The iPhone 14 is the bottom mannequin for Apple’s new smartphone lineup in 2022. On this hands-on, I want to share my first impressions of the iPhone 14 with the world, and the least I can say is: this flagship is moderately forgettable regardless of its $799 price ticket.
NEXTPITTV
Good
- Light-weight kind issue and good one-handed grip
- The A15 Bionic SoC is growing older however nonetheless higher than the Android competitors
- Improved major digicam
- IP 68 ranking
- New iOS 16 options
Dangerous
- Digital camera module is much less versatile than the Professional and Professional Max fashions
- No Dynamic Island or Professional Movement 120 Hz for the show
- Historic 20 W charging pace
- Costly
The Apple iPhone 14 briefly
The iPhone 14 is already out there for buy since September 16, 2022. It’s the base mannequin of Apple’s flagship lineup in 2022, alongside the iPhone 14 Plus. The smartphone is available in three reminiscence configurations:
- 128 GB: $799
- 256 GB: $899
- 512 GB: $1,099
The iPhone 14 is the least fascinating mannequin launched by Apple this yr. It prices the identical as final yr’s iPhone 13 and would not profit from the brand new options of the iPhone 14 Professional and iPhone 14 Professional Max, corresponding to the brand new A16 Bionic SoC, the 48 MP digicam module with the 12 MP telephoto lens, or the 120 Hz display with the Dynamic Island.
My colleague Ben will deal with the complete evaluation since I’ve to evaluation the iPhone 14 Professional Max on my aspect. All of the remarks I make on this article additionally apply to the iPhone 14 Plus which is similar to the iPhone 14 other than the display measurement and the battery life.
Design
The iPhone 14 seems precisely like final yr’s iPhone 13. There are virtually no noticeable visible adjustments on this new mannequin, which stays a premium-looking smartphone however frankly: it’s kind of redundant.
What I favored:
- The (PRODUCT)RED colour
- Gentle kind issue supplies a superb grip
- IP68 ranking
What I disliked:
- No Dynamic Island
- Zero threat on the design
- No 3.5mm audio jack
Visually, the iPhone 14 is a carbon copy of the iPhone 13. We have now the identical 6.1-inch kind issue with a clean and glossy glass again that could be a fingerprint magnet and is protected by Apple’s Ceramic Defend. Additionally, you will discover the acquainted aluminum body with straight edges and rounded corners. The identical sq. island will accommodate the twin digicam module on the again. As well as, the identical notch in entrance will maintain the brand new 12 MP TrueDepth selfie digicam and Face ID parts.
However I discover the 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm dimensions and 172 g weight to be rather more nice by way of grip, particularly for one-handed use. In contrast to the iPhone 14 Professional and iPhone 14 Professional Max, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus shouldn’t have the brand new Dynamic Island. That is frankly a disgrace.
The iPhone 14 nonetheless retains its IP68 certification for waterproofing and it additionally has the twin SIM port (nano+eSIM) in outdoors the US and eSIM solely within the US. The iPhone 14 can even arrive in 5 colours: Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight (white), and (PRODUCT)RED. Personally, I discover the (PRODUCT)RED variant to be one of the best colour Apple has ever launched and I want the Professional fashions had it too.
Display screen
The iPhone 14 packs a 6.1-inch OLED Tremendous Retina XDR show in 1170 x 2532 decision with a 60Hz refresh fee and a most brightness of 1,200 nits (peak).
What I favored:
- Good colorimetry with the TrueTone characteristic
What I disliked:
- No Dynamic Island
- No 120 Hz Professional Movement refresh fee
- Contact sampling fee is a bit low
As for the iPhone 14 Professional and Professional Max, the display of the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are virtually similar to final yr’s fashions. However it’s certainly a brand new OLED Tremendous Retina XDR panel with a barely larger decision, and the bezels are supposedly barely thinner. That is not possible to inform with the bare eye in any case.
Apple didn’t specify the refresh fee of the iPhone 14 display. However because the producer has not carried out Professional Movement on the essential fashions, we will logically deduce that we’re working on a normal refresh fee of 60 Hz.
The colorimetry appeared particularly reasonable to me at first look. The TrueTone perform permits us to have a devoted rendering in most eventualities. The utmost brightness of 1,200 nits can also be fascinating on paper. However frankly, I’ve a tough time getting enthusiastic about this display. Promoting a smartphone for $800 and staying caught to 60 Hz is hardly acceptable to me in 2022. That is much more evident because the sampling fee appears to me fairly low for gaming.
Interface/OS
The iPhone 14 runs on iOS 16.0.1. We have already talked so much about Apple’s new cellular OS and you could find all of the details about iOS 16 in our devoted article. We even have an entire information on the
finest options of iOS 16 to check out in your iPhone.
However many of the options I talked about in my iPhone 14 Professional Max hands-on can be discovered on the iPhone 14. This isn’t the case with the At all times On Show, nonetheless, which is reserved for the Professional and Professional Max fashions.
However you will nonetheless profit from the brand new customization choices to your lock display. The widgets and the depth impact utilized to the wallpaper are fairly cool, even when this final perform may be very a lot cheesy in nature and complex to make it work correctly (we’ll dedicate a full tutorial to it subsequent week).
I additionally assume it is a disgrace that the emergency name features by way of satellite tv for pc is not going to be out there outdoors the US for a minimum of a while. The deployment within the US and Canada is scheduled for subsequent November with none date being confirmed for the remainder of the world.
Efficiency
The iPhone 14 options Apple’s A15 Bionic SoC, which is identical processor as final yr. The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus don’t obtain the brand new A16 Bionic chip reserved for the Professional and Professional Max fashions.
Whereas we’re ready for my colleague Ben to carry out a collection of benchmarks and his personal efficiency assessments for this part, I am going to merely redirect you to our iPhone 13 evaluation.
For all that, I do not discover this admittedly anti-consumer selection by Apple to be an actual deal-breaker. Apple’s chips are typically extra highly effective than their Android counterparts. And all testers and benchmarks agree that Apple’s A15 Bionic remains to be extra highly effective than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, as an example.
So don’t fret about gaming, you can run all the things with none points or lag. All that is still is to see how the iPhone 14 performs by way of thermal throttling and temperature management.
Picture high quality
The iPhone 14 contains a barely redesigned twin rear digicam module with a 12 MP wide-angle major lens and a 12 MP extremely wide-angle lens as properly. The brand new TrueDepth selfie digicam provides a 12 MP decision and an autofocus characteristic.
The sensor within the major lens is bigger with a pixel measurement of 1.9 µm, an aperture of f/1.5, and an optical stabilization often known as Sensor Shift OIS. Because the iPhone 14 would not have the brand new 48 MP lens, it could actually’t function 4-in-1 pixel binning for extra detailed 12 MP photographs.
It additionally doesn’t have the 2x zoom stage whereas additionally nonetheless lacking out on a devoted telephoto lens, which is as soon as once more reserved for the Professional and Professional Max fashions.
The extremely wide-angle digicam sports activities a 12 MP sensor about which Apple didn’t present any further particulars. The brand new TrueDepth selfie digicam on the entrance provides 12 MP decision, f/1.9 aperture, and, for the primary time, an autofocus. So you will battle much less to take self-portraits by way of focus. The portrait mode must also be extra environment friendly.
Apple additionally introduced that it has improved its DeepFusion system, which mixes a number of photographs into one to enhance the publicity of photographs. Now, extra photographs are compiled with every shot and the method is utilized earlier to uncompressed photographs to retain extra element.
Apple’s new DualTone flash can also be purported to adapt to the focal size of every lens, a minimum of based on the producer.
Battery life
The iPhone 14 packs a 3,279 mAh battery that helps 20 W of wired charging in addition to 15 W of wi-fi charging with MagSafe merchandise and seven.5 W with third-party merchandise utilizing the Qi wi-fi charging normal.
On paper, the battery capability may be very small for a smartphone offered for $800. Nevertheless, Apple promised that the iPhone 14 Plus is the iPhone with one of the best battery life that Apple has produced up to now.
As all the time, Apple offers us completely theoretical estimates that don’t correspond to any real-life utilization sample. Therefore, we’ll have to attend for my colleague Ben’s battery assessments to know extra.
However do take notice that the producer indicated that the iPhone 14 is meant to final 20 hours for offline video playback, 16 hours for streaming video playback, and 80 hours for audio playback. There you might have it! And no, I am not even going to bitch concerning the very doubtless snail-like tempo of the 20W charging pace as I already did that in my tackle the iPhone 14 Professional Max.
Oh sure, the smartphone is offered with no charger, that goes with out saying.
Technical specs
| Apple iPhone 14 vary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Product | Apple iPhone 14 Plus | |
| Colours |
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| Display screen |
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| SoC |
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| Reminiscence |
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| Micro SD | ||
| Primary Digital camera |
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| Extremely wide-angle |
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| Telephoto lens | ||
| Video |
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| Selfie |
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| Audio | ||
| Battery life |
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| Quick charging |
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| Sturdiness |
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| Connectivity |
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| Worth | $799 | $899 |
Conclusion: My first impressions
The iPhone 14 frankly left me unimpressed after I obtained to grips with it. On the one hand, I need to make a good judgment contemplating the very quick period of time that I needed to spend with the gadget. However alternatively, I informed myself this: if I had been a client and easily seemed on the worth/efficiency ratio of the iPhone 14 with out having reviewed it, I might by no means go for this mannequin.
Why purchase an iPhone 14 for $799 euros when you could find an iPhone 13 Professional for $100 to $150 extra on different on-line shops? You find yourself with a superior Professional Movement 120 Hz display, a greater digicam module with a devoted telephoto lens, the identical SoC, and the identical 6.1-inch kind issue.
I feel that Apple is sequencing its new iPhone 14 vary too rigidly in the intervening time. We find yourself with iPhone 14 Professional and iPhone 14 Professional Max which are very fascinating, but in addition very costly – and with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus which are virtually similar to final yr’s fashions on the identical worth level.
On the very least, Apple ought to have carried out the Dynamic Island within the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus to make them extra fascinating. As it’s, I can not see myself recommending them for buy to anyone. That is particularly so, since many of the new options you may anticipate on this vary are software-centric. In case your previous iPhone is eligible for the iOS 16 replace, you will not lose out by way of person expertise.
