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iPhone 14 Plus Reviews: Multi-Day Battery Life, Large Display, and Upgraded Cameras Make for Worthwhile Upgrade

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Apple has given select media outlets and YouTubers access to the iPhone 14 Plus ahead of its launch on Friday, October 7.

iphone-14-iphone-14-plus-in-hand-feature.jpg

The iPhone 14 Plus is Apple's largest entry-level iPhone model with a 6.7-inch display, a display size that's been historically reserved for only the highest-end iPhone. The iPhone 14 Plus shares many of the same features of the standard smaller iPhone 14 model, which was reviewed prior to launch last month.

Battery Life

iphone-14-plus-engadget.jpeg
Photo from Engadget​

Thanks to a display that lacks Pro features such as always-on capability and more internal space allocated to the battery, the ‌iPhone 14‌ Plus features the longest battery life of any non-Pro iPhone. The Verge's Allison Johnson says the iPhone 14 Plus is capable of offering users multi-day battery life, saying it offered three days of battery life on a single charge in testing.
Apple's claim of the "best battery life in an iPhone" isn't an exaggeration. Typically, a day of moderate use with about two hours of screen-on time and plenty of time away from Wi-Fi only drained the battery by about 25 percent in my experience. I even managed to get three days of use on a single charge. Reader, I can't remember the last time I used an iPhone that comfortably made it through multiple days of use.
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The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said the iPhone 14 Plus lasted 20 hours in a video streaming test, shy of the iPhone 14 Pro Max at over 21 hours.

Display

iphone-14-plus-the-verge.jpeg
Photo from The Verge​

The iPhone 14 Plus features just a 60Hz display, and CNET's Patrick Holland says while the display is impressive with good brightness and colors, the lack of a higher refresh rate is disappointing for a phone in this price range.
A higher refresh-rate screen looks more immersive, whether you are playing a game or just scrolling on Twitter. The 14 Plus' screen is locked in at 60Hz. I wish Apple had included a higher refresh-rate display on the 14 Plus, even if it's a more modest 90Hz. And it's strange that only the Pro models get an adaptive refresh rate.

The 14 Plus' screen looks good, but the one on the 14 Pro Max looks better. Some of that is about the refresh rate, but some of it is that the 14 Pro Max can get much brighter. In my time testing the 14 Plus, I didn't have any issues being able to see the screen outdoors. But I live in San Francisco, so in a sunnier locale that could be more of a challenge.
Click to expand...

Cameras

iphone-14-plus-the-verge-2.jpeg
Photo from The Verge​

Both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus share the exact same camera system, so camera reviews for the iPhone 14 will also be applicable to the iPhone 14 Plus. As expected, reviewers say the iPhone 14 Plus handled low-light situations well, with poppy colors and good highlights. From The Verge's Allison Johnson:
What that boils down to is better low-light performance, especially from the ultrawide and selfie cam, even though the hardware isn't exactly new or special. You can read a little more in-depth analysis in my iPhone 14 review, but the short version is that this is a very good camera system — not solely worth upgrading for, but it'll be a pleasant update if you're coming from an iPhone 11 or older.
Click to expand...

Performance

Both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus share the same chip from last year's iPhone 13 Pro. Despite this, the iPhone 14 Plus "still feels premium though, and has more than enough performance to handle anything you can throw at it," according to Engadget's Sam Rutherford.

Video Reviews













For a more detailed rundown of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, see our roundup.

Article Link: iPhone 14 Plus Reviews: Multi-Day Battery Life, Large Display, and Upgraded Cameras Make for Worthwhile Upgrade
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/iphone-14-plus/
Last edited:
As I said in a previous thread:
winxmac said:
One thing I would change if I had the say would be to bring back the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 camera layout while using the same camera that the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are using today...
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MacRumors said:
Apple has given select media outlets and YouTubers early access to the iPhone 14 Plus ahead of its launch on Friday, October 7.
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"Select media outlets and YouTubers" ... in other words, those who are inclined to give glowing reviews and gloss over the shortcomings.

Also @samifathi, "early access ... ahead of its launch" is redundant. 😏
 
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I think so much attention would kill this product. Many are upset over Apple dumping the Mini and a rebadged chip. This just makes them see Plus as the culprit.
The least Apple could have done is to reduce the prices by $99 to compensate for everything. But they did add more RAM so its not all bad.
 
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boak said:
This is false. ProMotion improves battery life.
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False! In Apple terms "ProMotion" means 120hz refresh rate on the OLED panel, which consumes significantly more energy when compared to 60hz.
In fact, when you turn on "Power Saving Mode" on your iPhone 13/14 Pro models, it will turn off ProMotion (120hz) and locks the screen at 60hz to safe energy.

What may potentially safe power is the use of LTPO tech inside the 13/14 Pro models. This can change the refresh rate of the OLED panel depending on what is displayed on your screens and the frame-rate of the content in motion.
 
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Awake three hours early cleaning up child throw up, I’m just reading this article wondering “WHY does this iPhone exist? Why did Apple waste their R&D budget and resources on this?”

$900.

NINE.

You might as well get the Pro: you’ll be happier.
 
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boak said:
This is false. ProMotion improves battery life.
Click to expand...
This is neither true nor false.

ProMotion can improve battery in specific circumstances where the display doesn't need to run at full frame rate. But if you're using the phone for like scrolling in Safari or your favourite data-harvesting social media app, it'll draw more power.
 
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Its a good phone for sure, but the problem is the the price, lack of faster refresh rate for the price(£950), and the fact the 13 series look identical and have the same A chip which can be obtained at a discount. It should have been called the iPhone 13S or R instead to manage expectations better.
 
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Sales number and preorder shows people want pro max regardless, more likely, assuming they can afford.

Reviews like this shows their detach of reality: Apple Watch ultra is bought by tons of people, over half I bet don’t/can’t do extreme sports. iPhone 14 pro max people still buy over iPhone 14 plus, because more feature and not so much more expensive price tag (for the same storage option). Apple ultimately still want to sell more higher end iPhone after all.
 
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I went from a regular 12 to a 14 pro Max and the extended battery life difference alone makes it a worthy upgrade for me. Now that noticeable performance gains have stalled for a few generations now, any iPhone which gives you better battery life over the previous one is a worthy upgrade.
 
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NBAasDOGG said:
False! In Apple terms "ProMotion" means 120hz refresh rate on the OLED panel, which consumes significantly more energy when compared to 60hz.
In fact, when you turn on "Power Saving Mode" on your iPhone 13/14 Pro models, it will turn off ProMotion (120hz) and locks the screen at 60hz to safe energy.

What may potentially safe power is the use of LTPO tech inside the 13/14 Pro models. This can change the refresh rate of the OLED panel depending on what is displayed on your screens and the frame-rate of the content in motion.
Click to expand...
wrong, ProMotion means dynamic refresh rate based on content, from 10hz to 120hz. Only 14 Pro can go as low as 1hz.
 
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Actually I have high expectations for this phone. I'm still using an XsMax and very happy with the screen size and don't want go regular 14 size.

Indeed Apple should have called this phone as 13S, or rename it completely, because right now, for non pro models, the options are 13 mini - 14 - 14 plus. (I don't know why they are still selling regular 13).

I wish Apple used the telescope lens instead of Ultrawide on their base models. I rarely use ultrawide and don't understand why telescope is a premium feature.

I'm considering this model for my mother and maybe for my brother (late 40s). However I think a used 13 pro max would be probably better.
 
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Unggoy Murderer said:
I might be in a minority here, but I honestly don't notice the 120Hz display on my 14 Pro Max. I forgot it was a feature until I was going through the specs with a friend 😂
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I still don't even see it on my 13 pro max. Was the 120 thing in the iPhone 12 too? Cause I still have that one and I don't see any difference in the screen from the 13
 
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rp2011 said:
I went from a regular 12 to a 14 pro Max and the extended battery life difference alone makes it a worthy upgrade for me. Now that noticeable performance gains have stalled for a few generations now, any iPhone which gives you better battery life over the previous one is a worthy upgrade.
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I think they do this on purpose. I have my 13 pro max and I noticed as soon as I downloaded iOS 16 my phone is dying way quicker.
 
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japanime said:
"Select media outlets and YouTubers" ... in other words, those who are inclined to give glowing reviews and gloss over the shortcomings.

Also @samifathi, "early access ... ahead of its launch" is redundant. 😏
Click to expand...

Exactly, the Apple bootlickers like Gruber and Brownlee are first in line.
 
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