WHAT THEY DIDN’T TELL YOU! iPhone 14 Three Month Review
– Apple released four new iPhones this year, but with only two sets of features, which in some ways, makes the choice even more simple. But there are a few things that make it a bit more confusing. So, after three months of use, I wanted to make this video to help you decide whether you should even upgrade and in case you do, which one you should choose. Now, one of the things that makes choosing an iPhone 14 easy is that Apple now only has two sets of specs, one for the iPhone 14 and one for the
14 Pro, and then there are 6.1 inch and 6.7 inch versions of each with the Plus and the Pro Max. So, what I like about this is that you can first choose which set of features you actually want, and then you can always get the size that fits best for you. Now, in previous years, there were times where you had to get the Pro Max in order to get all the best features, even if that phone wasn’t the most comfortable for you to use. Now, this year, you can actually get a bigger phone with the
Plus without having to pay for Pro features that you may not need or may not want. Again, in the past, there were times where the only way to get
the biggest upgrade that we’ve seen in an iPhone camera in years. So, let’s talk about the differences in specs and then see if they actually make a practical difference. And ask yourself if you’re able to tell which phone took which photo without me telling you. The iPhone 14 has a 12MP main camera and a 12MP ultrawide, whereas the Pro has a 48MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 12MP telephoto. And by the way, side A was the Pro. When it comes to zoom, all four phones can zoom out, but only the Pro models have
an optical zoom, meaning that you can get 2x or 3x telephoto without having to digitally crop into the image and then lose resolution. And as you can see, there’s no question that the Pro comes out ahead. Now, looking at night photos and low light performance, that was one of the areas that Apple specifically addressed in the event, saying that the Pro models are supposed to perform better. Now, I don’t wanna bore those of you who are not camera nerds like me. So, let me just wrap up this section by saying that the 14 Pro can
also take night mode portraits. It can shoot macro photos, it has cinematic mode in 4K, 24, and 30. Apple ProRAW for photos and ProRes for video. All of that is to say that if you love photography and video and you want the best features, the 14 Pro and the 14 Pro Max are it. And when we look at the displays, all four phones have a Super Retina XDR display and there are very slight variations in resolution between the two 6.1 inch models and the two 6.7 inch displays, but nothing that’s actually gonna impact your user
experience. All four phones have HDR displays, the same 2 million:1 contrast ratio. They’re true tone displays and they support a wider color gamut for a more accurate color reproduction. But let’s actually talk about the differences. So, in terms of brightness, the 14 has an 800-nit max brightness for SDR content and 1200 nits for HDR. The Pro is brighter with a thousand nits max brightness for SDR content, 1,600 nits for HDR and 2,000 nits peak brightness outdoors which makes it the brightest phone I’ve used so far. Now, if you’re typically using your phone in bright daylight
and in other situations where you have to deal with reflections, you may wanna consider getting the brighter display. The Pro display is also a promotion display, so it has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. That means that we’re getting a faster refresh rate for smoother animation and scrolling, and we’re getting a slower refresh rate and better battery life when we’re looking at static content. Now, I’m used to the 120Hz from the 13 Pro and the 13 Pro Max, and also from a lot of my Android phones. So, it is something that I notice
missing when I’m using the 14 and the 14 Plus. But if you’re coming from another phone that has a 60Hz display, then it’s not really a big deal. And the Pro can actually slow down the refresh rate all the way to 1Hz, which is one refresh per second, and that enables a new feature that we haven’t seen on any previous iPhone, the Always On Display. Now, this is by no means, revolutionary. Android phones have had this for years, but Apple put their own spin on it. So, we’re essentially getting a dimmed down version of the
lock screen with the time and date, a variety of widgets, multimedia information. And then, with the latest iOS update, you can actually choose whether you wanna see your background image or not. The background image can make it feel like you left your iPhone on, and it also uses up more battery without really providing an additional benefit beyond I guess, aesthetic value. So, I’m glad that Apple added that option and I’m curious to see what new features are coming to this Always On Display. Now, Apple protected the iPhone 14 displays with their strongest ceramic shield glass
which they say is tougher than the glass on any other phone. But if you drop your phone face down on a sidewalk or even on the corner, unless you get super lucky, the screen is still gonna crack. And since I drop my phone all the time, I always use a case. Now, this year, CASETiFY sent over a few cases and a few accessories that take protection to the level that I need. And the number one question you should have is what makes for a good phone case? So, for me, it’s protection, but at the same
time, I don’t really want a case that’s super bulky. Right now, I’m using the Bounce Case, which has up to a 21.3-foot drop protection, (phone thuds) I guess for people who throw their phones out of a second story window. And the iPhone 14 cases are made from 65% recycled and plant-based material. And they’re also partially made from upcycled phone cases as part of the RECASETiFY program. I also add a screen protector to all my phones, because it’s much less expensive to replace than the actual display. And if you want the ultimate protection for your camera,
they also make a camera lens protector. Casey has a ton of designs from super basic to some incredibly creative and colorful options, and you can select MagSafe compatible cases for your iPhone. Another cool thing is you can customize your case with your own text using different layouts, font and colors, then get a case that’s unique to you. So, if you want peace of mind knowing that your iPhone 14 is safe, (phone thuds) go to caseytify.com/techgeartalk. You’ll automatically get 15% off your purchase. And thank you to CASETiFY for sponsoring this portion of the video. All four
phones have flat displays, rounded corners, and squared off edges, but the 14 has a brushed aluminum finish versus stainless steel on the 14 Pro. So, the frame of the Pro is much less susceptible to fingerprints. On the other hand, the back of the Pro has a matte finish versus glossy on the 14, which now makes the 14 more likely to show fingerprints. Now, personally, I’m not super bothered by fingerprints unless I’m actually trying to get some B-roll shots of the phone, but if that’s something that’s going to bother you and you don’t use a case,
think about which one of these designs will bother you less. Now, over the past three months, I would say that the size of the Pro are more noticeable than the back of the 14, and if I had it my way, I wish they made a phone that had the size of the 14 and then the back of the 14 Pro. All four phones support MagSafe, so of course, you can use them with MagSafe cases, wallets wireless chargers, then a ton of other accessories. Then, hopefully, for the last time ever, all four phones still use a
lightning port. Yeah, they’re still using a lightning port. Now, for biometric authentication, again, all four phones have the same feature. They use Face ID, but the most important design difference is the housing for the front facing camera module. So, on the 14, we’re still getting a notch at the top just like with the iPhone 13, but with the 14 Pro and the Pro Max, we’re getting the new Dynamic Island, which combines software with two smaller hardware elements to create an animated module that offers an interactive user experience. After using it for three months, I have
two comments about the Dynamic Island. So, the first is in terms of the actual implementation, I love having quick access to media control and to other aspects of background apps without having to leave the app that I’m currently using. But I think that even though it’s smaller than the notch, it ends up being more noticeable, because it’s visually detached from the edge. Ultimately, if I had to choose, I would choose Dynamic Island over the notch, because it adds very useful functions and it’s still slightly smaller. Now, all four iPhones come with the same iOS version
and have outstanding long-term support, but they don’t all run on the same chip. The iPhone 14 comes with the A15 Bionic and the iPhone 14 Pro comes with the newer A16. Now, as you would expect, when it comes to benchmarks, then newer chip outperforms the previous model for a single, core multi-core, and GPU performance. But the thing is, both chips are so powerful that I haven’t noticed any difference in any real-life use over the past three months. And there’s no noticeable difference in the amount of time it takes to open apps or switch between open
apps, and we’ll get to gaming and battery life in just a moment. So, in terms of overall performance, after three months of use, I would say that the upgraded chip wouldn’t be a reason why I would get the Pro instead of the 14. I’m sure that there are specific tasks like rendering super challenging videos where I could measure the difference between the Pro and just the regular 14, but practically speaking, it would still be relatively small. And when I’m working on those types of videos, I’m usually using my computer. I do have to say that
the Pro models look more responsive, because of the faster refresh rate and that probably makes the user experience feel more snappy. Now, the battery life is always an interesting topic, and in this case, the two larger phones outperform their smaller counterparts. For wire charging, the 14 and the 14 Pro can be charged to 50% in 30 minutes while the Plus and the Pro Max take 35 minutes. And all four phones support 15W wireless charging with MagSafe. Now, as far as the actual battery life for real life use, in my experience, the 14 and the Pro
lasted about the same time, with the Pro maybe lasting a little bit longer. Now, the Plus and the Pro Max both lasted about an hour and a half longer than the smaller phones. And the one major variable here is the Always On Display. So, if you leave it on and you have the background image showing, it’s going to use up more battery life when the phone is not in use. So, that’s something that you definitely wanna keep in mind. Now, when it comes to gaming, both phones are excellent. So, remember that with the 14 and
the Plus, we’re getting the same chip that was used on the 13 Pro and the 13 Pro Max. So, it’s not like we’re getting some super old chip. All four phones are able to run all the games that I usually play, so like “PUBG”, “Genshin”, “Asphalt”, and then of course naturally less demanding games are not gonna be an issue. Games ran very smoothly with no lag or skipped frames, and the graphics looked fantastic, but there actually were some differences. When playing “PUBG”, all four phones could go up to HDR for graphics with Extreme for frame
rate or Ultra HD for graphic with Ultra for frame rate, but only the Pro models could go up to 90 FPS with Smooth graphics. Now, personally, I typically play on Balanced and then Extreme in order to get a good combination of gameplay experience and battery life. I also paired an Xbox controller and then streamed games on all four phones using the Xbox Game Pass app, and they’re all easily able to run all the available games. Ultimately for gaming, I have to give the edge to the Pro and the Pro Max. They have better battery life
than their counterparts, a more powerful chip, a better display, and personally, my favorite phone to game on is the iPhone 14 Pro Max. So, having said all that, should you upgrade and if you do, which iPhone 14 should you choose? And remember that I have links in the description to all the products that I talked about. When it comes to choosing the right size, unless you’re coming from a previous phone that was the same size, I would suggest that you actually go to a store and then handle both sizes. That way, you know what actually
works best for you. A larger display like what you get on the Plus and the Pro Max is super nice to have, but you need to make sure that it’s comfortable for you to use with one hand and that you don’t mind carrying a heavier and more bulky phone with you all day. If you’re coming from an iPhone 12 or a 13, I wouldn’t really be in a hurry to upgrade to the 14 unless you can get a great deal on a trade-in or if you’re moving from the regular phone to the Pro model to
get the better camera module. If you’ve decided that you’re getting one of these, then we’re looking at a $200 difference between the 14 and the 14 Pro, and then between the Plus and the Pro Max. So, think about whether having a brighter display with a faster refresh rate, Dynamic Island instead of the notch, an Always On Display, and the best camera module and any iPhone is worth the additional $200 for you. Personally, I think that those are great features, so it’s definitely worth it for me and that’s why I use the Pro or the Pro
Max. Now, you should see how these flagships compare. Click on my face to subscribe. You know what I always say, buy it nice or buy it twice. Good luck and see you soon.
