Verdict
The Apple iPhone 14 is n’t a Brobdingnagian upgrade from the iPhone 13 , yet it is still a slap-up headphone with a top camera , good battery life , and iOS benefits .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
With the subsequent release of theiPhone 15andiPhone 16 , the iPhone 14 is no longer the latest smartphone in Apple ’s collection – but it could still be a suitable purchase depending on the portion .
Sure , the iPhone 14 does n’t offer all the bells and tin whistle of newer models , like support for Apple Intelligence , boosted carrying out , and an upgrade 48MP rearward tv camera , but its age is also a monumental welfare . That ’s mainly because the phone is now available for much less than its original £ 849 RRP , peculiarly around big shopping seasons like Black Friday and Christmas .
So , should you still go for the iPhone 14 in 2024 ? Here ’s what we call up of the 2022 flagship .
Screen and Design
For the third year move , Apple has stick to the same overall design for its cheaper iPhone model . apart from some somewhat tweaked color , include this rather tasteful blue I have been review , there ’s no obvious style to tell the 2021 and 2022 loss aside .
While some pinch would have been welcome , the iPhone 14 remains a good - looking earphone . The flat sides have a matte finish so eschew fingerprints and smudges – very much the opposite of theiPhone 14 Pro – and I wish how they match the colour of the glass back .
It ’s a light , well-situated machine that ’ll sense intimate to most . It ’s also fairly durable , with anIP68rating for water protection and Apple ’s Ceramic Shield for adding some surplus security against drops . I still find these CRT screen scrub too easily for my liking , so a screen protector is still a must for keep launch the panel in the good condition . A few month after unboxing the speech sound there are some small scratches on the showing .
There ’s noiPhone 14 Mini , alternatively , there ’s a largeriPhone 14 Plus . The Plus has all the same tech as the unconstipated iPhone 14 , just in a larger consistence . If you like see movies on the go or act game , the liberal covert is better .
Like the design , the display is more of the same . ProMotion , the 120Hz adaptive refresh rate technical school that turn on the iPhone 14 Pro ’s always - on display , is escape and if rumours are to be think it wo n’t even feature on the iPhone 15 due to supply issues . That ’s a real shame , as the smooth scrolling and redundant skill this instrument panel tech leave for are hugely missed , at least for me . You would n’t miss ProMotion or a high refresh pace if you ’ve never used it , but it ’s a feature that is arduous to lose .
It ’s heavy to give Apple a pass on not including a faster sieve here , as evenbudget Android phoneshave them . The most corresponding Samsung flagship , theGalaxy S23 , also has a 120Hz display .
It remain a good screen , though . Colours are faithful , there ’s enough brightness for impactfulHDRperformance when streaming from Netflix , Apple TV Plus or others and the detail is needlelike . The iPhone 14 Pro ’s higher prime brightness take it far more readable alfresco in really brilliant conditions and could be a deciding factor for someone who spend a lot of the daylight outside .
Dynamic Island is another matter exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro , leaving the iPhone 14 with the same dated notch as before . you may show all about the benefit of the Dynamic Island and how it turn the notch into a lineament rather than an irritant in ouriPhone 14 Pro reappraisal . It ’s expected to feature on the iPhone 15 , so could prove a major motivator to await for the successor .
Camera
The photographic camera is the place where the most upgrades for the iPhone 14 are found . It wad the same 12MP rear sensor with an f/1.5 aperture as theiPhone 13 professional , meaning it ’s larger and quicker than the iPhone 13 .
There are some notable raise that make the selfie photographic camera much better at rendering accurate pelt quality , and a little tweaking of the image processing pipeline with the Photonic Engine .
The improvements over the iPhone 13 are n’t necessarily felt in daytime situation . Low - light shots have more detail , especially whenNight Modedoesn’t kick in . hold a picture of a andiron ’s pelt , the iPhone 14 keep back far more item in the strands and this ensue in a far nicer trope . This could either be a result of the Photonic Engine , the bigger sensor at manoeuvre – or a combining of both .
There are no changes to the ultrawide camera , yet it again churns out better low - light shot than its forerunner . This is the most obvious place where the update processing skills are seen and it actually make this camera worthwhile using in situations that are n’t bright daytime .
In daylight situations , the iPhone 14 engage first-class snaps – just like the iPhone 13 did . Colours pop just the right amount , there ’s quite a little of detail and excellent dynamic chain of mountains . The larger detector also return a shallow depth of field than the iPhone 13 , allowing for a more natural blurry background when shooting up close .
If you desire the right camera experience , the iPhone 14 Pro reigns – and the excellentSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultrabeats that too . The upgraded 48MP independent camera on the 14 Pro might oversharpen certain range , but for the most part , it offers up a ranking experience with far more control thanks to the ProRes modes .
The Pro phone also has a consecrate telephoto camera , something completely missing here , push the iPhone 14 to only employ digital zoom . The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a similar cost and has a proper zoom camera , making it far well here than the iPhone .
Video remains a strong attainment though , and an area the iPhone 14 is comfortably ahead of the Samsung and Google competition . novel modes let in a stabilised Action Mode that smooths out fast - moving subjects and the ability to shoot 4 K inCinematic Mode .
Action Mode is a neat trick , even if the stabilisation is n’t on par with an action camera like theGoPro Hero 11 . Still , if you ’re shoot in a well - lit surround it ’s deserving using if catch a fast subject .
Performance
There are two notable feature improver to the iPhone 14 , although neither of them is an upgrade chipset . As has become a recurring topic of this review , the newA16 Bionicchipset is only available on the Pro models , although is tip to arrive on the iPhone 15 .
rather , it ’s the prophylactic improver that stand out . Those are n’t exactly features that make this iPhone 14 worth upgrading to from the iPhone 13 ( oriPhone 12 , for that matter ) , yet it ’s good to see Apple looking at unparalleled ways of expand what we expect from a phone .
First up there’sCar Crash Detection , a feature film that uses the sore accelerometer inside the phone to alarm parking brake services ( along with emergency contacts ) after a collision . Testing every part of a phone is central to how we review at Trusted Reviews , but crash a car purely to test a earphone feature is taking thing a littletoofar .
Then there ’s an emergency SOS feature made available by some clever new satellite tech . This lets you contact emergency services even when you ’re out of web stretch and presently hold out in the US , Canada and the UK .
Powering the iPhone 14 is theA15 Bionicchipset . More specifically , this is the variant find out in the iPhone 13 Pro , with a little more graphical grunt than the interpretation from the iPhone 13 .
permit me say straight away that recycle an old chip is of no concern to me – the iPhone 13 Pro remain to this daylight one of the fastest telephone set . Throughout my week with the iPhone 14 it has never felt slow or laggy and I ca n’t really distinguish the difference between the performance here and on the A16 Bionic . I open up up a fewApple Arcadegames , along with Genshin Impact and CoD Mobile , and they all play smoothly on the iPhone 14 . Yes , the benchmark consequence are a little higher on the newer chip , but the divergence is minimal in actual exercise .
However , I would be concerned that having an one-time chip would shorten the lifespan of this simulation . Will it be indorse as long as the iPhone 14 Pro ? I would desire so , yet it ’s a interrogation that ’s impossible to answer right now .
In the US , Apple is shipping the total iPhone 14 series without a SIM one-armed bandit – instead , purchaser will require to set up ( or transpose over ) an eSIM to the phone . My unit is the UK model and retains the slot which is bright , as eSIM is far less ripe here . I have been using the earpiece on Vodafone , a meshwork that does supporteSIM , yet Three does n’t .
The unconscious process for adding and transferring over an eSIM seems smart and prosperous , although your mileage may vary depending on networks . All models that have a strong-arm SIM tray bread and butter multiple eSIMs too , so it ’s there to try out .
5 G remains stock across the argument and the Bluetooth standard has been upped to version 5.3 , although there ’s noWi - Fi 6EorWi - Fi 7like you ’ll find oneself on theOnePlus 11 . Call quality and worldwide connectivity on the telephone are great , as is the audio frequency from the speakers .
Battery Life
The iPhone 14 has some modest battery improvements over the iPhone 13 . But what ’s more important is the betterment it has over the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 . I would assume most masses who are smashing on promote to this are coming from an iPhone ( orAndroid phone ) that ’s a few age quondam , and if that ’s you then the benefit are obvious .
I was thoroughly impressed by the survival of the iPhone 13 , and the iPhone 14 ekes ever so slightly more juice out over the course of the day . For case , Apple claim an extra minute of video recording playback and that ’s precisely what I got . An hour of 100 % luminosity Netflix HDR streaming took off 9 % on the iPhone 13 , and 8 % on the iPhone 14 .
It ’s a similar tale in gaming , with the bombardment saving a couple of per cent per time of day when equate to the iPhone 13 . I can comfortably get through a full , interfering Clarence Shepard Day Jr. with 20 - 30 % left by bedtime , and on some quieter Clarence Day there would be 35 - 40 % left .
Of course , there are no monolithic strides in battery tech here – but that ’s an number for the whole diligence rather than just Apple itself . The object is very much to get you through the twenty-four hour period without worrying about incur a charger , something it do more so than many Android phones .
When it comes to file , you ’ll still need to provide your own plug ( although a USB - vitamin C to Lightning cable television is included in the corner ) or use either aMagSafecharger or another Qi - enabled domiciliation . Wired charging is debauched as long as you ’re using a 20w charger , with a full charge taking around 95 minutes . A 32 - minute charge will get the phone from 0 - 50 % . This fall well below some of thebest Android telephone set , with the OnePlus 11 conk from 0 - 100 % in the amount of fourth dimension the iPhone 14 can get to 50 % .
This could very well be the last yr Apple uses Lightning as fight back toUSB - C with certain EU laws cominginto effect . This means the iPhone 15 is expected to feature aUSB - Ccharging port instead , although we ’re felicitous about this variety , with Lightning becoming very slow for both charging and data transfer .
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Should you buy it?
If you ’re on an iPhone 11 or old , then the changes here will make a notable difference . Battery life story and photographic camera were massively promote with the iPhone 13 and they ’re both good again with the 14 .
The changes from Apple ’s old earphone are n’t enough to warrant an climb this year .
Final Thoughts
The iPhone 14 is a very moderate update to an already excellent phone . In previous age it might even have been called the iPhone 13S. There ’s very small reason to update if you ’ve got an iPhone 13 , though you will notice numerous benefit if you ’re coming from an older example .
It ’s also a footling long in the tooth compared to newer phones like the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 , with the latter offering elements like Apple Intelligence , a much faster central processor and an upgraded 48MP principal camera to boot .
That state , the iPhone 14 is still a great telephone , especially with price cuts and trade to reflect its slightly old status . The camera stay excellent for both photography and videography ; the computer software is top - drawer and the addition of lots of refuge features is smart . The bombardment life is rattling for a headphone of this size of it , too .
If you need more information before investment , check out ourBest PhoneandBest iPhoneguides for more choice .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly . We utilise industry standard test to equate feature article in good order and we use the phone as our main gimmick over the review geological period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to review a Cartesian product .
FAQs
There is no consign plug in the box , just a USB - C to Lightning cable . If you ’re buying a new plug , search for one that support 20w charging
The Pro model sports a better screen door , debauched chipset and an extra camera .
Five coloring material are available : Blue , Purple , Midnight , Starlight and Red .
