The iPhone 14 has a 12MP f/1.9 front camera with autofocus, while the iPhone 12 has a 12MP f/2.2 fixed-focus camera. While both phones can shoot great shots under good lighting conditions, the iPhone 14 excels in low-light conditions thanks to the better hardware and Apple's new Photonic Engine image pipeline.
Battery life
According to Apple, the iPhone 14 offers up to 20 hours of video playback compared to 17 hours on the iPhone 12, and the difference is a major win for Apple's current-gen iPhone. Both the iPhones support fast-charing up to 20W so the time taken to top up the devices remains almost similar.
With the stabilization and ultra-wide lens, it's quite the feature. The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max are the clear winners for the best iPhone camera award. If you want the best viewing experience, then go for the Max. If you like a smaller phone, the iPhone 14 Pro is for you.
Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 rely on a 12MP sensor for the TrueDepth camera, but the aperture on the newer phone is f/1.9 compared to f/2.2 on the iPhone 13. That's going to help the iPhone 14 let in more light.
The iPhone 14 brings major gains in nearly every aspect. The standard model has a larger, bolder and brighter bezel-free 6.1-inch screen that still feels compact since it doesn't have a home button. It runs on Apple's A15 Bionic processor, which is better equipped to handle newer iOS features.
But since Cupertino typically unveils new iPhones at the same time each year, it's highly likely we will see the iPhone 15 arrive in September 2023. The iPhone 13 broke cover on Tuesday 14th September 2021 while the iPhone 14 showed its face on Wednesday 7th September 2022.
“The extraordinary battery life, lightweight design, pro-level camera and video features, groundbreaking safety capabilities like Emergency SOS via satellite, and all iOS 16 has to offer make iPhone 14 a great option for anyone in the market for a new iPhone.”
The new iPhone 14 borrows the iPhone 13 Pro's main camera, with a bigger sensor, larger pixels, and a faster f/1.5 aperture. The ultra-wide camera remains the same as the one found on the iPhone 13, but the selfie camera gets a wider aperture too.
iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: Cameras
The iPhone 14 has two cameras on the back, just like the iPhone 13, but the newer model includes a faster aperture (ƒ/1.5 rather than ƒ/1.6) and a larger sensor on the main camera to bring better overall performance and improvements in low-light shooting.
The iPhone 14 lineup comes with what Apple says is roughly 1 hour longer battery for each model and the 14 and 14 Pro do feature larger mAh capacities (14 Pro Max capacity is ever so slightly less but battery life is up).
The biggest change to the iPhone 14 Pro's camera is the addition of a new 48-megapixel quad-pixel main sensor that Apple says enables better photos and new features like an additional 2x telephoto for a total of four zoom options.
The Apple iPhone 14 delivered excellent results in our DXOMARK Selfie tests, establishing itself among the very best smartphones for front camera performance. It's also ranked right behind its more powerful sister model Apple iPhone 14 Pro.
Hence, if you are opting for an iPhone for the first time and have the money to spare, consider the iPhone 14 by all means for its camera enhancements and safety features. But if you are already using an iPhone 12 or an iPhone 13, buying the iPhone 14 will feel like a waste of money.
Minor upgrade over iPhone 13. Wider feature gap with the 14 Pro: no 120Hz refresh rate, A16 Bionic, zoom camera or AF on the ultrawide. The notch is still a polarizing design element. The fast charging isn't particularly fast, and the charger is not bundled.
Specs Comparison
The iPhone 14 is powered by an Apple A15 Bionic chip and offers up to 512GB of storage, whereas the iPhone 12 is powered by an Apple A14 Bionic chip and offers up to 256GB of storage. The iPhone 14 also has several camera features such as the Photonic Engine and Photographic Styles.
You may have heard about the iPhone 14's ability to resist water and other forms of moisture. The operative word is resist, however. While the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are all water-resistant, they are not fully waterproof.
The iPhone 14 line includes new sensors for car-crash detection, a photo processing method called Photonic Engine, the removal of the physical SIM card slot for US phones and improvements to both the rear and front-facing cameras.
One of the features of the two iPhone 14 Pro models is the 3x optical zoom, compared to the 1x zoom available on the standard model.
There are some improvements to the camera along with the addition of features like Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via Satellite. Because of the minor changes, however, it's hard to reccomend anyone who currently has an iPhone 13 to upgrade to the iPhone 14. In day-to-day use, many of the changes won't be noticeable.
The lone difference between the chip that powers either model is the iPhone 14's processor has one more GPU core than the iPhone 13. That results in boosted graphics performance (and some slightly higher scores on our benchmark tests), but in everyday use the difference is negligible.
The iPhone 14 has a 5-core GPU (same as the iPhone 13 Pro), while the iPhone 13 has a 4-core GPU. With this power, iPhone 14 has a stronger performance and a longer battery life. Both iPhone have storage available up to 512 GB.
Best iPhone Overall: iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
They offer better value for money, especially if you hold on to your iPhone for the long run. The iPhone 14 Pro model hosts a 120Hz display, a 3X zoom lens, excellent battery life, and no to skip - the latest A16 Bionic processor.
In a research note this month, obtained by MacRumors, Long said he expects the iPhone 15 Pro to cost up to $100 more than the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max to be $100 to $200 more expensive than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
In the company's latest newsletter, DSCC states that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will have fractionally larger display sizes of 6.12 and 6.69 inches, thanks to slimmer bezels, an A16 chipset and Dynamic Island design.