The iPhone mini is dead — though the iPhone 13 mini is still available for now — and in its place is a new 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus that has the same 6.7-inch screen size as the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Despite people clamoring for the mini, several reports indicate that it fell short of Apple’s sales expectations. Apple is a company that doesn’t do anything unless it’s extremely calculated, so it probably has data showing that people want a bigger, cheaper iPhone. Aside from the size change, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus look similar to last year’s devices, including the squared-off sides and notch. Only the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max lose the notch in favor of the very interesting stop called “Dynamic Island”. That said, the iPhone 14 features the same always-on display as the Pro variants. Apple makes some strong claims about the always-on display not significantly affecting battery life, which I’m not entirely sure I believe. Still, I can’t wait to try them out for myself. This year, the iPhone 14 doesn’t get the upgrade to the new A16 chip and instead sticks to the A15, though it does get an extra GPU core, giving it a slight power boost. On the camera side, the 12-megapixel sensor now features a larger 1.9 micro sensor, and the front-facing shooter offers autofocus. There’s also the same 12-megapixel ultra-wide shooter. I know it will probably never happen, but I wish Apple would bring a telephoto lens to the entry-level iPhone, as I find it more useful than the ultra-wide. I briefly tested the camera in Apple’s hands-on area, and it seems to focus faster when taking selfies, but more testing is needed. There are also new colors, including a new variant of ‘Product Red’, ‘Purple’ and ‘Blue’. While they look cool, I prefer the more pastel shades that Apple has gone with in the past for its standard iPhone. Beyond the changes above, there isn’t much else new with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Apple’s new devices are an incremental update over their predecessors in terms of hardware. It will be interesting to see if Apple’s bet that people want a bigger, cheaper iPhone pays off. The iPhone 14 Plus starts at $1,250 and the iPhone 14 costs $1,099. Pre-orders start on September 9, and the iPhone 14 launches on September 16, while the iPhone 14 Plus drops on October 7. For more on the iPhone 14 series, check out my hands-on with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
