After a slew of Apple Watch and Apple Airpod news at Apple’s Far Out event, we were greeted with our first look at the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. It’s the law to release at least two products – one bearing the ‘Plus’ name, and Apple delivered. Most were probably expecting this one. If you weren’t then you’ve probably been under a rock for the past decade. Welcome to 2022. The year’s nearly finished.
iPhone 14 – Plus a little extra
The new iPhones are here. There’s not as much of a difference from the previous generation. But, there’s enough to keep you occupied until September next year when we do this all over again.
The first major changes are found in the screens. The standard iPhone 14 comes with a 6.1in display while the Plus model measures 6.7in. Both feature Super Retina XDR and a custom OLED screen. They’re brighter too, with a whopping 1,200 nits to help out visibility during the day. Each features HDR10 support paired up with Dolby Vision.
On the inside, you’re working with the same A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 13 Pro, with a 5-core GPU to speed things along. We don’t have exact battery specs just yet, though Apple promises that the iPhone 14 features the best battery life of any iPhone to date. Well, we should hope so. Still, if this is an improvement over the iPhone 13, we’ll take it.
The body is exactly what you’d expect. On the outside, there’s Ceramic Shield to keep the display protected, along with tougher glass. It can also survive a quick rinse and repels dust. Standard smartphone stuff. You know the drill.
As usual, the iPhone 14’s camera receives the largest improvement over the previous generation. The 12MP main camera has a larger sensor that offers 49% better low-light images. The front also features a 12MP camera, with a faster f/1.9 aperture and quick autofocus (for the first time ever on an iPhone).
Video has also seen a massive upgrade, with the inclusion of Action Mode. Action Mode allows for a far smoother video while in the thick of it, without needing a gimbal to keep it all stable. Optical image stabilisation sees substantial improvement with the feature active.
Read More: The iPhone 14 Pro lineup makes a Dynamic entry, is the best iPhone ever. Again.
As with the Apple Watch announcement, the iPhone 14 includes crash detection, a service that detects a crash and immediately calls out for help. It’ll automatically send out your location to the people that need it, along with an SOS message. And, if you’re lost, without any signal to call for help, the iPhone lineup now connects directly to satellites. The system allows you to send messages to get help as soon as possible. For now, though, the feature is only available in the U.S and Canada, though Apple plans to roll it out globally eventually.
There is some bad news here; Apple has opted to remove the SIM tray entirely, forcing buyers into the world of the e-SIM. Yes, it might be better – but gosh darn it, there’s no better feeling than popping the SIM tray open with the little pointy tool thing they give you.
Of course, there are a few colour options to choose from; Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, and Product Red.
Pricing for both the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus looks a little something like this: $800 (R13,800) for the base iPhone 14 and $900 (R15,500) for the Plus. We expect those numbers to increase once they actually reach South African shores, though we’ll have to wait and see by how much. Pre-orders are already open, with an international wait until 16 September for the standard model. The Plus comes a little later, with a release date of 7 October. Local launch dates… TBC.