Apple iPhone 14 smartphone review – Small upgrades for the Apple phone

With features such as the Dynamic Island, the always-on display, a 48-MP camera, and the latest A16 Bionic SoC, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are the center of attention. The standard models do not offer the same level of new and exciting features. The iPhone 14 is very similar to the iPhone 13 .

There are barely any external physical changes. However, a few things have changed on the inside. The iPhone 14 comes with the same SoC as the iPhone 13 Pro and also inherits its 12-MP main camera.

Additionally, it comes with 50 % more RAM compared to its predecessor and offers exciting new features such as automatic emergency calling. If it were not for the new color variants, the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 13 would be visually indistinguishable. The flat design and the rounded-off corners are present on both models.

Similarly, nothing has changed in terms of the diagonal arrangement of the rear cameras. The size and position of the display cutout, which contains the front camera and a few sensors, also have not changed. Aside from the familiar colors black, white, and red, the iPhone 14 is now available in purple or a new, lighter blue.

With 7. 8 vs. 7.

7 millimeters (~3. 07 vs. ~3.

03 inches), the Apple smartphone is very slightly thicker compared to its predecessor. Cases for the iPhone 13 will still fit the iPhone 14, however. As per usual, Apple has not made any compromises in terms of the build quality.

The aluminum case shines with great workmanship and resists twisting attempts from the corners. Apple’s ceramic glass, Ceramic Shield, protects the front and back. The iPhone 14 is dust- and waterproof as specified by IP68.

According to Apple, this allows the smartphone to survive being submerged up to 6 meters (~19. 69 ft) under water for up to 30 minutes without any damage. The European version of the iPhone 14 continues to offer a nano SIM slot.

Meanwhile, the US models omit the SIM slot in favor of exclusive eSIM support. The perhaps biggest change can be found inside the sleek chassis, since Apple has entirely revamped the internal layout of the smartphone. As a result, the iPhone 14 is much easier to repair than its predecessor.

The smartphone can now for example be opened from the back, since the back panel is no longer attached to the case. Apple’s iPhone 14 comes in three different storage configurations. The 128-GB model costs 799 USD, the 256-GB model 899 USD, and the 512-GB model 1099 USD.

With 6 GB of RAM, each, the smartphone has access to 50 % more system memory compared to the 4 GB of last year’s model. Aside from NFC, MagSafe, and UWB, the connectivity also includes Bluetooth 5. 3 (iPhone 13: Bluetooth 5.

0). Apple’s proprietary Lightning port is still used for charging and data transfers with the latter reaching speeds of up to 480 Mb/s, making them comparable to USB 2. 0.

It is still unknown, whether Apple will switch to USB-C for the iPhone 15. Although the European comission has decided that USB-C will become mandatory on smartphones, the regulation only comes into effect in mid 2024, making the iPhone 16 the first of its kind that it applies to. Other rumors suggest that the iPhone 14 will not use any physical interfaces at all.

Aside from wireless MagSafe charging, the switch to eSIMs on the US models also seem indicate this. The iPhone 14 comes with iOS 16. At the time of testing in mid October, it has already received an update to version 16.

0. 3, which includes a range of bug fixes and security patches. Since Apple’s latest OS version supports all smartphones from the release of the iPhone 8 and later, prospective buyers of the iPhone 14 can expect OS updates for at least 5 years.

However, the manufacturer does not officially confirm this. Although the design of iOS feels familiar, there is a plethora of new features. The customizable lock screen is likely the most prominent one and individually adaptable with user backgrounds, widgets, and live activities.

Furthermore, the focus feature has been improved, sent messages can be edited retroactively, the dictation functionality has been revised to include emojis, and the iCloud photo library is now easier to share with family members. All the new features of iOS 16 are listed here . The Dynamic Island and the always-on display are exclusive to the Pro models.

With 22 supported 5G and 28 supported 4G bands, the Apple iPhone 14 offers a very wide frequency range, which should be sufficient to get a signal almost anywhere. The Apple phone uses four antennas (4×4 MIMO) for LTE connections in order to reach a better data throughput. The iPhone 14 comes with two new communications features, which you hopefully will not need: Crash detection and satellite SOS.

The former detects high acceleration forces and is able to autonomously call emergency services after a crash. The crash detection, which is enabled by default, can be toggled from the the iPhone 14’s iOS settings under Settings , Emergency SOS , Crash Detection , and Call After Severe Crash . The satellite SOS fulfills a similar fuction as the crash detection and is only available for emergency calls while there is no active cellular or Wi-Fi connection.

The satellite SOS will first be available to users in the US and Canada starting in November this year. It is unknown whether there are any plans to expand the support to include areas outside of North America. The iPhone 14 uses Wi-Fi 6 with 2 antennas for Wi-Fi communications.

It achieves consistently good transfer rates, which are slightly faster than those of the iPhone 13 . The iPhone 14 relies on the satellite networks GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou for its locating capabilities. This allows the Apple smartphone to determine our position quickly and with an accuracy of within around 3 meters (~9.

84 ft) even indoors. On our bike ride, the geolocation of the smartphone competes against our fitness smartwatch Garmin Venu 2, which we bring along for comparison purposes. In dense housing areas, the iPhone occasionally slightly deviates from the track and in some instances the recorded route even penetrates the walls of some buildings.

It still does well in terms of navigation overall and almost matches the measured total track distance of the smartwatch. For day-to-day use, the accuracy is easily sufficient. The iPhone 14 supports VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling.

European models also come with a SIM slot that accepts a nano SIM card. Additionally or alternatively, an eSIM can be activated. The US models instead use a dual eSIM and no SIM slot.

The iPhone 14 offers a good call quality with clear voices even in relatively loud environments. While ambient noise may occasionally be noticeable during a call, it is then quickly cancelled out after a short time. In hands-free mode, the call quality remains distinct, although the volume of our voice decreases even when speaking into the microphone from a short distance.

Like its predecessor, the iPhone 14 uses a dual camera with 12 MP, but there have been upgrades in multiple places. The 12-MP main camera is identical to that of the iPhone 13 Pro . This increases the sensor size from 1.

7 to 1. 9 µm and improves the aperture from f/1. 6 to f/1.

5. Like the main camera, the selfie camera also benefits from a better light yield (f/1. 9 vs.

f/2. 2). Additionally, it comes with an autofocus, which increases the sharpness slightly particularly at short distances.

Compared to the iPhone 13, nothing has changed in terms of the ultra-wide camera. While it still does not feature optical image stabilization and produces good results, it cannot quite match the quality of the main camera. The main camera of the iPhone 14 uses sensor-shift image stabilization and captures excellent pictures with natural colors and many details.

There are barely any differences in the quality compared to the iPhone 13 with one exception. Thanks to its more light-sensitive optics and the integrated image processing engine of the camera software, which Apple calls Photonic Engine, the iPhone 14 takes better night shots than the iPhone 13. Our low-light scene also shows this with the newer model capturing more details and richer colors in dark areas.

Even though the Photonic Engine is a software feature, it is exclusively available on the iPhone 14 series and not enabled on older iPhones, even after they were updated to iOS 16. The iPhone 14 also receives two new features for video recording. Many users will already be familiar with the cinema mode from the iPhone 13, which recognizes faces and automatically adds a bokeh effect and is now also available at 4K with 24 or 30 frames per second.

Previously, Full HD was the limit in this mode. The action mode is completely new and electronically stabilizes videos captured with the main or ultra-wide camera. This works very well in practice.

The image is stabilized even when the camera shakes due to being attached to a bike handle or while sprinting with the iPhone in hand. Since action mode videos look quite grainy, users should not expect too much in terms of the quality. Under fixed lighting conditions, the main camera proves itself once more.

Even at a brightness of 1 lux, it captures the test chart with rich contasts and a surprisingly high color fidelity, albeit with a slightly lower sharpness than under ideal conditions. The iPhone 14’s scope of delivery is not exactly vast. The flat package only includes the smartphone itself, a USB cable (USB type-C to Lightning), a SIM tool, an Apple sticker, a quick-start guide, and the warranty information.

Apple offers a wide range of optional accessories including an appropriate charger, MagSafe cases, and headphones. Apple offers a standard one-year limited warranty in the US. The scope of services can be expanded with the AppleCare+ plan, which comes in the form of an unlimited monthly subscription or a one-time payment for 2 years.

Regardless of the payment method, AppleCare+ includes unlimited accidental damage repairs. Even though the iPhone 14 costs almost 800 USD, this has done nothing to dissuade Apple from relying on a 60-Hz screen. Although animations are less smooth compared to the Pro models as a result, inputs are still very precise and responsive.

The iPhone 14 does not feature a fingerprint sensor. This makes the facial recognition Face ID the only available biometric authentication method. It is very reliable and considered to be extremely robust thanks to its use of a 3D camera.

Thanks to the use of an integrated infrared sensor, Face ID even works in the dark. Compared to the iPhone 13 , the iPhone 14’s display has not changed. The 6.

1-inch OLED display has a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels for an excellent pixel density of 460 PPI. With an advertised typical maximum brightness of 800 nits, Apple is being relatively modest. The evenly illuminated OLED panel reaches an average brightness of 840.

7 nits and a peak brightness of 858 nits while displaying SDR content. HDR10 and Dolby Vison are supported. The display runs at 60 Hz at all the brightness levels we tested.

This may be a problem for sensitive users, since the PWM flickering cannot be circumvented by choosing a higher brightness setting. Thus, we advise users to try the iPhone 14 before buying. Using True Tone, the iPhone 14 adjusts the display colors to the ambient lighting conditions in order to ensure a consistent image.

Since this causes the colors to constantly shift, we have to disable True Tone before performing our CalMAN measurements. Even without this auxiliary feature, the iPhone 14 shines with an excellent color accuracy in our test laboratory. Thanks to its bright display and great viewing angles, the iPhone is well suited to outdoor use.

The screen’s content remains easily readable even under direct sunlight. With the A15 Bionic SoC and its 5-core GPU Bionic A15 5-Core , the iPhone 14’s performance is sufficient to smoothly display all of the games available on the App Store. The tactical shooter PUBG Mobile , for example, is buttery smooth even at the maximum “Ultra HD/Maximum” setting.

Since the performance of the A15 GPU is very high, users will most likely not run into any performance issues for years. Since our test app Gamebench does not yet support iOS 16, we unfortunately cannot show gaming benchmarks here. We hope to be able to append our results to this article as soon as possible.

Under load, the iPhone 14 can reach a temperature of up to 41. 7 °C (107. 06 °F) and thus can feel somewhat uncomfortably warm after prolonged use.

This can become especially bothersome when using the smartphone in environments that exceed the typical room temperature. The internals of the Apple smartphone can also reach very high temperatures. As our 3DMark Wild Life stress tests show, this happens after running the benchmark app for only a few loops.

Similar to the iPhone 13 , the performance deficit over time amounts to about 10 to 15 %. Thanks to the high overall performance of the A15 Bionic, the throttling will likely only be an issue for very demanding apps and almost never during daily use. With one speaker on the bottom and one on the top above the notch, which serves as a hybrid speaker, the iPhone 14 uses the same stereo speaker setup that users of the iPhone 13 are already familiar with.

The sound is still dominated by the treble, which makes for a somewhat feeble audio experience with annoying characteristics at high volume levels. Wired headphones and speakers can be connected to the iPhone via the Lightning port or an appropriate adapter, while wireless devices can connect via Bluetooth 5. 3.

Since the aptX codecs are not supported, users should ensure their Bluetooth devices support the AAC codec. The A15 Bionic of the iPhone 14 shines with a very good energy efficiency and consumes even less power during idle than its SoC sibling iPhone 13 . The slightly higher power draw under load can likely be explained by the additional GPU core.

Android competitors in our comparison cannot come close to the energy efficiency of the iPhones. With 3729 mAh vs. 3240 mAh, the battery of the iPhone 14 is very slightly larger compared to the iPhone 13 .

While both batteries are small by Android standards, they use ther energy reserves very efficiently. The iPhone 14 lasts ever-so-slightly longer than the iPhone 13 and with almost 17 hours of web-browsing use and 21 hours of video playback, achieves very good results. The iPhone 14 supports a maximum charge rate of 20 watts.

With the official, but unfortunately not included Apple charger, fully recharging the empty battery takes 1:34 hours. Alternatively, the smartphone can be charged at up to 15 watts via MagSafe or wirelessly via Qi Charging at up to 7. 5 watts.

Compared to last year’s iPhone 13 , not much has changed for the latest iPhone. An improved main camera, a stronger GPU part for the A15 Bionic , a slightly bigger battery, and software features such as a crash detection – those are some of the most important, but also almost the entirety of the new features the iPhone 14 has to offer. Apple’s message is clear: Users who are looking for innovation along the lines of the 48-MP camera, a faster SoC, or a 120-Hz display, will have to go with the more expensive pro models.

Spotting the differences between the iPhone 14 and its predecessor almost requires a magnifying glass. Regardless, the Apple phone remains an excellent, albeit expensive smartphone overall. Despite or due to the mini upgrade, our verdict remains identical to that on the predecessor.

The iPhone 14, too, is an excellent smartphone that belongs to the most high-end device class thanks to its build quality, display, camera, battery life, and performance. Of course, there are a few drawbacks to the iPhone 14. Charging 800 USD for a smartphone with a 60-Hz display is something only Apple can get away with.

Similarly, users are still going to have to contend with relatively slow fast charging and a wide notch. Furthermore, Apple’s much-lauded satellite emergency SOS is limited to the US and Canada for now. Alternatives to the iPhone 14 include both the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro with the latter offering advantages such as an adaptive 120-Hz display and an additional telephoto camera for almost the same price.

On the Android side, we recommend compact and powerful models such as the Asus ZenFone 9 or the Xiaomi 12 . When purchased on the official store directly from Apple, the base model iPhone 14 with 128 GB storage costs 799 USD. The 256-GB and 512-GB models cost 899 USD and 1099 USD, respectively.

Other retailers often list the smartphone for a similar price. .