We’ve got extensive coverage of the event and related news stories that emerged around it (some of which revealed things Apple didn’t). Here we wanted to share some thoughts on the new models now that the dust has settled.
Subtle and not so subtle price increases
Apple has subtly raised the price of iPhones a few times and has done so again this year. In 2021 the cheapest (non-SE) iPhone was the mini, which started at $700, now the cheapest member of the premium line is the iPhone 14 at $800. Yes, the iPhone 13 was also $800, and Apple is highlighting that, hoping you won’t notice that the entry price went up as the mini went away. We have detailed pricing information for the new models if you want to take a look. The mini itself was part of a subtle price increase – the vanilla iPhone 11 started at $700 in 2019, the base iPhone 12 was also $700 in 2020. However, this was the new mini, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 ( which was the true successor to the vanilla iPhone 11) went up to $800. There was another bit of confusion during Wednesday’s event – Apple showed the pricing of the iPhone 14 models in the US, suggesting that it is the same as the 13 series. And it is, although there is a “but”. The new models cost the same as the old ones in many countries (including the US, Canada and China), but have risen significantly in Europe, parts of Asia and other regions. iPhone 14 iPhone 14 Plus iPhone 14 Pro iPhone 14 Pro Max US$799 $899 $999 $1,099 United Kingdom£849 £949 £1,099 £1,199 Germany999 euros 1,149 euros 1,299 euros 1,449 euros IndiaINR 79,900 INR 89,900 INR 129,900 INR 139,900 ChinaCNY 5,999 CNY 6,999 CNY 7,999 CNY 8,999 Japan119,800 JPY 134,800 JPY 149,800 JPY 164,800
The wait may have been a mistake
We’ll talk about the Plus and the mini, but while we’re on the subject of prices, we wanted to cover the older models as well. As it does every year, Apple is discontinuing the old Pro line and keeping the vanilla models at a discount. It did again this year – the iPhone 12, 13 and 13 mini are still available at a discounted price. Well, not exactly, the reduction is relative to the iPhone 14 series, and since those prices have increased in some regions, the cost of the older models has actually remained the same in many countries. Even worse, the price of the iPhone SE (2022) has gone up in some places. We know some of you have been waiting for the new generation to come out so you can pick up one of the older models at a discount, but this year that strategy didn’t work as well as usual.
The Plus is a welcome addition to the family
Apple has resurrected the “Plus” designation for the new iPhone 14 Plus. It’s the same size as the 14 Pro Max (off by fractions of a millimeter) and has the same 6.7″ screen diagonal. It has essentially the same pixel density (458ppi), producing a nice, sharp image. However, that’s where the similarities between the Plus and Pro Max end. For starters, it’s still a 60Hz panel and doesn’t support Always On Display (new to Pro). Also, the Pro panels are brighter, with the Plus and vanilla iPhone 14 keeping brightness standard at 800 nits and peaking at 1,200 nits (versus 1,000 nits typical and 2,000 nits peak for the 14 Pro duo). There are a few other major differences between the Plus and the Max – the chipset and the cameras – but we’ll get to those later. The iPhone 14 Plus is a welcome addition to the Apple family. Not everyone cares about having the best cameras, much less peak performance, in demand these days, but some want a bigger screen and battery than the vanilla 6.1″ iPhone on offer. Previously, their only choice would have been the iPhone 14 Pro Max model in $1,100, now they can buy the Plus at $900. The iPhone series needed a Plus model and we think it will be quite successful. But did his birth require the death of the mini? Probably not and that’s okay anyway. Based on sales numbers reported by analysts, the mini died on its own due to a lack of consumer interest.
A new mini wasn’t really necessary
We know some people will object to the above statement, so let’s address that before we jump into the upgrades (and sometimes lack thereof) in the 14 series. The mini is still out there in the form of the iPhone 13 mini. Given the incremental upgrades to the camera, chipset and display in the entry-level 14 series, a hypothetical iPhone 14 mini wouldn’t be all that different. If you want a small phone (properly small, not small Android) with premium build and performance, the 13 mini is still a great choice.
An exciting camera upgrade for professionals
Like Google, Apple over-optimized a camera setup and was reluctant to make major changes. It had excellent results for several years, but it was time to leave the 12MP resolution and standard Bayer filter behind. Apple did a great job explaining the benefits. The new 48MP sensor offers high-quality image at 2x zoom, which bridges the gap between the main camera and the 3x telephoto camera. In daylight it can shoot detailed 48MP RAW images, in the dark it uses pixel binning to reduce noise. It could have enabled 8K video recording as well, but maybe next year. Either way, the new iPhone Pro camera is much more versatile. The other side of the stable has less to show. The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus cameras offer a larger sensor and a brighter aperture for the main camera, while benefiting from the new Photonic Engine. However, they’re starting to feel really dated now, as they’re nothing more than iterative improvements from 2019. The vanilla models have a larger sensor (1.9μm vs 1.7μm) • All four have AF on the selfie cameras One change we applaud is the addition of autofocus to the selfie camera, this can (and usually does) have a significant impact on selfie quality. But how long will we have to stare at pill-shaped notches and punch holes before under-display cameras make their way to the iPhone?
AOD and Dynamic Island
The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max displays are some of the best OLED displays on the market – 1-120Hz LTPO, sharp, super bright, HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, toughened glass, and now Always On to boot. It’s hard to find fault with the screens themselves. That’s not the case for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which essentially don’t get any upgrades from the 13 series and really aren’t that different from what the iPhone 12 has. We’re going back to the pros to look at the first major redesign of the TrueDepth camera. It’s the biggest hole we’ve seen to date, but Apple dressed it up with a so-called Dynamic Island. Dynamic Island displays icons from apps that want your attention, shows indicators (eg shows that the camera or microphone is active), can even expand to show a new notification. We have to give it to Apple, the animations are very smooth and the marketing is slick, but Dynamic Island doesn’t do anything that a standard status bar can’t do. Of course, with a pill this wide, there’s no room for a proper status bar.
Apple’s steady progress in chipsets is slowing down
Apple has distinguished itself not only by having the best mobile chipsets, but also by using them in all smartphones of a given generation – even the iPhone SE (2022) has an Apple A15 chip. There was a slight gap as the A15 had two tiers, one with a 4-core GPU (used in the iPhone 13, 13 mini and SE) and one with a 5-core GPU (used in the Pro). There’s now a much wider gap between the vanilla and Pro models, as the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus still use the A15 chipset. It’s the more powerful 5-core GPU version (which Apple says will deliver 18% more GPU performance), but we’re not sure it’ll make much of an impact when aiming for 60fps. We suspect that one change Apple didn’t talk about will be much more beneficial – all iPhone 14 models have 6GB of RAM (no change for Pros, but the 13 and 13 mini only had 4GB). Even moderate multitaskers should have an improved experience. As for the new Apple A16 chipset, Apple compared it to a three-year-old A13, but that was mainly to tease how fast it is (the company claimed that the A13 is faster than the best Android chipset of 2022, but that could it’s real with lots of fine print). Early reports indicate that Apple has increased the CPU’s top clock speed – to 3.43GHz which is the fastest smartphone core – but the actual performance improvements are minimal to none. While it’s true that Apple has the fastest mobile chipset, the competition isn’t far behind, and the A16 is set to go head-to-head with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is coming in a few months.
T-Mobile and SpaceX stole Apple’s satellite thunder
This sounds a bit like science fiction – a small pocket phone without an external antenna can connect to a satellite and send an SOS. There’s no arguing that it will be invaluable if the worst happens and you find yourself in trouble far from rescue. However, Apple left some things unsaid. iPhone 14 buyers will get a free 2-year subscription – but only in the US and Canada, where beta testing begins. But how much would it cost after that? Will it be a monthly subscription or pay per use? Also, in some areas you must have Search and Rescue Insurance. You’ll still get bailed out even if you don’t, it’s just going to cost a lot. Apple SOS emergency service and satellite location sharing And how do you share location through Find My Work if…
