What’s new in iPhone14?

Every year in September, Apple releases updated versions of its most popular iPhone series, generating a lot of buzz among tech enthusiasts worldwide. This year was no exception, as there were numerous leaks and rumours regarding the Pro iPhone models’ upgraded appearances. Here is all the information you need to know about the most recent iPhone 14 series, which Apple officially unveiled on September 7.

What’s New?

This year Apple launched four new iPhone models – iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. 

iPhone 14 & 14 Plus: There has not been a significant upgrade with the iPhone 14 this year. Design-wise, the iPhone 14 is identical to the iPhone 13, with the exception of a new colour option called Deep Purple. The iPhone 14 weighs 172g and has a 7.80 mm depth, which is slightly different from the 7.65 mm depth and 174g weight of the iPhone 13. The specifications of the two iPhones are also very similar, with the iPhone 14 having a 6.1-inch, 2532 x 1170-resolution OLED display with a maximum brightness of 1200 nits and a notch at the top housing Face ID, just like the iPhone 13. The iPhone 14 has a 5-core GPU compared to the iPhone 13’s 4-core one, and Apple also improved the thermal design on the iPhone 14, which may help in slightly better and more consistent gaming performance. Both the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 14 share the same A15 Bionic processor from last year in terms of performance. Additional new features added to the iPhone 14 series include crash detection and satellite connectivity, which are currently only available in the US and Canada. 

The major difference here is in terms of cameras, where Apple has upgraded the primary camera on the iPhone 14 with a new 12 MP sensor which has a larger aperture and pixel size of f/1.5 and 1.9 µm respectively which will help in slightly better low light performance, secondary Ultrawide camera is still the same 12 MP as found on the iPhone 13. The front camera also gets an upgrade with a new 12 MP sensor which has autofocus and a larger aperture of f/1.9. Along with camera hardware improvements iPhone 14 also brings Photonic Engine which is a new form of computational photography and is supposed to further improve the low light performance in iPhone photos. Apple brought in a new feature for the camera, the Action mode for videos in the iPhone 14 series which will let users shoot a smooth-looking video even when there’s a lot of shakiness and jerks. Cinematic mode on the iPhone 14 can now shoot videos in 4k 30fps as well as 4k 24 fps. 

Battery life on the iPhone 14 is claimed to be slightly better than the iPhone 13 as it houses a 3279 mAh battery compared to 3227 mAh on the iPhone 13 however charging speeds remain the same as last year – 20W wired and 15W MagSafe wireless. 

Apple officially discontinued their Mini iPhones and replaced them by introducing iPhone 14 Plus this year which is the same as iPhone 14 but with a larger 6.7-inch Display and a higher capacity battery. 

iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max: 

Coming to the Pro models so here’s where Apple has the latest and greatest to offer. In terms of the overall design, the iPhone 14 Pro is still quite similar to last year’s iPhone 13 Pro but the major difference between the new Pro models is the pill-shaped cut-out on the display front, Apple calls it ‘Dynamic Island’ which has now officially replaced the notch and it houses all the Face ID mechanism and the front camera and Apple has fine-tuned it through their software and it shows all the notification alerts and ongoing activities like music playback, incoming calls etc. iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max comes in 6.1 and 6.7-inch screen sizes respectively where both of them sports a 120 Hz Super Retina XDR ProMotion display which can go up to a peak brightness of 2000 nits. Both the Pro models also get a performance boost as they are powered by Apple’s new A16 Bionic processor which has a faster 6-core CPU, 5 core GPU and is manufactured on a 4nm fabrication process. iPhone 14 Pro models have also got a camera upgrade where the primary camera is a new 48 MP sensor which can shoot ProRAW, Apple also added a new second generation sensor-shift image stabilization. The secondary Ultrawide camera also got a new sensor with a larger pixel size which will help get a lot more detailed ultrawide and macro photos. The front camera is also a new upgraded 12 MP with f/1.9 aperture along with autofocus. 

The rest of the features like Action mode, a Photonic engine, Crash Detection and Satellite connectivity remain the same as regular iPhone 14 models. Battery life on the Pro models is claimed to be better than the 13 Pro models by 1 hour extra Screen on time however charging speeds remain the same as regular iPhone 14 – 20W wired and 15W MagSafe wireless. The only difference between iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max is the screen sizes and battery capacity.

This time around Apple made a more significant change for all the iPhone 14 models sold in the US by removing the physical SIM slot making all the iPhones eSIM supported only, other parts of the world including India still get the physical SIM slot but eventually Apple might adapt this in their global production of iPhones

Are the new iPhones worth it?

The most common question which comes to everyone’s mind right now is, are these newly launched iPhone 14 models worth upgrading, and the answer is, it completely depends from user to user. The price of iPhone 14 and 14 Plus in India starts at Rs 79,900 and Rs 89,990 respectively whereas iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max starts at Rs 1,29,900 and Rs 1,39,900 respectively. Now, for someone who already owns an iPhone 13, it makes no sense in upgrading to the newly launched iPhone 14 as there’s no major difference between both the models, however, for someone who is upgrading from an older generation iPhone like iPhone X or 11, iPhone 14 could be a good upgrade. However looking at the current price drops of the iPhone 13 during online sales where the price comes down to approximately Rs 50,000, it makes last year’s iPhone 13 a lot more value for money option compared to iPhone 14. iPhone 14 Pro models surely got an improved front design with the ‘Dynamic Island’ compared to the older notch and improved performance and cameras which surely makes it a worthy upgrade for someone looking for the best iPhone at this moment.