This is Apple’s newest iPhone. We’ve actually seen how it compares to other products and Android competition.
Our evaluation
The problem with the iPhone 14 isn’t the phone itself, it’s not much of an improvement over the iPhone 13. So it’s caught in an awkward middle ground where you’re better off saving up for an old phone, or saving up for the impressive new iPhone 14 Pro. That said, the improvements to the camera and battery life are welcome, and it has plenty of power to make it an option worth considering if you’re upgrading from an iPhone over 13 years old.
What is iPhone 14?
Pure and simple, the iPhone 14 is the basic entry-level phone in the new iPhone 14 series. Of course, if you want to be cheaper, there is SE, but the iPhone 14 is really the starting point of this series.
Its big brother is the iPhone 14 Plus, which performs the same but offers a larger 6.7-inch display than the standard phone’s 6.1-inch display. Likewise, the more expensive Pro and Pro Max phones perform similarly, but differ in size.
How much is the iPhone 14?
The iPhone 14 starts at £849, with the larger Plus starting at £949. You can pay extra for more storage, up to 1 TB.
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max start at £1,099 and £1,199 respectively. Again, these prices go up depending on how much you want your phone to store.
Right now, the iPhone seems to be struggling at this price point. With prices starting at £649 for the iPhone 13 Mini and £749 for the standard iPhone 13, honestly, the consensus seems to be that the iPhone 14 isn’t much of an improvement over the 13. Sure, it has another GPU core that makes its processor even better, and it has new security features and a small camera boost, but you really won’t notice much of a difference because the same A15 chip powers everything .
iPhone 14 features
While retaining the A15 Bionic chip, the phone has one more GPU core than the iPhone 13, bringing it more in line with the iPhone 13 under the hood. We ran some benchmarks against another company’s £799 Android flagship and found that the A15 is still far ahead in terms of performance.
Apple has been keen to praise its new security features, some of which are impressive. Crash detection is a nice addition – though luckily we didn’t test it during our time with the phone. It uses new gyroscopes and accelerometers to detect if you’ve been in a car accident, then alerts emergency services in the appropriate language no matter where you are. This is a great tool for your peace of mind.
There’s also a cool-looking satellite SOS feature. Unfortunately, it’s only available in the US right now. However, as reported by 9to5Mac, it has been suggested that this could arrive in several other countries by the end of the year, with the UK which may or may not be included.
Of course, the phone is MagSafe compatible and can be charged with a Lightning cable, though Apple is under increasing pressure to switch its port to USBC. The phone comes with a Lightning cable, but no power adapter.
iPhone 14 display
The iPhone 14’s display doesn’t look bad at all, but it’s not up to par either, especially for its price.
Yes, it has Dolby Vision, and the Super Retina XDR OLED panel offers HDR10 resolution, which looks good, but the 60Hz refresh rate pales in comparison to similarly priced competitors. That means it’s less glossy than the 120Hz ProMotion display on the Pro and Pro Max models. It’s not the end of the world, but there are competitors offering phones with 120Hz displays for half the price of the iPhone or even less.
The standard iPhone 14 retains the notch from previous phones instead of the dynamic islands of the new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. It’s a bit of a shame, because Dynamic Island feels like one of the most innovative elements of the new series. Of course, it’s understandable that Apple felt the need to separate the two phones
iPhone 14 battery
As mentioned, you’ll find a Lightning cable in the box, but no power adapter. Apple appears to be reluctantly switching to USBC charging on the next iPhone, but the Lightning connector remains for now. Compatible with 20W fast charging, the phone can be charged to 50% in half an hour.
In our tests, two hours of video streaming drained 14 percent of the battery. This is quite effective. However, start multitasking across apps and battery life may vary.
Apple has kept its battery claims relatively vague, offering “all-day battery life” and that the 14’s battery life is an improvement over the 13’s. When it comes to battery life, however, the slightly larger iPhone 14 Plus is best in class. According to Apple.
iPhone 14 camera
Of course, as always, the iPhone 14 offers a very good camera. The rear camera is very small, with two 12-megapixel sensors capable of recording 4K video. There is another one in front.
These numbers won’t surprise anyone, but thanks to Apple’s advanced image processing technology and algorithms, it’s not difficult to take stunning photos. New bezels ensure better low-light performance, and a new action mode helps stabilize shaky videos shot on the move. This is ideal for those looking to shoot sporting events or similar moving scenes where both the photographer and the subject need to be in motion. In fact, it’s like using a gimbal without having to carry it around.
Conclusion
However, if you’re upgrading from an iPhone older than the 12 or 13, it might be worth considering the iPhone 14 in your calculations.
