Is the Apple iPhone 14 Worth It? Here’s Our Honest Review to Help You Decide

iPhone 14 Pros & Cons

Expect enhanced camera specs but not much else compared to the iPhone 13 with the new iPhone 14

Released in the UK on 16 September 2022, the Apple iPhone 14 hit shelves a year after the release of the previous Apple iPhone 13 models. After hearing a lot of hype, we were eager to check it out for ourselves. We were especially curious about the difference between iPhone 13 and 14, and to see if it’d also compare to other phones in the market, particularly with the solid reception of the Nothing Phone received in the same year. 

Well, let’s dive right into it. Read more below to find out more about what we think about the Apple iPhone 14.

iPhone 14 specifications

Let's start with a quick overview of the iPhone 14 technical specifications. Overall, the iconic smartphone offers much the same in terms of internals as its predecessor, the iPhone 13. The two generations use the same core processor (the A15 Bionic chip) and offer the same storage options (128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB), with the iPhone 14 providing more RAM (6 GB versus 4 GB in the 13), similar battery (the iPhone 14 plays 1 hour longer), and so on. 

It’s pretty much the same with the body of these two phones. The camera is somewhat better on the iPhone 14 (due mainly to internals and software; the hardware is identical). The display, too, is the same on both phones. It only gets an upgrade (a small one) on the iPhone 15. All three phones feature the same Ceramic Shield front and glass back.

Here are the iPhone 14 technical specs in more detail:

👉 For more info about the features, read our iPhone 14 features article here.

👉 Check out out helpful guide on how to choose the right storage capacity for your iPhone 14 model.

iPhone 14 Design

If you’re wondering how the iPhone 14 looks any different than the iPhone 13, there really aren’t that many big differences at all. The only slight physical change would be how the camera for the iPhone 14 protrudes more, but even this change is so slight that it’s hardly noticeable. 

The Apple iPhone 14 weighs 172g, making it the lightest phone in the iPhone 14 lineup. It’s just ever-so-slightly lighter than the Apple iPhone 13 (173g) and fits nicely in the pocket if you’re into smaller phones. 

The measurements for the iPhone 14 are 146.7 mm x 71.5 mm x 7.80 mm x  172 grams whereas the measurements for the iPhone 13 are 146.7 mm x 71.5 mm x 7.65 mm x 173 grams so you can see for yourself just what little of a difference it makes. The colours for the iPhone 14 are also lighter in comparison to the deeper tones of the 13 models. The iPhone 14 colour lineup ranges from pale blue, purple, Midnight, Starlight and bright red in hues that are noticeably lighter than that of the 13 models.

Display / Screen

Just like with the iPhone 13, the iPhone 14 has a screen size of 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with the same identical notch. The resolution remains at 2532-by-1170-pixel resolution at 460 PPI with 800 nits max brightness and 1,200 nits peak brightness (HDR). If you’re aiming for a better display/screen, you may be better off with the iPhone 14 Pro. 

The iPhone 14 features the Ceramic Shield means that it’s less prone to damage. That said, the back area is still a glass back to accommodate MagSafe charging. This means that it’s still vulnerable to breaking if you drop it by mistake. We’d highly recommend still getting a proper phone case to prevent any damage in the event that you drop it by mistake. 

👉 Read our helpful guide on iPhone 14 cases here.

There is also an IP68 classification that comes with the iPhone 14 which means it’s resistant to dust, dirt and liquids. This means you can breathe a little easier when worrying about water damage from accidental spills that are bound to happen from time to time.

Performance

The iPhone 14 is powered by an A15 Bionic chip, similar to the iPhone 13 Pro. This means a 5-core GPU that’s suited for an improved gaming experience. The iPhone 14 sports a higher frame rate score than the iPhone 13 (69 fps vs 60fps) but the performance really isn’t ground breaking enough to warrant getting a new phone if you already own a Phone 13.

The iPhone 14 has a 3279 mAh battery pack which supports up to 20 hours of video playback, an hour more compared to the iPhone 13. Personally, we felt that the test on its battery life was disappointing compared to other phones in the market. The iPhone 14 charges at a rate of 20W which isn’t as fast as some of its Android competitors such as the Redmi Note 12 Explorer (210W) or the Samsung Galaxy S22 (25W). Also, an hour more of battery life compared to the iPhone 13 really isn’t that much to shout about. 

There are two speakers on the phone, with one top front-firing and one side-bottom firing. The speakers on the iPhone 14 support spatial audio which guarantees impressive sound with good timbre performance overall. The wind noise reduction on the iPhone 14 is also surprisingly better than the more advanced iPhone 14 models in the lineup. However, wired headphones fans should note that there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack here. 

The iPhone 14 runs on iOS 16 which means access to new lock screen customisations which can be synced to different Focus modes. There’s also the ability to edit and undo messages. There’s also a My Sports feature under the News app so sports fans can set up the teams they root for and have real-time info on scores, game times, video highlights and more at the tip of their fingers. 

If you’re a fitness fan, we’re also happy to say that the new Fitness app that comes with iOS 16 is a pleasure to use. You can now set up your movement goals and close various rings like how you normally would with the Apple Watch. You can also add the Fitness widget to your home screen to be on top of your fitness journey at all times.

Camera specs / review

Truth be told, the camera on the iPhone 14 is the biggest upgrade from the iPhone 13. The iPhone 14 has two cameras on its back and these come with a faster aperture at ƒ/1.5 as well as a large sensor to improve shooting pictures, especially in low-light settings. We found that there’s a realistic bokeh effect when portrait mode is utilised and good exposure with beautiful colours. It’s definitely a reliable camera to whip out on the go. Using the telezoom at close range showed significant improvements from the iPhone 13 which were happy about.

The Photonic Engine system helps in getting more detail out of photos. To add to that, the Action Mode is great for stabilising when recording videos.There’s smooth video autofocus with quick convergence. If you’re a budding content creator, this type of feature would certainly be helpful in the long run. The selfie camera for the iPhone 14 isn’t to be forgotten too. With an upgraded lens that comes with a brighter f1. 9 aperture as well as the autofocus feature, it’s now easier to achieve less grainy selfies in general.

Price and availability

Cost-wise, the iPhone 14 starts at £699 in Apple stores, which makes it the most affordable iPhone 14 model, and more affordable than the iPhone 15 line. The iPhone 13, by comparison, retails at £599 base price in Apple stores and on Apple.com/uk/ - and given that the two phones are remarkably similar, if you’re looking to save, you might just consider the 13. Or better yet, you could try a refurbished iPhone 14. We discuss refurbishing in greater detail in the next section, but know that certified refurbished iPhone 14s can start as low as at *£418 on BackMarket.co.uk.

Repairability and Sustainability

The Right to Repair has been on centre stage in recent years, and justly so. Electronics are both expensive and increasingly important in our day-to-day lives, and the realities of planned obsolescence and deliberately unrepairable design mean that we produce a stunning amount of e-waste AND we pay a high financial cost to replace devices that should be fixable. And Apple is supposedly a supporter of customers’ right to repair their devices.

To that end, Apple made the iPhone 14 much easier to repair than its previous generation, at least in the mechanical sense. But the tech giant also used a software limiting technique called parts pairing to keep just anyone from repairing their iPhone without a genuine (and costlier) Apple part AND without informing Apple first. (Read about it on iFixit.) So for the time being, no recent iPhone - not the 13, not the 14, and not the 15 - is easy to repair, unless you are a specially certified repair shop. Which means customers are more likely to get rid of an older phone and buy a new one, creating more e-waste.

One solution that can help you save more while essentially reusing phones that would otherwise have been trashed is to buy refurbished from a reputable supplier like Back Market.

Though the products on BackMarket.co.uk and similar sites are used or otherwise pre-owned, they have been professionally repaired, cleaned and tested, and work just as well as new ones, with no compromise on performance. Whether they are unused customer returns, defective products returned under warranty, display items, demonstration products, or goods returned because they or their packaging were damaged in shipping--they don’t go up for sale until we have ensured that they work like new.

What’s more, with Back Market, you'll also get free standard shipping, a 1-year warranty and 30 days to change your mind with every purchase, so there's little risk when compared to buying new. Opting for second-hand products also means you’re doing your part in supporting less waste to prevent further environmental damage.

Overall verdict

So is the iPhone 14 worth it? When it was new, we struggled a little with making this decision, especially after we noted how it was only a slight upgrade from the iPhone 13. And now that the iPhone 15 is out and offers a major leap up from its predecessor, our opinion is even stronger: keeping or upgrading to the iPhone 13 might be a better bet since the specs are more or less the same and it will be even less expensive than the iPhone 14, though the 14 definitely wins over the former with its camera capabilities. Other than that, Apple didn't give us any notable new features that would really draw us into the iPhone 14 that you can't get elsewhere. And if you’re looking for an upgrade from the 13, you’re better off going for a refurbished iPhone 15. So for us, no, the iPhone 14 is not necessarily worth the price jump, especially since you get a similar performing phone out of the older iPhone 13 and even the iPhone 12. Where you might consider it is if you are upgrading from any generation prior to those and you want the latest you can get without paying a premium for an iPhone 15. Similarly, if you like the fact that the iPhone 14 is designed for repairability (even though its current software configurations severely limit this), it’s a good option, assuming Apple will sometime soon resolve the parts pairing issue.

*price at date of writing