Apple iPhone 14 review: Incremental upgrade

Apple earlier in the month launched the new line of iPhone 14 series. Like the previous years, the company introduced four models, but with one change. Rumours were right all along about the mini model being swapped for a bigger 6.7-inch variant dubbed iPhone 14 Plus. The other three are—the iPhone 14(6.1–inch), 14 Pro (6.1-inch) and iPhone 14 Pro Max (6.7-inch).

. The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus retain the same design language as the predecessor. And, the chipset A15 Bionic with 5-core GPU is the same as we have seen in the iPhone 13 Pro series. The big change coming in the devices is the camera and two potential life-saving features SOS emergency calling via satellite and crash detection.

. I have been using the iPhone 14 for a little over a week and here are my thoughts on Apple's new mobile.

. Design, build quality and display The iPhone 14 looks exactly like the iPhone 13; the only minor differences between the two are-- the thickness and the big dual-camera module. And latter is noticeable only when you try to place the iPhone 13 cover on the iPhone 14. Yet, the new model weighs a little less.

. iPhone 14 : 146.7 mm x 71.5 mm x 7.80 mm; weight: 172g iPhone 13: 146.7 mm x 71.5 mm x 7.65 mm; weight: 174g

. Further, the rail around the edge of the screen is made of aerospace-grade aluminium and on the front, the fantastic display is protected by Ceramic Shield, which is touted to be the toughest screen guard for any phone in the industry. On the back too, the glass is said to be stronger than any rival brands.

. And, some of the key materials used for the phone are recycled or from responsibly sourced minerals. The rare earth elements used in all magnets, including those used in MagSafe, are 100 per cent recycled.

. Even tungsten in the Taptic Engine, tin in the solder of multiple printed circuit boards, gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards and in the wire of all cameras are 100 per cent repurposed.

. Also, Apple for the first time has not fully fused the metal and glass on the back. So, in the case of accidental damage on the rear side, the device's entire back panel need not have to be fully replaced.

. Instead, now, only the glass needs to be restored. This saves the owner's money for repair costs and thanks to the separation between the glass and back panel, there is better heat dissipation, whenever you perform heavy-duty tasks such as gaming or recording 4K videos on the phone.

. And, the iPhone 14 comes with the IP68 rating, meaning it can sustain water pressure up to 6 metres (approx. 19.69 feet) depth for close to 30 minutes.

. During the entire week, I was able to keep the iPhone 14 scratch free. Though it is kind of smooth around the edges and the back, the flat frame, does help in offering a good grip for fingers to hold onto it. But, still, I insist prospective buyers get a case or subscribe to Apple Care+ to get priority service and also some discount for repairs in case of physical damage during the insurance period.

. Our review unit is a blue iPhone 14 and looks nice to the eyes. It has a light shade and the silver Apple trademark looks minimalistic and yet, instantly catches the eye of the onlooker.

. Though the design is the same as iPhone 13, a keen-eyed Apple fan will know this is the latest iPhone 14 by the look of the colour (blue is exclusive to the latest model).

. On the front, it features the 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR (2532x1170p) OLED display, 60Hz refresh rate, and boasts True Tone technology. And, it comes with a pixel density of 406 ppi (pixels per inch) and can support up to 1,200 nits peak brightness. The screen is bright and vibrant. The images and videos on the screen come out with rich colours and yes, the black too, comes darker, ensuring a good viewing experience. Even the under the sunlight, I had no issues reading messages and browsing the internet.

. And, the Face ID of the iPhone 14, does a fine job and continues to be the gold standard for a facial biometric security system for mobiles in the industry. It works smoothly without any issues in all light conditions and even in pitch darkness.

. Performance As mentioned earlier, the iPhone 14 comes with a 5nm-class Apple A15 Bionic chipset. It houses 15 billion transistors, a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine. It is the same silicon we see in the iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max of 2021. But, having said that, the new mobile works smoothly. It supports all graphics-heavy games on Apple App Store and everything on Apple Arcade too.

. The iPhone 14 does get a bit warm when playing such games and even while shooting 4K videos outdoors, but it never beyond my comfort level. It is common behaviour for any phone with a metal and glass body.

. As far as the battery life is concerned, under normal usage, iPhone 14 consistently lasted a full day with 30-40 per cent juice left in the tank. Whenever I binged on videos (around an hour and a half) or played extended gaming sessions (max of 40 minutes) during my long commute between the office and home, the battery used to slip below the 20 per cent mark.

. Rest assured, this iPhone will serve you all day without feeling any anxiety about it dying before you reach home at night.

. Two critical upgrades we see in the new iPhone 14 series are the Emergency SOS via satellite and Crash Detection.

. The device comes with custom components deeply integrated with software to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage.

. However, the SOS service will be available to users in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be free for two years. There is no word when it will be expanded to other global regions.

. As far as the crash detection feature is concerned, the iPhone 14 boasts a new generation dual-core accelerometer (which can detect G-force measurements of up to 256Gs) and this works with a new high dynamic gyroscope, a barometer (to detect cabin pressure changes within the car), the GPS for additional input for speed changes, and the microphone (to recognize loud noises typified by severe car crashes). In addition to advanced hardware components, Apple has developed motion algorithms based on over a million hours of real-world driving and crash record data to provide even better accuracy.

. If the iPhone 14 detects a car crash, it will trigger a warning on the screen and if the owner is wearing Apple Watch, an emergency warning interface appears with a message -- 'It looks like you've been in a crash, the owner just has to slide the SOS call or cancel the false alarm. If there is no response from the owner, the iPhone will automatically place a call to the pre-listed emergency contacts for help.

. I didn't really be able to test the effectiveness of this particular feature, but I will take the company's words for now, given how reliable Apple Watches' has been to detect heart-related ailments and saving hundreds of lives over the last several years.

. Apple iPhone 14 series features a 5G (sub-6 GHz) modem paired with 4x4 MIMO and most of the service providers in India support it. Rest assured, when the commercial operations start in a few weeks, you will be able to enjoy more than 1Gbps cellular internet download speed on your new iPhone. It also supports Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) with MIMO and Bluetooth 5.3 for better wireless connectivity.

. Photography The new iPhone 14 has a dual camera system— a new wide-angle 12MP (f/1.5) + ultra-wide-angle 12MP sensor (f/2.4) with 2X optical zoom out, 5X digital zoom, support sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, True Tone flash, deep fusion, smart HDR 4 for photos, night mode, and photographic styles.

. It also boasts a photonic engine software feature, which is said to help deliver better low-light imaging. As you can see in the sample pictures, it works well.

. It takes fantastic photos in all light conditions. It truly lives up to the hype and the picture quality is on par with any premium phone in its class.

. It also supports Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono). It takes fine studio-quality pictures with the bokeh blur effect.

. With the night mode, iPhone 14 again excels with brightening the sky to an acceptable level and not making the photo, look like, it was taken in the late evening.

. Also, if there is any wind movement and the leaves move, they come off like paint art created with brush strokes, which again comes off in a good way, worth sharing on social media platforms.

. Though it has no macro photo mode, the close-up shot of my in-laws' pet dog came off really well. Even with continuous head movements, the iPhone 14 was able to snap a fine stable shot of the face with accurate colours and sharp details of the eyes, also the perfect edge detection around the head.

. The main 12MP wide-angle photos managed to cover a vast area and capture a good amount of details with natural colours without any saturation. Even the ultra-wide-angle sensor does a fine job of accommodating more areas into the frame in landscape mode.

. Like all the previous three generations of iPhones, the new model too excels in video photography. It takes stable videos and with cinematic mode, it offers dramatic visual effects when recording. Users can even change the focus of the subjects in a recorded video too. And, with Action mode, I record smooth stable video even when walking or running.

. It can record up to 4K (at 24 fps: frames per second, 25fps, 30fps or 60fps) and there is Slow-motion video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps.

. On the front, it houses a new 12MP TrueDepth camera (f/1.9) with Retina Flash and supports the portrait mode. It takes fine selfies. And, it streams the most stable high-resolution video during a video call, provided you have a good internet connection.

. Final thoughts If you are an iPhone 13 owner, by now, you know the iPhone 14 is a modest upgrade over the predecessor. So, you won't be missing much. You should rather wait for another year and go for iPhone 15 series.

. What is the logic behind this? Well, for one thing, Apple has now ensured, there is a vast difference between a regular iPhone and iPhone Pro model. If you want the best of the latest tech, go for the iPhone 14 Pro/ Pro Max or else, if you want just a reliable iPhone for a less price, go for the iPhone 14/14 Plus.

. Then, who should buy the iPhone 14? This is a good option for those with the iPhone XS series, XR, iPhone 11 or even older iPhones. They will definitely find great value in iPhone 14 series in terms of photography performance and battery life.