even on weekend days when I used the phone heavily, I didn't find myself in need of a quick top-up before bedtime. As long as you start your day with more than 80% battery and don't play demanding games for an extended period, you shouldn't have any issues getting a full day of usage.
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The iPhone 14's 20W charging feels painfully slow in comparison to what OnePlus and Xiaomi have to offer. Not to mention it still uses the proprietary Lightning cable. With a 20W or faster charger, you can get up to 50% of the charge, which isn't too bad. But it takes roughly two hours to go from 0 to 100%, which may seem like an eternity if you're like me and have been spoiled by phones with super fast charging speeds.
We know that crazy charging speeds can wreak havoc on battery health in the long run, and we certainly don't expect or want Apple to go to the extent of OnePlus or Oppo. That said, 20W is definitely on the conservative side, and a small boost to 25W or 30W would have been nice—one more thing to add to the iPhone 15 wishlist.
Software
There is a lot to love about iOS 16's new, highly customizable Lock Screen.
The iPhone 14 runs iOS 16 out of the box and comes packed with several exciting features. The most exciting of all is the new Lock Screen experience. There are various customizations to fully personalize the look and feel of the lock screen to your liking. You can choose from many different photo styles, change font and color, add a blur effect to the home screen, and more. In addition, you can also add lock screen widgets to quickly glance at important information that normally requires unlocking the device and opening an app. These include calendar events, reminders, weather, stocks update, and news flash.
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You can add up to five widgets on the lock screen at a time. And you can set up multiple lock screens, each with its own widgets and Focus mode, and easily switch between them with a swipe.
There is also a clever photo cutout feature that lets you remove a photo's background by simply long pressing on the subject. You can then copy and paste the subject to a photo editing app or share it with your friends for fun. Meanwhile, Live Text in videos is a neat feature that lets you copy text from a paused video. This is very handy when you're watching a tutorial and want to take a quick note of something.
Other notable additions in iOS 16 include the ability to unsend and edit iMessages, Live Activities that display score cards and your ongoing workout right on your lock screen, improvements to Live Text and Focus mode, haptic feedback for the keyboard, Safety Check, and more. Check out our separate feature on iOS 16 if you want to learn more about the new software.
Connectivity, Call Quality, and Audio
Superb connectivity and call quality.
Stereo speakers get plenty loud.
Crash Detection and satellite connectivity are two new features of the iPhone 14. Crash Detection works similarly to Google's Car Crash Detection. The feature uses a new high g-force accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope to detect if you were in a car crash and can automatically notify your contacts and emergency services. It's also available on the Apple Watch Series 8. Emergency SOS via satellite is one of the main highlights of the iPhone 14. It can help you get a message out to emergency services when you're lost or stuck in a remote place with no cellular connectivity. The feature isn't available at launch so I wasn't able to test it out. It will go live sometime in November in the US and Canada. It's unclear if it will be coming to other markets later on.
The iPhone 14 delivers exceptional network performance. I have had no instances of unexpected call drops or connectivity issues during my review period. 5G isn't available yet in India, so I couldn't test it, but I got excellent download and upload speeds on Jio and Airtel's LTE networks. Call quality has also been quite good; some people even complimented how clearer I sounded and asked if I was calling from a new phone. And as for stereo speakers, they're really loud and one of the best I have tested. They deliver clean sound with punchy bass as long as you don't push the volume slider all the way up — as the audio starts to distort at near max volume.
Should you buy the iPhone 14?
You should buy the iPhone 14 if:
You're coming from an iPhone 11 or older.
You want a phone that can shoot exceptional photos and videos without much effort.
You want a phone that's relatively easier to repair.
You foresee the use of the SOS satellite connectivity feature and live in supported markets.
You shouldn't buy the iPhone 14 if:
You own an iPhone 13 or iPhone 12.
You want a telephoto camera.
You want a higher refresh rate display and fast charging.
The iPhone 14 is the most incremental upgrade ever if looked at from the lens of year-on-year improvements. You can even say Apple took the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" a bit too seriously with the iPhone 14, because it practically is an iPhone 13, which in itself was a small bump up from the iPhone 12. But for someone coming from an iPhone 11 or iPhone XS, it's a worthwhile upgrade as there are many notable improvements and refinements in store that they will definitely notice and appreciate. This is to say that the iPhone 14 is a good product, but the iPhone 13 was almost equally good as well.
The bottom line is that the iPhone 14 plays it way too safe, and that makes the Pro models even more appealing and stand out options this year. Dynamic Island, a brand new 48MP camera, and the A16 chipset are all reserved for the iPhone 14 Pro lineup.
Apple's decision to once again go with a 60Hz is hard to swallow, especially considering pretty much every OEM has now switched to a higher refresh rate panel. In fact, the iPhone 14 is the only smartphone at this price point with a standard 60Hz panel. And while the iPhone 14 promises big improvements in low-light camera performance with Photonic Engine, the difference is hardly noticeable in most situations, especially on the main camera. And I also fail to see why a software feature like Photonic Engine can't be expanded to the iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13, which have the same processing package.
The iPhone 14's Emergency SOS via satellite is a cool feature, but it's not live at launch. Moreover, it will be limited to the US and Canada, so it's unlikely to be deciding factor for those in other markets. The feature will also move towards a paid plan after the expiry of its free trial, details of which are not immediately available.
Apple iPhone 14 Apple iPhone 14 The iPhone 14 is powered by A15 Bionic chipset and offers improved cameras. View at Best Buy
SUPCASE UB Style iPhone 14 case SUPCASE Unicorn Beetle Style Case (Sponsored) This case offers three different color options to choose from, in addition to a minimalistic, slim build. View at Amazon View at Amazon
There is no compelling reason to choose the iPhone 14 over last year's iPhone 13 unless you want satellite SOS (which isn't even available yet), slightly better cameras, or a more repairable phone. Picking up the iPhone 13 at a discounted price looks like a wise choice. You won't be missing out on anything major.
The iPhone 14 is coming tomorrow; here’s every new feature
The iPhone 14 is coming in just a few days. We’ve been rounding up the latest rumors and expectations over the last year, and it’s almost time for an official announcement. The iPhone 14 lineup will include four models across two screen sizes, design changes, camera upgrades, and more. Here’s everything we know.
What will the iPhone 14 be called?
Given that the iPhone introduced in 2021 was indeed branded as the iPhone 13, we expect the 2022 iPhone to be the iPhone 14. Whether or not Apple ever returns to the “S” branding remains to be seen, but rumors indicate the 2022 iPhone will be a big enough upgrade to warrant a new number altogether.
We’re expecting the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max to be three of the names. What’s unclear, however, is the name of Apple’s new 6.7-inch non-Pro iPhone. While this device has been commonly referred to as the “iPhone 14 Max,” more recent reporting suggests it could actually be called the iPhone 14 Plus
Apple marketing names stay under wraps until the last minute. This means we’ll have to wait until the event itself to learn more about what this year’s release will be officially called.
iPhone 14: No notch, but…
The biggest change that we currently expect with the 2022 iPhone is the removal of the notch cutout. The notch design was first introduced with the iPhone X, and it has stayed the same since then. The notch is where Apple houses its sensors for things like Face ID.
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple will drop the notch in 2022, starting with the high-end iPhone 14 Pro. Instead of the notch, the iPhone 14 will use a new “pill hole” design. Rather than a simple hole-punch cutout used by many Android phones, Apple will use a combination of the hole punch cutout and a pill-shaped cutout.
This will allow Apple to squeeze the front-facing camera and Face ID hardware in, while also increasing the amount of available screen real estate. In March, 9to5Mac exclusively reported that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will have slightly larger screens. This was also corroborated by analyst Ross Young.
iPhone 13 Pro – 6.06″
iPhone 14 Pro – 6.12″
iPhone 13 Pro Max – 6.68″
iPhone 14 Pro Max – 6.69″
Here’s the technology currently located in the iPhone’s notch:
Infrared camera
Flood illuminator
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
Speaker
Microphone
Front camera
Dot projector
In a report, Young explained:
We now believe Apple will have a hole + pill design on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. The smaller hole will not be invisible…The two hole concept will be unique to Apple, like the notch, not similar to all the pill models from Huawei.
The pill-hole design might not be as ambitious as some had hoped, but it’s the next step in the process of making the iPhone truly all-screen, without any cutouts at all.
But, Apple is also reportedly planning to use software trickery to bridge the gap between the two cutouts. This would put dead space between the two cutouts, creating the illusion that it’s actually longer pill-shaped cutout, rather than two separate ones.
In this space between to the two cutouts, sources tell 9to5Mac that Apple plans to put privacy indicators for the camera and microphone. This means you would see an orange dot in this space when an app is using your microphone and a green light when an app is using your device’s camera. Apple’s goal is to make the experience similar to the green indicator light that the Mac currently uses.
iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on display
Speaking of the iPhone 14 Pro’s display technology, this will be the year that Apple finally adds always-on display support to the iPhone lineup. The company is reportedly planning to add always-on display support to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. This would allow users to see glanceable information on their iPhone display, even when it’s powered off.
You may be wondering why the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max can’t have this always-on display functionality. The key is that the iPhone 14 Pro models will have an updated ProMotion display technology that allows it to scale all the way down to a 1Hz refresh rate. The existing ProMotion displays used by Apple can scale down to a minimum of 10Hz.
The iPhone 14 Pro’s support for even lower refresh rates will help preserve battery life while simultaneously offering the always-on functionality. For context, the Apple Watch’s always-on display can scale to a 1Hz refresh rate as well.
There is a ton of evidence within iOS 16 to indicate that Apple is readying always-on display technology for the iPhone 14. 9to5Mac has found direct evidence of the feature in iOS 16, while Apple is also preparing its collection of default wallpapers to support the new technology.
Face ID is here to stay
While early iPhone 14 rumors indicated that Apple would bring under-display Touch ID to the iPhone, this no longer appears to be the case. More recent reporting from Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that Apple has been forced to delay under-display Touch ID to 2023 instead.
According to Kuo, Apple has faced “lower than expected development progress” on its work to integrate Touch ID into the iPhone’s display. It’s also possible Apple will take a less ambitious approach and integrate Touch ID into the iPhone’s power button, similar to the iPad Air and iPad mini. But ultimately, Touch ID is not expected to be an iPhone 14 feature this year.
iPhone 14 to offer biggest camera updates in years
The iPhone 14 will include dramatic improvements to the front-facing camera, according to Kuo. The biggest change will be upgrades to the front-facing camera’s auto-focus features. This has been described as the front camera’s “biggest upgrade in years.” The addition of auto-focus support alone will significantly improve the camera’s performance.
Other upgrades include a six-part lens, versus the existing five-part lens. The iPhone 14’s front camera is also expected to have a larger f/1.9 aperture, which would let in more light. More details here are unclear, but the front-facing iPhone camera has a way to go to catch up to the rear camera.
In terms of the rear camera, Kuo says the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be upgraded to 48-megapixels, an increase from the 12-megapixel sensor in iPhone 12.
Although the sensor is 48 megapixels, it is possible that output images from the iPhone will still be 12-megapixels in resolution. Similar to some Android phones, Apple could use a smart scaling algorithm that takes the raw 48-megapixel data and creates a 12-megapixel output image with more detail and less noise.
Kuo believes the video camera system will also be upgraded for the iPhone 14, supporting 8K recording for the first time.
An even bigger camera bump?
While early reports indicated that some models of the iPhone 14 will not feature a camera bump, this is no longer believed to be the case. In fact, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are expected to have bigger camera bumps than their predecessors.
Kuo offered reasoning for this, saying that the wide camera upgrade is to blame:
The main reason for the larger and more prominent rear-camera bump of the 14 Pro/Pro Max is upgrading the wide camera to 48MP (vs. 13 Pro/Pro Max’s 12MP). The diagonal length of 48MP CIS will increase by 25-35%, and the height of 48MP’s 7P lens will increase by 5-10%.
iPhone 14 will be the last iPhone with Lightning
For several years, reports have suggested that Apple could introduce a port-less iPhone. This iPhone would not feature a Lightning port, instead, it would be completely wireless. This was once rumored to come in 2021, but that did not happen.
The port-less iPhone is rumored to be something Apple is still testing, but it’s several years away at this point. In fact, Apple is expected to switch to USB-C in 2023. But the iPhone 14 coming this year will still use Lightning.
Apple is rumored to boost Lightning data transfer rates to USB 3.0 starting with the iPhone 14 Pro this fall, though. USB 2.0 supports transfer speeds of 480 Mbps, while USB 3.0 supports speeds of up to 5 Gbps. With 8K video recording on the way, faster data transfer speeds are a necessity.
While some rumors had anticipated that the iPhone 14 might use a new chip produced using 3-nanometer technology, that is no longer expected to be the case. Currently, Apple’s chip partner TSMC is expected to use an enhanced 5nm manufacturing process for the chip in the iPhone 14, likely referred to as the A16.
Best iPhone charging accessories:
iPhone 14 performance: A major change
The iPhone 14 lineup is expected to herald a major change to differentiation strategy between the “Pro” models and the non-Pro models.
For the first time ever, Apple is expected to only upgrade the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max to its newest processor. These two models are expected to be upgraded to the A16 chip, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will retain the same A15 chip inside the current iPhone 13 lineup.
The A16 chip inside the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be manufactured with the same 5-nanometer process as the A15, which is also the same as the A14. This limits the year-over-year performance improvements, but it doesn’t mean we won’t see any improvements.
A recent supply chain report indicated that initial testing of the A16 chip inside the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max indicated a performance boost of “just a few percent” compared to the A15 chip. Since then, however, Apple has reportedly worked to improve the thermal management of the A16 chip to further increase performance. This ultimately means the actual real-world change could be more notable for the A16 than initially expected.
iPhone 14 colors
What will your color choices be this year? According to what we know right now, there are some notable changes in store compared to the iPhone 13 lineup.
First off, reports say that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will be available in the following colors: green, purple, blue, black, white, and red. For context, the iPhone 13 is available in red, starlight, midnight, blue, and pink. This means Apple is planning to drop the pink color this year. This leak likely doesn’t accurately refer to the names of the colors. For instance, “black” is likely to midnight and “white” is likely referring to starlight.
The same report indicates that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in green, purple, graphite, silver, and gold.
Satellite connectivity
The ability for the iPhone to communicate via satellite connectivity was first rumored for the iPhone 13 last year, but that did not come fruition.
This feature is once again being rumored as a possibility for the iPhone 14 lineup. In fact, Ming-Chi Kuo says the hardware development for this feature has already been completed. The question is whether Apple has inked the necessary financial deals to launch it this year.
As reported by Bloomberg, satellite connectivity for the iPhone will allow users to communicate even when they are out of range of traditional cellular networks. The idea is that this feature will be limited to emergency situations and communication. For instance, you’d be able to communicate with emergency responders via the Messages app as well as to report major emergencies such as plane crashes, sinking ships, and other disasters.
Again, it’s unclear if this feature is ready for the iPhone 14. The hardware, however, is there. 9to5Mac has also found evidence in iOS 16 that Apple is continuing to work on the feature. In fact, the artwork for the event might very well hint at the new satellite features.
Other iPhone 14 tidbits
There are a handful of other iPhone 14 features and changes that have been rumored. Some of these are sketchier than others, but they are all worth noting as we head into the big day.
Stronger MagSafe magnets
A new “exclusive” MagSafe accessory
Faster 30W top charging speed
No improvements to wireless charging speeds
No improvements to durability
6GB of RAM in all models
iPhone 14 pricing
Unfortunately, it looks like Apple is planning a price increase for at least the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. According to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will increase the price of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max by around $100 compared to the iPhone 13 lineup.
This means that the iPhone 14 Pro will start at $1,099 and the iPhone 14 Pro Max will start at $1,199. While some were hoping that the company would increase the base storage to help offset the price increase, it does not appear that will be the case. We expect iPhone 14 devices to still start with 128GB of storage, just like the iPhone 13.
Apple has announced its iPhone 14 event, and it will be held on September 7 at 10:00 PT/1:00 ET. As such, we expect the iPhone 14 to go up for sale on September 9, with the first orders arriving on September 16. There are no indications that the iPhone 14 will face any delays, but the iPhone 14 Plus/Max could be more supply constrained than the rest of the lineup at the start.
What do you think of the iPhone 14 rumors? Are you planning to upgrade? Let us know down in the comments!
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