Apple’s 2022 smartphones have updated cameras and other improvements, yet they cost the same as the iPhone 13 models. Should you buy one?
The new iPhone 14 smartphones are now available for purchase. If you’re thinking of upgrading this year, the choices are pretty clear. If you like significant new features, you’ll want the iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max. The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are great choices, too, and they cost less, but they don’t give you much that wasn’t already provided in the iPhone 13 models.
Finally, if you like smaller phones, you should know that Apple isn’t making a 5.4-inch Mini version of the iPhone 14. So you’ll be shopping for a 13 Mini, 12 Mini, or 4.7-inch iPhone SE.
To review the basics, Apple has revamped its phone lineup to offer just two distinct size options: There are midsized 6.1-inch models and large 6.7-inch models.
The 6.1-inch iPhone 14, $799, and iPhone 14 Pro, $999, should be easy for most people to use with one hand, and they take up less room in a pocket or handbag. For $100 more, the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus, $899, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, $1,099, offer more canvas for watching videos, playing games, and scrolling through content. Whether those models are actually too big to handle is a matter of personal preference.
When trying out the phones, I was particularly interested in this year’s camera upgrades and, for the Pro line, the always-on display and interactive notification feature dubbed the Dynamic Island. (Honestly, I’ve never been more excited to see a small bubble design on a gadget.)
Apple says the new models also have speedier performance and better battery life than their iPhone 13 counterparts. We’re still testing the two larger phones, the 14 Plus and the 14 Pro Max. We’ll update this article once we have full results on those. (Consumer Reports uses regular consumer outlets to buy all of the products we rate, from printers to pickup trucks.) But here’s what we’ve learned so far about the four models, including results for the 14 and 14 Pro.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
If you own an iPhone 13 or have spent time in an Apple store playing with one, you know what it’s like to use an iPhone 14. The two models look and feel about the same.
The larger iPhone 14 Plus could be mistaken for the iPhone 13 Pro Max (now discontinued at Apple) or the 14 Pro Max, although the 14 Plus is a tad lighter by about 1.3 ounces. That might not sound like much, but it’s noticeable if you’re used to big phones, and the 14 Plus is even lighter than the smaller 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro.
The company made a few improvements to the new models.
Cameras
First, the phone’s new Action Mode stabilizes the camera when you’re shooting video. I tested that on a rumbling train careening from Manhattan out to Long Island. The iPhone 14 did a great job of minimizing the hand shake as I filmed the buildings and people passing by. The video looks like it was filmed with a cell phone gimbal.
Action Mode won’t matter if you’re standing still and shooting your kid’s soccer game, but if you’re running along the sidelines, it can make a big difference. (Turn off Action Mode if you’re going for hand shake in your “Blair Witch Project” parody.)
Apple also introduced a new autofocus feature on the iPhone 14’s forward-facing camera. The benefit is subtle, at least to my untrained eye. The selfies I shot on both the 14 and 14 Plus didn’t seem more Instagram-worthy than photos taken with the iPhone 13—or, to be honest, with my old iPhone XR, which was released in 2018.
Still, CR testers were impressed by the iPhone 14’s camera performance. The 12-megapixel rear camera received Very Good scores for still image and video quality, placing the model in the top 10 for best smartphone cameras.
Safety Features
As with the Pro phones in this latest series, the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus can contact emergency services through a satellite link if you’re in an area without cellular service. The feature is supposed to become operational in November and come free for two years. After that, you’ll need to spring for a paid subscription; the pricing information hasn’t been released yet.
This safety feature alone could push you toward the iPhone 14 if you’re choosing between that model and a previous option, though the phone won’t have all the functionality of a dedicated back-country device like the Garmin inReach. The offering might be particularly useful for hikers, but the satellite function would also be appealing if I were buying a phone for my teenager who’s just learning to drive. The new iPhones have a crash-detection feature, too, as does the Apple Watch, some Android phones, a number of apps, and many cars.
Battery Life and Overall Performance
The battery in the iPhone Fourteen lasted 39 hours on a single charge in our labs. That’s one hour less than the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 14 Pro logged, but it’s not exactly a deal breaker. Performance for the iPhone 14 is top-notch, with testers praising the phone’s fast speed and easy-to-use touchscreen.
Apple says the 14 Plus has the longest battery life of any iPhone ever. We’ll know soon if that claim holds up in our labs.
In the meantime, you can buy the iPhone 14 or Phone 14 Plus from Apple, your cellular provider, or a retailer such as Best Buy.
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
Apple saved its most notable upgrades for the iPhone 14 Pro phones.
The features I couldn’t wait to try were the always-on display and the Dynamic Island.
iPhone 14 Pro
- 6.1-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display with 2556-by-1179-pixel resolution
- 20-hour battery life (during video playback)
- 5.78-inch (146.7mm) height
- 2.82-inch (71.5mm) width
- 6.07-ounce (172 grams) weight
- $799, $899, or $1,099 for 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage
iPhone 14 Pro Max
- 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display with 2796-by-1290-pixel resolution
- 26-hour battery life (during video playback)
- 6.33-inch (160.8mm) height
- 3.07-inch (78.1mm) width
- 7.16-ounce (203 grams) weight
- $899, $999, or $1,199 for 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage
Display and Design
I’m surprised it took this long to bring an always-on display to the iPhone. The feature works like the always-on display on the Apple Watch and many Android phones. It lets you see useful information, like the weather forecast and reminders, without having to interact with the phone.
If you do want a novel way to interact with your iPhone, though, there’s the new Dynamic Island. Instead of the “notch” cutout at the top of the iPhone Fourteen , Fourteen Plus, and earlier models, there’s now a pill-shaped cutout that shows system alerts and notifications. It can update you on your phone’s battery level, for example, or alert you to incoming calls.
It’s interactive, too. You can pause or skip songs on Spotify or audiobooks on Audible, manage calls from Google Voice, or adjust your route in Maps.
I kept trying to find new ways to use this tiny space on the screen—playing music and audiobooks, mostly, but also texting myself, as one often does. The Dynamic Island seems to have a lot of potential but as of now, the feature is limited to apps created by Apple and a handful of third-party developers.
Cameras
Apple updated the Pro cameras as well. Both models have the selfie autofocus and Action Mode available on the standard iPhone 14 models. But the Pro and Pro Max also have a 48-megapixel main rear camera instead of the 12-megapixel option on the other models. More pixels mean the camera can capture more information to create crisper photos, the kind that let you zoom in to see every freckle on a subject’s face. The improved cameras should perform better, particularly in low-light situations.
I found that to be true when taking photos after midnight in my backyard with the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the iPhone 13 Pro Max using only a string of dim, solar-powered lights to illuminate the scenery. Both phones did admirably well in this tough environment (see below), but if you look carefully, you can see that the 14 Pro Max captured greater detail in the foliage in the background and that the color is warmer—closer to what it looked like in person.
The differences between the two phones were even more subtle when I took photos of my poodle, who has the curliest hair of any dog I’ve ever seen. Look closely, though, and you can see that the iPhone 14 Pro Max captured more detail in the shadows and the details in his tail.
These were informal experiments, however. CR’s lab testing is much more granular and rigorous. And while the results for the 14 Pro Max aren’t quite in yet, the 14 Pro now tops our charts for best smartphone cameras, with the best scores for still image, selfie image, and rear video quality. Will the 14 Pro Max do even better? We shall see.
Battery Life and Overall Performance
The iPhone Fourteen Pro and Fourteen Max have Apple’s latest chip, the A16. The company says it’s more powerful than any chip before it, which is to be expected. The A16 should also be more energy-efficient and can take credit for some of the Pro phones’ new camera tricks.
The 14 Pro earns an Excellent rating for performance in our lab tests. But the battery life, while impressive, remains at 40 hours, just like that of the 13 Pro.
We’ll know more about the 14 Pro Max’s battery life and performance soon. For reference, though, the 13 Pro Max currently tops our charts with a 52.5-hour battery life.
You can buy the iPhone 14 Pro or Phone 14 Pro Max from Apple, your cellular carrier, or a retailer such as Best Buy.
Should You Buy an iPhone 14?
A friend bought an iPhone 13 a few months ago, and after reading all the news about the new phones, he said he has no regrets about not waiting for the latest model. That sounds about right to me, but your decision may depend on what deals you find.
I do think the new safety features are compelling, and the Dynamic Island on the Pro models has potential.
It’s also worth noting that the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro have risen above their last-generation counterparts in our ratings, making them the best 6.1-inch iPhones you can buy today.