The Secure Selection That’s Value Shopping for

The Apple iPhone 14 is a little bit of an oddity. It’s operating final yr’s CPU discovered within the iPhone 13 Professional, and it doesn’t have the iPhone 14 Professional’s 48MP rear digicam or the Dynamic Island. Altogether, although, it’s a terrific “default” iPhone for anybody new to the Apple ecosystem or who simply wants the fundamentals.

Design: It Appears to be like Like an iPhone

Holding the telephone, I’m shocked by how gentle the system is. In comparison with the Professional lineup that makes use of chrome steel (and weighs in at 206-240g), the iPhone 14’s aluminum body is a pleasure to carry and throw in your pocket. The glass back and front make the telephone really feel premium, however I additionally fear about dropping and cracking the system. I undoubtedly advocate contemplating a case.

Trying across the telephone, you’ll discover that there isn’t a SIM card slot (not less than there isn’t one on U.S. fashions). Apple goes all-in on eSIM, which has its personal execs and cons. As a reviewer, I like with the ability to rapidly swap SIMs between models as I’m testing every system. However as a shopper, I discovered the method of activating the eSIM (in my case, on AT&T) mainly easy. After all, I’ve heard others complain about eSIM issues, so your mileage could fluctuate.

iOS 16: Extra Customization

The launch of the iPhone 14 got here alongside the official launch of iOS 16. This firmware replace is offered on each Apple smartphone because the iPhone 8, nevertheless it runs particularly easy on the corporate’s 2022 handsets (as one would hope).

None of iOS 16’s new options are unique to the iPhone 14, however in the event you’ve used iOS up to now, the brand new lock display customization refreshes one facet of the iPhone expertise. The addition of widgets and Focus mode wallpapers means that you can make the telephone uniquely yours.

Virtually the whole lot else about iOS 16 is establishment coming from iOS 15. There are some small additions comparable to medicine monitoring, the flexibility to edit iMessages, and extra, however once more, none of these are locked to the iPhone 14. If the iOS expertise is one thing you get pleasure from, you’ll proceed to get pleasure from it on Apple’s newest telephone.

Cameras: It’s Onerous to Take a Dangerous Photograph

Rear Cameras

• Predominant: 12MP, 26mm, ƒ/1.5 aperture, sensor‑shift optical picture stabilization
• Extremely-wide angle: 12MP, 13 mm, ƒ/2.4 aperture, and 120-degree subject of view
• Video recording: As much as 4K at 60fps, slo-mo as much as 1080p at 240fps

Identical to with earlier generations, the iPhone 14 (non-pro) solely comes with two rear-facing cameras. You get twin 12MP sensors, one with a typical wide-angle lens and a second with an ultra-wide angle lens that has a 120-degree subject of view. Sadly, you’ll want to leap as much as the Professional collection to get a telephoto.

As this part’s title suggests, it’s onerous to take a nasty photograph with the iPhone 14. Assisted by Apple’s newest computational images know-how referred to as the “Photonic Engine,” you get true-to-life shade replica, higher low-light efficiency, and a strong image throughout.

Trying on the above images, I’d have most well-liked a telephoto over the ultra-wide lens. The ultra-wide digicam introduces a slight fisheye impact that I’m not the largest fan of, and I actually hate having to depend on digital zoom. Evening-time photographs are additionally respectable, although you gained’t discover an astrophotography mode on the iPhone 14.

Motion Mode Video Isn’t a Gimmick

One new characteristic that I used to be shocked labored so nicely is Motion Mode. With out the necessity to connect your telephone to a gimbal, the iPhone 14 stabilizes your video footage by cropping in on all the sensor. So as an alternative of a shaky 4K video, you get 1080p footage with zero wobble.

As you’ll be able to see from the video, I used to be chasing my canine on unstable floor at a park and the video appears extremely easy. There are nonetheless some bumps, however the horizon is usually locked in place.

Entrance-Going through Digital camera

• Selfie: 12MP digicam, ƒ/1.9 aperture
• Video recording: As much as 4K at 60fps

The largest change year-over-year involves the front-facing TrueDepth digicam. With the iPhone 14, Apple opened up the aperture a bit extra, however extra importantly, it added autofocus. The sharper focus alone helps enhance the appears of your selfies.

As you’ll be able to see from the above images, shade replica is kind of strong, even with Portrait mode enabled. There’s a little bit of haloing round my head when utilizing the fake bokeh mode, nevertheless it’s not practically as dangerous as older handsets.

Battery Life: You’re Good for the Day

My traditional day included taking the iPhone off my Nomad Base One Max charger round 7 am and placing it again on cost at 11-12 pm when heading to mattress. Even after spending the day checking Twitter, sending messages in Slack, listening to music whereas strolling my canine, and scrolling by TikTok, I usually ended the day with 20-35% battery left and a median of 5.5 hours of screen-on time.

If I ever did deplete the battery too quick by streaming YouTube or Netflix, charging the iPhone 14 was fast and easy due to Apple’s built-in MagSafe know-how. I might simply drop the telephone onto any of my MagSafe-certified wi-fi chargers and have the telephone juiced again up in slightly below two hours.

iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Professional

Caught between the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Professional? There are actually two issues to think about: cameras and the show. Beginning with the cameras, round again, you’ll discover that the common mannequin solely has two whereas the Professional has three. It’s because, as talked about above, the iPhone 14 solely has a typical wide-angle lens and an ultra-wide lens. The Professional features a 3x zoom telephoto.

In the event you’re high-quality with digitally zooming into your topic, one thing else to think about is the principle digicam’s sensor. For the primary time because the launch of the iPhone 6s in 2015, Apple has upped the first sensor from 12MP to 48MP. The corporate is then pixel-binning that again all the way down to 12MP, however the elevated sensor measurement and determination results in sharper images and higher low-light efficiency.

So if that greater and higher 48MP sensor is one thing you need, go together with the iPhone 14 Professional. The usual iPhone 14 makes use of the 12MP digicam present in earlier generations. It nonetheless captures a terrific photograph, however there’s a noticeable distinction.

The very last thing to think about is the show. Past the Professional having the “Dynamic Island” and the iPhone 14 sticking to the notch, the 2 telephones have completely different refresh charges. The A16-powered iPhone 14 Professional has a “ProMotion” display that may clock as much as 120Hz for silky easy scrolling and video playback after which drop all the way down to as little as 1Hz to avoid wasting battery life (which additionally permits the telephone to have an always-on lock display). The iPhone 14, with its A15 CPU, is locked to 60Hz.

Personally, I don’t suppose the 120Hz refresh fee is value the additional worth of the iPhone 14 Professional. If the digicam enhancements aren’t sufficient to sway you to go for the extra premium handset, I don’t suppose the show is definitely worth the improve.

Ought to You Purchase the Apple iPhone 14?

On the finish of the day, the iPhone 14 is Apple’s “protected alternative” possibility. It doesn’t have the corporate’s new Dynamic Island and it doesn’t characteristic a elaborate 48MP rear digicam, nevertheless it does match Apple’s unofficial motto of “it simply works.” In contrast to the iPhone SE (2022), which is the price range possibility in Apple’s lineup, you get a contemporary design and improved efficiency throughout the board.

You should purchase the iPhone 14 instantly from Apple, your service, and third-party shops comparable to Finest Purchase. It’s out there in Midnight (black-ish blue), Purple, Starlight (gentle gold), (Product)Purple, and Blue (pictured above) beginning at $799 for the 128GB mannequin.