iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: Is it worth the upgrade?
The iPhone 14 is here, but is it actually any better than the iPhone 13? It's a fair question, given the differences between this and the iPhone 14 Pro are huge.
Last year we saw the iPhone 13 Pro create some additional separation with its 120Hz ProMotion display, but the differences always used to be more finite: focussing on elements like camera capabilities while keeping some core specs the same.
This time around, Apple has widened the gap and made the choice of iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro (opens in new tab) much clearer by hampering any real progress for the iPhone 14. That’s not to say it's a bad phone, but when we compare it to the iPhone 13, which is also remaining available in Apple's phone lineup, it could be worth saving some money.
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13: Specs Spec iPhone 14 iPhone 13 Screen size 6.1 inches 6.1 inches Refresh rate 60Hz 60Hz Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB CPU A15 Bionic (found in iPhone 13 Pro) A15 Bionic RAM 6GB 4GB Rear cameras Dual 12MP cameras (wide and ultra-wide) Dual 12MP cameras (wide and ultra-wide) Front-facing cameras 12MP TrueDepth camera f/1.9 aperture 12MP TrueDepth camera f/2.2 aperture
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13: Price
The price remains the same with the iPhone 14 starting at $799 (RIP $699 iPhone mini), which falls in line with the expectations set by the rumor mill. Meanwhile, the larger iPhone 14 Plus comes in at $100 more with prices beginning at $899.
Frustratingly, the iPhone 14 has had quite the price bump in the UK and EU (opens in new tab) — jumping by £70 and €100 respectively. Regardless, you can now pre-order the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus from (opens in new tab), with the standard 14 out now and the Plus dropping on October 7.
For more, check out the best iPhone 14 deals.
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Whereas the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max benefit from some design tweaks, the standard 14 gives you more of the same. That means an identical display notch to previous generations, very similar dimensions, and that same diagonal camera array layout on the bump.
Of course, one big difference (literally) is in the form of a larger iPhone 14 Plus model, which replaces the iPhone mini and provides a big screen mid-range alternative to the Pro Max.
So, it’s a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” for the aesthetics of the iPhone 14, but after two generations of the same look, we would have hoped for at least some updates — maybe the "pill-and-hole" design of the Pro to freshen things up a little.
Dimensions are mostly identical too, with the iPhone 14 measuring in at 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches with a weight of 6.07 ounces — same size but slightly lighter than the outgoing iPhone 13 (6.10 ounces), which means it should fit into your current case.
Obviously, the Max is larger at 6.33 x 3.07 x 0.31 inches, and is heavier too at 7.16 ounces.
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13: Display
(Image credit: Future)
Sticking rigidly to its guns, Apple is keeping the same 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display that you saw in the iPhone 13 — with 1,200-nit peak brightness, HDR, a wide color gamut, Haptic Touch, and the same 60Hz refresh rate.
I get that thanks to the touch sampling rate and smoothness of the iOS graphical interface, this is the smoothest feeling 60Hz out there, but with the industry hitting 120Hz in phones far cheaper than this, this is getting beyond excusable.
Of course, the new entity is the iPhone 14 Plus, which comes with a 6.7-inch display — the same as the Pro Max iPhone, but with that same slower refresh rate.
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13: Processor
(Image credit: Apple)
The chipset has been a controversial talking point for a while now, as rumors had circulated that Apple was going to stay the course with its pre-existing A15 Bionic chipset, while the Pro benefitted from the cutting edge A16 Bionic.
It turns out the rumors were pretty much true, making this the first year that new iPhone models are going to have different internals. Being honest, I’ve got mixed feelings about this.
As you’ve seen over the past year in the likes of our iPhone 13 review , the A15 Bionic is a monster of a smartphone chip — packing impressive power, graphical capabilities, and strong power management.
Plus, this is the version of the chip you’ll find in the iPhone 13 Pro , meaning you get an additional GPU core and up to 25% better graphics performance.
But if the iPhone 14 Pro's A16 Bionic Geekbench results (opens in new tab) are anything to go by, the differences will be minor in real-world use.
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13: Cameras
(Image credit: Future)
The camera setup remains largely identical across the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13: dual 12MP sensors with a standard wide and ultra-wide lens. Same sensor shift technology on the main, and the same 100% focus pixels to get nice, crisp shots.
There are a couple of key differences though, which come down to some small hardware tweaks and improved software photography. First, the main camera sensor sports smaller 1.9-micron pixels and an f/1.5 aperture — the same as the iPhone 13 Pro. Translation: better detail and low light performance.
Second, the 12MP selfie camera has been updated with an f/1.9 aperture (same again as the iPhone 13 Pro), which allows for better low light photography.
(Image credit: Future)
And third, Apple is bringing over the Photonic engine tech that you saw in the iPhone 14 Pro, which puts the Deep Fusion process earlier in the software's work when taking a picture for up to 2.5x better low light performance.
I would have liked to see some development in this area, like the higher megapixel count of the 14 Pro. As I said up top, however, Apple is keen to rely on that muted response to upgrade you to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
However, as is clear from our reviews, the camera system Apple has created is stellar, paired with some impressive software photography to produce great shots in most circumstances.
iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13: Battery life
The increases in use time touted in the event correlate with a small-but-welcome upgrade to the battery capacity — going up from 3,240mAh to 3,279mAh.
Of course, with the larger 14 Plus comes a far larger battery than that, with an up to 25% increase in longevity over the iPhone 13.
Right now, there is a teardown video of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which shows the battery in it has actually reduced slightly in size, but we'll have to wait to see the inside of the standard iPhone 14.
Outlook
This year, more than ever, the latest iPhone is a tough sell when you compare the specs. Because sure, there are some small iterative updates, but the list of similarities has grown quite considerably with a similar CPU being in the mix.
The word “inflation” comes to mind when you start to ask why this is the case, but you can’t help but have a bad taste in your mouth for what is essentially a reskinned iPhone 13 with some super minor improvements.
Whether its worth it is entirely up to you and where you are based. iPhone fans in the US will find plenty to like — the tweaks look set to improve the cameras while providing the same blistering performance. Readers in the UK and EU, however, may feel different, thanks to that price bump.
Apple iPhone 14 vs Apple iPhone 13
Here you can compare Apple iPhone 14 and Apple iPhone 13. Comparing Apple iPhone 14 vs Apple iPhone 13 on Smartprix, enables you to check their respective specs scores and unique features. It would potentially help you understand how Apple iPhone 14 stands against Apple iPhone 13 and which one should you buy. The current lowest price found for Apple iPhone 14 is ₹79,900 and for Apple iPhone 13 is ₹65,999. The details of both of these products were last updated on Nov 04, 2022.
Specification Apple iPhone 14 Apple iPhone 13 Internal Memory 128 GB 128 GB OS iOS v16 iOS v15 RAM 6 GB 4 GB Rear Camera 12 MP f/1.5 (Main)
12 MP f/2.4 (Ultra Wide) with autofocus 12 MP f/1.6 (Wide Angle)
12 MP f/2.4 (Ultra Wide) with autofocus Battery 3279 mAh, Li-ion Battery 3240 mAh, Li-ion Battery Price ₹79,900 ₹65,999
iPhone 14 Pro vs. 13 Pro: 4 Significant Ways the Cameras Are Different
This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET's collection of news, tips and advice around Apple's most popular product.
Apple's iPhone 14 Pro has several camera system improvements that have led to stellar reviews, including a 48-megapixel sensor and the company's new image-processing technique called the Photonic Engine. This immediately puts the iPhone 14 Pro at an advantage over last year's iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, at least on paper.
But how big of a difference do these new hardware and software features actually make in the real world?
I compared the cameras on both phones in a range of challenging situations around San Francisco to find out. All these photos were taken in the default camera app on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro, both running the latest version of iOS 16.
You can find out more about the specific improvements to the iPhone 14 Pro's camera system in this deep dive by my colleague Stephen Shankland. CNET's Patrick Holland also has a great analysis into the iPhone 14 Pro's photos and how the Photonic Engine helps boost photo quality in challenging lighting conditions.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
The iPhone 14 Pro 48-megapixel sensor captures more detail
On the hardware front, the biggest change between the two phones is the 14 Pro's new 48-megapixel sensor on the main wide camera that's also physically larger than the older iPhone, which makes just as much of a difference to photo quality as the increase in megapixels. The 13 Pro uses a 12-megapixel sensor.
Using a technique called pixel binning, the iPhone 14 Pro joins four pixels together into groups to capture 12-megapixel photos with more detail. You can also take a full 48-megapixel image if you shoot in Apple's ProRaw format, and that gives photographers more flexibility when it comes to editing and recovering shadow and highlight detail among many other advantages.
In good lighting, the 12-megapixel shots from both the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro look similar at reduced magnification, and it might not be that easy to spot the difference. It's when you push in a bit that the advantages of the 14 Pro's new sensor and image processing become clear.
In the images below that I captured in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the tree trunks are more defined and sharper on the iPhone 14 Pro's photo than those on the 13 Pro. Areas of fine detail, like grass, also retain much more resolution. You can click through to the full resolution image from the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro to compare more easily.
The iPhone 14 Pro's lens on the main rear camera also has a wider field of view than the 13 Pro's: 24mm versus 26mm. This means you can get a little more in your shot, which might be especially helpful for landscape photography.
The iPhone 14 Pro can take photos at 2x zoom
The iPhone 14 Pro also has another trick up its sleeve: The 48-megapixel sensor can also take 12-megapixel shots at an effective 2x optical zoom. You'll see a new 2x option in the camera interface. That crops the center of the higher-resolution image to immediately give you more flexibility with focal length, without needing a fourth lens. The iPhone 13 Pro can also take photos at 2x zoom, but it uses digital zoom and doesn't have the same quality or level of detail as this new technique.
I find the new 2x option on the iPhone 14 Pro helps with portrait mode. Instead of just offering 1x and 3x options like on the older phone, it can also snap portrait mode photos at 2x. This results in more natural-looking shots to my eye. I find it's more flattering on facial features than the wide look from 1x, or the zoomed-in perspective at 3x.
Now playing: Watch this: iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max Review: Tons of Upgrades,...
iPhone 14 Pro vs. 13 Pro: Low-light and night mode
The iPhone 14 Pro has a new image processing pipeline to help improve medium to low-light shots. Combined with the larger sensor, I can see the difference compared to the iPhone 13 Pro in all the photos I shot at dusk. In the photos below, take a look at the detail captured on the tree branches by the skyline.
The newer phone also has better noise reduction in low light, without night mode engaged. Dynamic range is improved in low light too, capturing more shadow and highlight detail than the older phone.
For night mode shots specifically, both the phones use similar exposure times ranging from 1 to 3 seconds depending on the lighting conditions. The iPhone 14 Pro's picture below has more accurate white balance overall and slightly better detail when you zoom in.
Action mode is the star of the iPhone 14 Pro's video recording
Both the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro shoot in 4K at up to 60fps. The video image looks similar when filming on the main rear camera. But the iPhone 14 Pro unlocks additional video tools like Action mode. This is like having a gimbal attached to your phone to give smooth results when moving, except you don't need any additional hardware -- it's all done in-phone.
Action mode crops in slightly to your image and drops the resolution from 4K to 2.8K. But I think the results are incredibly impressive, especially when compared to the same video shot on the iPhone 13 Pro.
I chased after my puppy, jogged along the beach and took a fast-moving tracking shot in front of a waterfall in the park with Action mode, and the results were remarkable. The iPhone 14 Pro's video image looks like I was filming with a stabilizer, smoothing out even sudden jerky movements. The iPhone 13 Pro's video looks much more shaky. You can see those action mode examples in the video below, or at the top of this page.
iPhone 14 Pro has big camera improvements, but the iPhone 13 Pro is still impressive
Apple's latest iPhone has some significant advantages over last year's iPhone 13 Pro when it comes to both photo and video capture. Importantly, you don't need to consider yourself a serious or professional photographer to take advantage of that 48-megapixel sensor. But the iPhone 13 Pro is still at the top of its game in most other areas, and still offers one of the best all-around phone cameras you can get.
Stephen Shankland/CNET Apple's iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max introduce sweeping changes like the Dynamic Island, a new 48-megapixel camera system and Apple's new A16 Bionic processor. All of these upgrades come together to make for an experience that feels fresh and fast compared to older generations. Read our Apple iPhone 14 Pro review.
Leave a Reply