Apple‘s September 2022 iPhone 14 unveiling brings an improved but familiar iteration of their staple smartphone lineup. As an iPhone 13 owner, should you consider upgrading? Or keep enjoying your current device?
To help decide, let‘s explore what sets these generations apart – and what remains the same. We‘ll compare specs, features, performance benchmarks, and more between models.
Overview
First, a quick refresher. The iPhone 13 series contains four models with identical features besides display size and battery:
- iPhone 13 – 6.1” screen, 19 hours video playback
- iPhone 13 Mini – 5.4” screen, 17 hours video playback
- iPhone 13 Pro – 6.1” screen, 22 hours video playback
- iPhone 13 Pro Max – 6.7” screen, 28 hours video playback
The entire line runs Apple‘s A15 Bionic processing chip with a 5-core GPU, and ships with either 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage.
Now, how does the iPhone 14 series compare? Let‘s break it down:
Battery Life
All iPhone 14 models provide a boost of at least one extra hour of video playback over their iPhone 13 equivalents:
| Model | Video Playback (iPhone 13) | Video Playback (iPhone 14) |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 14 | 19 hours | 20 hours |
| iPhone 14 Plus | N/A | 26 hours |
| iPhone 14 Pro | 22 hours | 23 hours |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | 28 hours | 29 hours |
Apple achieved the improved battery life while maintaining slim design profiles. This proves helpful for long trips or days away from a charger when online maps, mobile tickets, and travel apps see frequent usage in foreign environments.
Displays
Both generations deliver stunning Super Retina XDR OLED display panels with excellent brightness, contrast, HDR support, and True Tone white balance adjusting. Users coming from an iPhone 11 or earlier gain ProMotion 120 Hz refresh rates for smoother scrolling and motion clarity too.
Impressively, the iPhone 14 series matches their predecessors’ visual fidelity while adding an Always-On Display mode via the new iOS 16 software. This allows prominently viewing widgets, notifications, wallpapers, and other elements in a lower power state – what I’ve sorely wanted for years from my iPhone to reduce constantly awakening it fully.
Exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max lies the next evolution in display design – the “Dynamic Island”, a software-reshaped camera cutout area. It shifts sizes in real time, revealing alerts, privacy statuses, and widgets contextual to what’s happening on your phone. Almost akin to the Touch Bar on MacBooks in innovatively utilizing bezel space, it tackles the ubiquitous camera notch problem with an out-of-the-box solution only Apple would think to attempt.
Cameras
While keeping the same 12MP front and dual 12MP rear camera setups, Apple enhanced sensors and computational imaging pipelines across all models to compete with increasingly impressive offerings from Android rivals.
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus receive several upgrades:
- Larger sensor with 1.9 μm pixels and sensor-shift optical stabilization on Main wide lens for up to 2x light capture while countering hand shake
- Wider ƒ/1.5 aperture for the Ultra Wide lens, allowing in more light
- Autofocus with Focus Pixels on TrueDepth front camera bringing FaceTime calls into sharper focus
Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max go leaps further with:
- 48MP Main Camera featuring a staggering 65% larger sensor capable of immense detail through pixel binning techniques
- 2nd Generation Sensor Shift Stabilization counteracting even more intense vibration and motion
- Action Mode for capturing ultra-smooth handheld videos even in fast-paced environments
Apple‘s heavy investment in pioneering smartphone camera hardware shines through with these upgrades. You‘ll unlock tangible imaging improvements in everyday usage – particularly for shutterbugs or creative types desiring prosumer-tier image quality representing reality closer to what your eye can perceive.
Performance
The standard iPhone 14 lineup incorporates Apple’s existing A15 Bionic processor – an evolution of 2020’s industry-leading A14 mobile chip manufacturing node.
Per benchmarks aggregator AnTuTu, the A15 achieves:
- ~820,000 score representing overall System on Chip (SoC) performance
- 5-core GPU pushing nearly 270 frames per second (FPS) in graphics testing scenarios against competitors
Thus, the iPhone 14 delivers plenty of headroom even for intensive gaming, productivity apps, video editing, and more – especially paired with the upgraded 6GB of RAM standard (up from 4GB with iPhone 13).
But those desiring the absolute best-of-the-best speed from Apple will want to consider the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max instead. Their exclusive new A16 Bionic silicon enhances power efficiency while running up to 16 cores in its Neural Engine for AI-related computations.
Early benchmarks show the A16 achieving over 1,000,000 points – representing roughly a 20% or higher gain depending on the workload against even the mighty A15.
Dubbed the ultimate smartphone processor by reviewers so far, the A16 forms the bleeding edge of iOS-based mobile performance thanks to Apple’s multi-year in-house chipset investments. Paired with prosumer cameras, dazzling displays, and all-day battery life packed into a durable chassis, the iPhone 14 Pro line caters most towards users needing uncompromising excellence for creative endeavors, business activity, or personal enjoyment alike.
Connectivity & Charging
The entire iPhone 14 family comes equipped with super-fast 5G wireless connectivity up to 2 Gbps over a mobile signal, WiFi 6 for robust speeds on home networks, Bluetooth 5.3 LE support, and NFC tap-to-pay conveniences via Apple Pay.
All models also introduce groundbreaking Emergency SOS via satellite for sending messages in life-threatening situations without cellular service – a global first in smartphones. Help never felt closer even in extremely remote environments.
On the charging front, iPhone 14 retains Lightning ports instead of adopting USB-C connections more ubiquitous on Macs and rival devices. However, anticipated EU regulations arriving in 2024 seem likely to spur Apple towards inevitable USB-C standardization with forthcoming models.
Until then, all packaging includes Lightning to USB-C cables supporting fast charging. Worth noting – the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max upgrade to supporting up to 30W power adapter output (sold separately) – up from 27W with iPhone 14/Plus and previous generations. Not a massive change, but helpful for quicker top-ups.
Release Date, Pricing, and Storage Options
With pre-orders live following Apple‘s September announcement event, here is when shoppers can expect delivery:
- iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max released on September 16th, 2022
- iPhone 14 Plus releases October 7th, 2022
Pricing holds mostly steady year-over-year:
| Model | Pricing (128GB/256GB/512GB) |
|---|---|
| iPhone 14 | $799/$899/$1099 USD |
| iPhone 14 Plus | $899/$999/$1199 USD |
| iPhone 14 Pro | $999/$1099/$1299 USD |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | $1099/$1199/$1399 USD |
Matching its predecessors, iPhone 14 options include:
- 128GB
- 256GB
- 512GB
With most buyers opting for base configurations, the enhanced 256GB and 512GB model availability satisfies power users needing substantial local storage for apps, games, 4K video clips, and offline playlists.
To Upgrade, or Not To Upgrade?
As an iPhone 13 owner myself, analyzing Apple’s iPhone 14 series leaves me impressed by the mankind around iterative improvements made…yet not compelled to rush towards upgrading immediately.
The standard iPhone 14 does just enough. Slightly better battery life keeps you streaming shows or using the phone longer between charges. Nice camera tweaks sharpen photos – especially in low light where smartphones historically struggle. The faster GPU keeps the phone feeling responsive for years. And satellite connectivity offers peace-of-mind when venturing off-grid where before I’d feel separated from emergency help.
But ultimately much remains unchanged over an iPhone 13, or even iPhone 12 honestly. The same core processor, display quality, and general design persist compared to predecessors. Not unreasonable given the macroeconomic landscape with squeezed supply chains and battling inflation.
However, power users like me may feel the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max call stronger thanks to their bleeding-edge A16 silicon driving meaningfully faster speeds. Combined with the game-changing Dynamic Island display innovation and seriously souped-up 48MP main camera system, they showcase what Apple’s best engineering can deliver today through immense RD investments.
If willing to pay premium prices for elite-tier hardware and snazziest new features though, the Pro models feel most “Pro” indeed. Doubling available storage to 1TB exemplifies Apple targeting professional creative types needing local space while on shoots remote.
So in summary – iPhone 13 owners can certainly achieve fantastic smartphone experiences holding onto their current devices another year or two no problem. But those seeking latest battery life extensions, connectivity safety nets, and especially photography prowess may find iPhone 14 – and especially the Pro range – compelling upgrades if budget allows.
I’m happy continuing enjoying my iPhone 13 through 2023 likely, while excited to watch how Apple builds upon iPhone 14 with successors down the road. Feel free to reach out in the comments with any other questions!
