There aren’t many phones that command the same level of global attention as the iPhone does. The iPhone 14 series was launched on September 7th, 2022. Does the Apple iPhone 14 go for a big leap forward? Or is it just another incremental update? Let’s find out.
Key Specifications of Apple iPhone 14
Design and Build Quality
This year, the iPhone has scrapped its mini lineup as leaks and rumors suggested. Instead, users got a Plus variant of the device which has a similar dimension to the Pro Max with the internals of the 14.
Coming back to the iPhone 14, the design and build quality remains exactly the same here. Dimension-wise, the device is about 0.1 mm thicker than the iPhone 13 at 7.8 mm thickness. The change is almost impossible to notice in day-to-day use. And while this might feel like a design stagnation, there is more to it than the obvious.
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We spoke about how high-end ultra tech is coming at a saturation point and how it’s impossible to introduce breakthrough features in every generation.
The iPhone 13 series was the pinnacle of technology last year. And even though we have moved a year forward, the design and the internals are still relevant by 2022 standards.
Users will be getting the exact same external ports and button selection on the iPhone 14. However, the USA variant of the device has introduced a dual e-sim option. Meaning there won’t be any physical sim slot on the USA variant of the device.
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Other region-specific models will feature physical sim slots with the Chinese variant featuring a dual nano sim option instead of the e-sim.
Overall, the iPhone 14 brings nothing new on the hardware end of things. And while it might sound boring, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Why fix something that isn’t broken?
Display
The replicative nature from last year has trickled into the display of the iPhone 14 as well. As expected from the hardware dimensions, the display of the iPhone 14 is the exact same 6.1-inch panel found on the iPhone 13.
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The display itself is a Super Retina XDR OLED panel from Apple. If the name wasn’t mouthful enough, the panel itself has been absolutely stacked with features. It supports HDR 10 content along with Dolby Vision. In High Brightness Mode, the display can churn out up to 800 nits with a peak brightness of up to 1200 nits.
This makes the panel easily legible outdoors even under direct sunlight. The front is protected by scratch-resistant ceramic glass along with an oleophobic coating to keep smudges and fingerprints away.
The display of iPhones has always been top-notch. They are the only other brand that can directly compete with Samsung in terms of color, quality, and overall dynamics. The panel itself has excellent viewing angles, vivid colors, and a very responsive touch sampling.
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Overall, even though there’s nothing new on display tech, it's still one of the best displays in any budget range right now.
Camera
The iPhone 14 features a dual 12 MP camera on the back. Seeing the 12 MP main sensor on the 14 might be a letdown for many as the iPhone has finally upgraded the main sensor to a 48 MP one on the Pro models.
The camera system on the 14 is exactly the same with albeit slightly better performance. The performance upgrade comes from the software optimization of the iOS 16 and general post-processing optimization.
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The main sensor still features dual-pixel PDAF as well as a sensor shifting OIS which aids in the insane video stabilization on the iPhone 14.
The picture quality is still much superior to any competitor in its price bracket. The colors look sharp with a detailed dynamic range no matter what the lighting condition is. The variable shutter speed allows for smoother low and extreme low light images. Users would be hard-pressed to find grains or noises in artificial or low-light images.
Moving on to the videography, the phone can shoot at 4K at 60 fps in max settings. But the most impressive feature is the cinematic mode which hyper stabilizes videos to provide cinema-like video projections.
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The front camera is also the standard 12 MP like last year. The pictures look great with their details and sharpness. The cinematic mode has also been added to the front camera which is the only notable upgrade here.
Overall, the camera will churn out a bit more than last year’s iPhone 13. And no matter how you look at it, it's still an excellent camera system in its price bracket.
Processor and Performance
Perhaps the most shocking aspect regarding the iPhone 14 is the use of A 15 Bionic chipset, the same that was used on last year’s iPhone 13 and 13 Pro series.
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We have seen before that both the pro and the non-pro variant get the same processing power. But with the 14 series, Apple is creating a clear distinction in terms of processing power as well.
While the Pro series comes with a more enhanced A 16 Bionic, users opting for the cheaper 14 series will only be getting A 15. And much of that has to do with performance and global chip shortage rather than just a strategic move.
Over the years, Apple has produced chipsets that are far superior to any competitor in the market by a clear margin. And the gap has only widened in recent years with the Bionic series. So even though A 15 might seem like last year’s chip, it'll be powerful enough to power through anything that’s thrown at it.
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The 5 Nm Hexa-core processor used 2 high-powered chips and supported 4 mid-tier chips. On paper, the A 15 falls slightly short of the A 16. Apple claims that the A 15 is still better than any android competitor chipset released in 2022 so users shouldn’t worry much about the performance.
You’ll get the same lighting, fast performance, smooth animations, and a proven chipset that can blaze through even the most demanding tasks.
Battery and Charge Time
the iPhone's battery amount isn’t the best indicator of its performance. Even though the iPhone 14 features a 3279 mAh battery, the high optimization of the A 15 allows the device to run for 8 to 10 hours continually. The device also has fast charging capabilities which can go from 0 to 50% in 30 minutes with supported fast chargers.
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Price of iPhone 14
The base variant of the iPhone 14 with 128 storage options comes at 799 USD which roughly translates to 83,458 BDT ( 1 USD = 104.45). However, the pricing may vary depending on supply tax and other policies when it becomes available in Bangladesh.
Final Words
Like every year, Apple’s September event 2022 has been designated to launch the latest iPhone series. But with tech reaching a saturation point, it’s becoming increasingly difficult, even for Apple, to come up with a notable and significant upgrade.
The iPhone 14 doesn’t really bring anything new to the iPhone lineup. In fact, the device is like a repackaged version of last year’s iPhone 13. While many might think of this as Apple becoming complacent, it still brings an overall package that can hardly be beaten at its price point. Speaking of price, it’s the same as last year so that’s another thing to consider as well.
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Overall, the Apple iPhone 14 might feel like the same run-off-the-mill iPhone. But for anyone wishing to jump to iOS or upgrade from anything before iPhone 11, now’s the perfect time to grab an iPhone 14.