Apple iPhone 14 Plus is the better option

However, now is not the time to acquire the iPhone 14 Plus, as the iPhone 15 series is scheduled to be launched in a few days. I predict a new iPhone 15 Plus with a similar design but with additional capabilities like Dynamic Island, USB-C charging, and the quicker Apple A16 Bionic chip. The iPhone 14 Plus combines a large screen with a lightweight chassis and a lower price than the high-end iPhone 14 Pro Max, it remains an appealing option.

The iPhone 14 Plus is a good choice if you want a large-screen experience at a reasonable price. For $899, you get an immersive 6.7-inch display and extra-long battery life, making this a more appealing option than the standard iPhone 14 for certain purchasers. While the cameras are excellent, the absence of optical zoom and the 120Hz display are disappointing when compared to Android flagships at this price.

Price when reviewed: $540.09 | Check price at Amazon

iPhone 14 Plus KEY FEATURES

Present The greatest iPhone screen technology available is still Super Retina XDR OLED, but, oh, the notch. A 6.7-inch display works well for pictures, videos, and games. The design is well-made, and attractive construction. The iPhone 14 Pro class, Performance A15 Bionic, remains the winner. The iPhone 14 Pro’s camera is a good transplant. Battery This phone surpasses the limit of a full day’s battery life. The software experience with iOS 16 is excellent. It’s worth an expensive non-Pro iPhone that is large. Long Battery Life you’ll find on an iPhone 14 mode.

APPLE IPHONE 14 PlUS UNBOXING

The iPhone 14 Plus comes in an Apple eco-friendly box with a USB-C-to-Lightning connection. There’s also a SIM card ejection pin, some paper, and an Apple sticker.

Apple was among the first manufacturers to remove the headphones and chargers from its packaging. If you have a 20W+ USB-PD power adapter with a USB-C port, everything should be fine.

CAMERA

• A nice pair of iPhone 13 Pro transplants
• Larger sensor and Photonic Engine improve image quality
• One larger sensor would have been excellent.
• Action mode

Apple has updated the camera system on the iPhone 14 and used the same setup on the iPhone 14 Plus. There are still two 12MP cameras on the back: a 26mm f/1.5 lens and a 13mm f/2.4 ultrawide with a 120-degree field of view.

Apple has not only changed the lenses but also provided them with a bigger sensor with larger pixels for improved low-light performance. All of the cameras, including the new 12MP front-facing camera, are powered by Apple’s new Photonic Engine, which, among other things, applies the company’s Deep Fusion image processing to uncompressed photos earlier in the image processing pipeline than previously. This also results in improved low-light performance and increased visual detail.

If your eyes glazed over throughout that description, just know that the photo quality is noticeably superior when compared to the iPhone 13 cameras. It wasn’t a significant alteration, but we could see it in every single shot. Improved color, clarity, and detail result in more accurate photographs. The effect is particularly visible in ultrawide photographs, which provide more color information throughout the frame.

Portrait mode photography continues to improve on both the front and back, and it is especially effective in low-light circumstances.

For video, all of the cameras can still shoot up to 4K at 60fps. The standout feature is the new Action Mode for the back cameras, which employs software and AI to smooth out shaky footage. It functions effectively as a digital gimbal, similar to those seen on GoPro cameras. We went on a run with an iPhone 14 and an iPhone 14 Plus, with Action Mode, enabled on the Plus (but not on the 14). As expected, the video ran more smoothly; nonetheless, despite being a cool feature, it will most likely be of limited utility to the majority of people.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

In the most basic sense, the iPhone 14 Plus is simply a larger iPhone 14. Aside from the size, the general design is consistent with what Apple has been utilizing for several years. The back is coated with glossy glass, the sides are flat and matte, and the screen has a notch at the top, rather than the Dynamic Island found on the Pro models and expected to appear throughout the full iPhone 15 range.

It looks familiar, but it doesn’t feel familiar, and that’s what truly distinguishes this phone. I’ve always liked the size of the iPhone Pro Max series, but the heavyweight often put me off using the biggest iPhones once I finished testing them each year. That meant I had to cope with the other models’ smaller displays, which aren’t great for gaming or watching videos.

The iPhone 14 Plus is surprisingly lightweight and comfortable to carry, unlike the Pro Max. The former weighs 203g, which is 37g lighter than the 14 Pro Max and just slightly slimmer. It simply feels great—the ideal blend of the other iPhones.

The design isn’t really exciting, but it does look excellent. The hues are great and classy, but I think the Red model is a little too red, and it’s quite robust. I’ve found that the Ceramic Shield does a fantastic job of keeping the screen intact after drops, but it is still prone to scratches. IP68 dust and water resistance is usually desirable.

The screen is now 6.7 inches, up from 6.1 inches on the normal iPhone 14, and it feels significantly larger. Apps have more room to stretch out, videos are more engaging, and games are less confined – it’s simply a more comfortable size, in my opinion. Aside from the size difference, the screen is nearly identical to the iPhone 14. Apple describes it as a crisp OLED panel with a maximum brightness of 800 nits. However, in my screen tests, it was closer to 600 nits in full-power frequent use.

When compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, it’s no surprise that the more expensive versions do better at replicating HDR material, adding a lot more punch to brighter settings.

The notch remains, rather than the more practical Dynamic Island, and the maximum refresh rate is limited to 60Hz, rather than the ProMotion 120Hz on the Pros. For a phone that’s about to surpass the £1000/$1000 barrier, this display lacks certain functions that are already standard on the top Android phones. The Pixel 7 Pro, for example, is significantly less expensive while offering a 120Hz refresh rate and greater brightness levels.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

• A15 Bionic (iPhone 13 Pro class) is still the winner.
• Still difficult to determine the performance limits.
• The new internal design may help with performance.

The iPhone 14 Plus uses the same A15 Bionic processor as last year’s iPhone 13 Pro series, giving you the same CPU strength but more graphics power than the basic iPhone 13. And I appreciated the added vigor while playing Mortal Kombat. I like the degree of detail as I tossed a fireball through an opponent to “finish him,” and his heart dangled in the hole I created.

I also liked playing Asphalt 9 Legends. Even with multiple other cars vying for first place, the graphics remained crisp as I raced around San Francisco and bounced off ramps. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are powered by last year’s Apple silicon; nevertheless, while this may sound less than ideal, the A15 Bionic is a fantastic mobile chipset. Also, Apple did not try to equip this phone with the same processor as the iPhone 13; instead, it used the chip found in the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, which is renowned for its additional GPU core.

On Geekbench 5, which evaluates overall performance, the iPhone 14 Plus scored 1,735 in single-core and 4,473 in multi-core. That’s far higher than the Galaxy S22 Plus’ scores of 1,214 and 3,361 with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU. The iPhone 14 Plus also has better graphics performance, though the difference isn’t as significant. On 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited, the iPhone 14 Plus scored 69 fps and 11,512, while the S22 Plus scored 60 fps and 10,027.

Finally, in our video editing test, the iPhone 14 Plus took nearly half the time to transcode a 4K video to 1080p using the Adobe Premiere Rush software. The iPhone took only 25 seconds, whilst the S22 Plus took 48 seconds.

Buy it if...

• Strong design and elegant appearance.
• Excellent OLED with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and great brightness.
• Excellent battery life.
• High-quality stereo speakers.
• Flagship-grade performance, even if not the most recent chipset.
• The main and selfie cameras provide consistently high-quality photos.
• Outstanding video quality and steadiness throughout, including great action clips.
• Each iPhone receives at least five years of iOS updates.

Don't buy it if…

• There is a significant feature gap with the 14 Pro series, including the lack of a 120Hz refresh rate, A16 Bionic, zoom camera, and ultrawide focus.
• The price is too similar to last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max, which has the majority of the features listed above.
• There is no charger in the box, and the charging is somewhat slow.
• Apple’s iOS restrictions can be discouraging to newbies to the ecosystem.

FULL SPECIFICATION