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Released on 07 September, 2022.
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The iPhone 14 has finally arrived after months of speculation! Apple has revealed the iPhone 14 – the latest version of its smartphone. And as expected, there are four models to choose from, but the iPhone 14 is no more (R.I.P). There are, however, Apple’s iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Read on for the full design details and tech specs for the iPhone 14.
iPhone 14: Design
Apple has revealed four models of the iPhone 14. You might prefer to think of it as two models that each come in two sizes. The entry-level iPhone retains its 6.1-inch screen size and there’s a new addition to the family, the iPhone 14 Plus. Measuring 6.7-inch, it’s basically the iPhone 14 but bigger. (Goodbye Mini, Hello Max!)
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are, arguably, very incremental upgrades from the iPhone 13, with minor improvements to the battery and camera. They both come in five colors: Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, and PRODUCT(RED).
Then there are the Pros: the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, again at 6.-inch and 6.7-inch respectively. In a way, this simplifies the product range, giving us an entry-level pair and a high-end pair of phones each available in the same two sizes.
With its stainless steel frame and Ceramic Shield display, this device looks beautiful at first glance. A lot of people will be happy to learn that the iPhone 14 Pro has dropped the much-maligned selfie-camera notch. The notch has been removed and replaced with a pill-shaped cutout called “Dynamic Island” (Cool right?) This fancy-sounding solution can expand to show alerts and background activity.
The other big change with the screen is that the iPhone 14 Pro had an always-on display. The bezels have also been slimmed down, but the rest of the design looks largely the same as the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, with flat, stainless steel edges.
iPhone 14: Display
Both the iPhone 14 and the larger iPhone 14 Plus come with Apple’s Super Retina XDR OLED display with a peak HDR brightness of 1200 nits. They have Ceramic Shield on the front glass for improved durability.
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max can go up to 1,600 nits of brightness, and a peak 2,000 nits for outdoor use, beating the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. As we’ve mentioned, they boast an always-on display, which can show notifications and other information when the phone is locked. A new LTPO panel enables the refresh rate to scale down from 120Hz to 1Hz to save on battery life when the always-on display is enabled.
iPhone 14: Tech Specs
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
The iPhone 14 comes with the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13 Pro, which Apple says means 18% faster performance than the iPhone 13. Apple says it’s also improved the thermal performance, so that you can push the iPhone 14 for longer, which should benefit those who want to use the phone for gaming.
Other than that, the main improvements are in the camera (see further below) and battery life. Apple’s claiming up to 20 hours of video playback on the iPhone 14 and up to 26 hours on the iPhone 14 Plus. That would be the best battery life on an iPhone yet (claimed battery life for the iPhone 13 was 19 hours).
Other new features include the much-rumored satellite connectivity. Emergency SOS with Satellite lets you call for emergency help when you don’t have a mobile signal – which could be a lifesaver for people in very rural areas. You get two free years of the service with the phone.
There’s also the addition of Crash Detection, which is designed to detect when it thinks you’ve been in a car crash and will automatically contact emergency services if you can’t respond. Also of note, there’s no SIM card tray, making the iPhone 14 eSIM only.
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max
The Pro and Pro Max will come with a new A16 Bionic chip built on a 4-nanometer process, with a 6-core CPU. It has a 5-core GPU with 50% more bandwidth and a display engine for Dynamic Island. Apple says the Neural Engine can deal with 17 trillion operations per second for computational photography.
iPhone 14: Camera
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus have a new 12MP main camera with a bigger sensor than their predecessor for a stated 49% low-light improvement thanks. The front camera is also 12MP and it adds autofocus for the first time along with a faster lens for better low-light performance.
New Photonic Engine technology improves low-light performance even better, with a 2x improvement on the front camera and the ultra wide and 2.5 x on the main camera. Video gets an upgrade too with an advanced stabilization mode called Action mode, which can be toggled on to make video smoother when you’re moving.
iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max
As we expected, we got a notable camera upgrade on the Pros too. All three cameras (main, telephoto, ultrawide) benefit from improved low-light photography, with a new 9-LED flash helping here too. There’s a new 48MP main camera which promises more detail and 2x improved low-light performance thanks to the new Photonic Engine.
ProRAW can also be used uncompressed at 48 megapixels, allowing more editing flexibility and video can now be shot at 4K up to 40 frames per second in Cinematic mode (there’s also the new Action mode that comes with the standard iPhone 14.
iPhone 14: Pricing and Release Date
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available from September 16. Orders will open on September 9 at 5am PDT / 1pm BST at Apple.com
The iPhone 14 starts at $799 / £849 and the iPhone 14 Plus costs $899 / £949. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will stay with last year’s starting prices of $999 / £1,099 and $1,099 / £1,199.
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