We watched Apple’s new announcement this week, which was a trendsetter, even without being techies. As of this Friday, the apple iPhone 14 series is officially available for pre-order. One will be in the hands of the first lucky users next week.
There has been extensive coverage of the event and relevant news that came out around it (some of which revealed things Apple didn’t). After the dust has settled, here are some thoughts on the new models.
Prices rising in subtle and not-so-subtle ways
There have been a few times when Apple has subtly increased the price of iPhones, and this year is no different. The cheapest iPhone (non-SE) in 2021 was the mini, which had a starting price of $700. With an estimated price of $800, the iPhone 14 is now the cheapest member of the premium lineup.
As the mini went away, Apple pointed out that the iPhone 13 also cost $800, hoping you wouldn’t notice that the price of admission increased. The new models come with detailed pricing information, if you’re interested. As for the mini itself, it was part of a slight price hike – the vanilla iPhone 11 started at $700 in 2019, and the base iPhone 12 was also $700 in 2020. This was the newly released mini, however, the actual successor to the vanilla iPhone 11 (6.1″) went up to $800.
An Apple fib occurred during the Wednesday event – the US pricing of the iPhone 14 models was shown, suggesting it was the same as the 13 series. That’s true, but there’s a “but” ahead. Some countries (including the US, Canada, and China) are charging the same price as the old ones, but others (including Europe, parts of Asia) are charging considerably more.
| Country | iPhone 14 | iPhone 14 Plus | iPhone 14 pro | iPhone 14 pro max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | CNY 5,999 | CNY 6,999 | CNY 7,999 | CNY 8,999 |
| Germany | EUR 999 | EUR 1,149 | EUR 1,299 | EUR 1,449 |
| India | INR 79,900 | INR 89,900 | INR 129,900 | INR 139,900 |
| Japan | JPY 119,800 | JPY 134,800 | JPY 149,800 | JPY 164,800 |
| America | USD 799 | USD 899 | USD 999 | USD 1099 |
| UAE | AED 3,399 | AED 3,799 | AED 4,299 | AED 4,699 |
| Canada | CAD 1099 | CAD 1249 | CAD 1399 | CAD 1549 |
| Hong Kong | HK 6899 | HK 7699 | HK 8599 | HK 9599 |
| UK | GBP 849 | GBP 949 | GBP 1099 | GBP 1199 |
| Singapore | SGD 1299 | SGD 1499 | SGD 1649 | SGD 1799 |
iPhone 14 Specifications
In the same way as the previous iPhone, the iPhone 14 has a flat-edge aerospace-grade aluminium frame, Ceramic Shield material on the front, and IP68 dust and water resistance rating.
In comparison to last year’s handset, the handset has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display that is claimed to be brighter and more accurate in terms of color reproduction. It supports Dolby Vision and offers 1200nits of peak brightness.
It’s powered by Apple’s proprietary A15 Bionic SoC that powers the iPhone 13 series from last year. Face ID remains Apple’s only biometric security option for unlocking the iPhone.
In the coming weeks, third-party teardowns should provide more information on the RAM and battery capacities of each model. Apple does not officially disclose these details. In comparison with last year’s iPhone models, Apple says the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will deliver a longer battery life.
The iPhone 14 comes with a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera with a 1.9um sensor and an aperture of f/1.7. The 12-megapixel sensor is coupled with a 120-degree ultra-wide angle lens with f/2.4 aperture. In addition to the 12-megapixel TrueDepth front camera, Apple says the front camera has an aperture of f/1.9.
In addition, the handsets feature a new stabilisation feature called Action Mode that enhances video recording. By using the phone’s motion sensors, this mode improves video quality. In addition to 4K at 30fps, the Cinematic mode is now available in 4K at 24fps as well. As a result of the new Photonic Engine, Apple also boasted improved low-light performance.
According to the manufacturer, the ultra-wide camera, TrueDepth front camera, and main camera have improved low-light performance by up to 2.5x. This is due to Deep Fusion’s computational benefits. According to Apple, the True Tone flash has also been improved to be 10 percent brighter.
Summary
Camera : 12 MP + 12 MP
Display : 6.1 inches (15.49 cm)
Performance : A15 Bionic chip
Ram : 4 GB
Storage : 128 GB
Launch Date : September 7, 2022 (Official)
User Rating : 4.8
iPhone 14 Plus Specifications
With the exception of the larger screen size and battery backup, the iPhone 14 Plus features similar hardware to the iPhone 14.
There is a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display on the iPhone 14 Plus, and Apple claims it has the longest battery life ever in an iPhone.
It also has the same camera setup as the vanilla iPhone 14, powered by the same A15 Bionic SoC. The iPhone 14 Plus is the new phone of this year which is a discontinue of the iPhone Mini series .
Summary
Camera : 12 MP + 12 MP
Display : 6.7 inches Super Retina XDR Display
Performance : A15 Bionic chip
Ram : 4 GB
Storage : 128 GB
Launch Date : September 7, 2022 (Official)
User Rating : 4.8
iPhone 14 Pro Specifications
It’s said that Apple’s Pro models are made from surgical-grade stainless steel, which is abrasion-resistant and corrosion-resistant.It features a Ceramic Shield front cover that’s said to be tougher than any smartphone glass.
There is a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR Always-On OLED display on the iPhone 14 Pro that uses Apple’s ProMotion refresh rate technology. Pro models feature a smoother motion and a power-efficient design that can scale down to 1Hz. Up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness are available outdoors, which is twice as bright as the iPhone 13 Pro.
There has been a major change in the display of this phone with the introduction of a pill-shaped hole-punch cutout in place of the trend-setting notch, as mentioned earlier. As Apple calls it, Dynamic Island is designed to be an “interactive space” that provides notifications alongside other information such as a music player, a calling interface, a map, and many others. According to the company, third-party apps are compatible with the feature.
As we mentioned earlier, Apple’s new A16 Bionic SoC is the brains of the device and is said to be one of the most powerful chips in a smartphone to date. In addition to its two high-performance cores, it also has four cores that are highly efficient. According to the manufacturer, the new 6-core CPU is 40 percent faster than any of the competition on the market right now. The A16 Bionic SoC is also equipped with a GPU that boasts a claimed 50 percent increase in memory bandwidth and a new 16-core Neural Engine that is capable of performing nearly 17 trillion operations per second, according to Apple.
With regards to the camera hardware, Apple has updated the Pro models with new hardware for taking photos and videos.
It comes with a 48-megapixel main camera with sensor-shift optical image stabilization, as well as a 12-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, an aperture of f/2.8 and image stabilization. There is also a 12-megapixel sensor with a 120-degree field of view ultra-wide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.2.
Four pixels are combined into one pixel for maximum light intake. As well as being able to zoom in two times, the iPhone 14 Pro also has a 2x Telephoto mode and also allows users to shoot ProRAW video. Besides its Photonic Engine, it also has TrueDepth front camera, which has an f/1.9 aperture lens and 12-megapixel sensor, delivering better low-light performance by up to 2x.
Summary
Camera : 48 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP
Display : 6.1 inches (15.49 cm)
Ram : 6 GB
Storage : 128 GB
Performance : A16 Bionic chip
Launch Date : September 7, 2022 (Official)
iPhone 14 Pro Max Specifications
A more substantial display is offered by the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is almost identical to the iPhone 14 Pro. Apple’s top-of-the-line handset features a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with ProMotion refresh rate. Similar to the iPhone 14 Pro, it has a triple rear camera and a new machine learning and photography mode. and Apple claims it has the longest battery life ever in an iPhone.
Summary
Camera : 48 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP
Display : 6.7 inches
Ram : 6 GB
Storage : 128 GB
Performance : A16 Bionic chipLaunch Date : September 7, 2022 (Official)
Waiting may not have been the best choice
The Plus and the mini will be discussed, but since we’re on the topic of pricing, we wanted to mention the older models, too. Apple discontinues its old Pro models every year, but the vanilla models are kept around with discounted prices.
There is still a reduced price for the iPhone 12, 13, and 13 mini this year as well. Actually, not quite. The reduction is relative to the iPhone 14 series, and since those prices increased in some regions, the older models actually remained the same.
Furthermore, some places increased the price of the iPhone SE (2022). The strategy of waiting for the new generation to launch to get a discount on an older model didn’t quite work this year as well as it usually does.
Dynamic Island & AOD
Featuring 1-120Hz LTPO OLED panels, sharp, remarkably bright, HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, tough glass and now with Always On mode, the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max are among the best OLED panels on the market. In terms of the displays themselves, it’s hard to find anything wrong.It’s not the case for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which are basically identical to the iPhone 12 and do not bring any upgrades since the 13-series.
Here are the Pros’ thoughts on the first major redesign of TrueDepth. Apple added the so-called Dynamic Island to the largest punch hole we’ve ever seen.
The Dynamic Island displays icons from apps that want your attention, shows indicators (e.g. an active camera or microphone), and can even expand to display new notifications.
While the animations and marketing are buttery smooth, the Dynamic Island isn’t much different from a typical status bar. Obviously, there isn’t room for a proper status bar on a pill this wide.
Chipset progress at Apple is slowing down
In addition to having the best mobile chipsets, Apple used those chips on all of its smartphones in a given generation – even the iPhone SE (2022) uses the Apple A15. Two tiers of the A15 were available, one with a 4-core GPU (used in the iPhone 13, 13 mini, and SE) and one with a 5-core GPU (used in the Pros).
Now that the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus still use the A15 chipset, there is a much bigger gap between vanilla and pro versions. This is the five-core GPU version (which Apple claims will deliver 18% more GPU power), but we’re not sure if that’ll make much of a difference at 60 frames per second.
Despite Apple’s lack of mention, one change we expect to be much more useful – all iPhone 14 models have 6GB of RAM (no change for the Pros, but the 13 and 13 mini had only 4GB). A better multitasking experience should be available to even moderate multitaskers.
It has been claimed that Apple’s new A16 chipset is faster than Android’s best chipset of 2022, which is only true if you read the fine print. Apple has compared it to a three-year old A13 to show how fast it is. The peak CPU clock speed of Apple’s smartphone has been cranked up to 3.43GHz, but actual performance improvements are small.
Even though Apple has the fastest mobile chipset, the competition isn’t far behind, and the A16 is about to face the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which will be available soon.
iPhone 14 series satellite connectivity
When users are in an emergency and cannot find cellular reception, Apple iPhone 14 series can use satellite communication to send a message. In unfortunate situations, this feature could be a lifesaver, especially if you are an adventurer. It is available on the entire iPhone 14 series, including the Pro and the Non-Pro models. We explain everything you need to know about it, including how it works and how to take advantage of it.
How the feature works
A user with an iPhone 14 can try and connect to emergency services via satellite connectivity when he or she cannot reach them via cellular reception. With satellite connectivity, you’re connected to satellites hovering over the Earth through line-of-site communication. While this is a slower method of communication, it’s useful when you’re far from traditional cellular towers, which usually keep our phones connected.