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Thinking of upgrading? If you've got the iPhone 13, you may be wondering if the new iPhone 14 is worth the upgrade.

After the Apple keynote event, it's become a bit of a minefield to figure out what exactly has been upgraded in this year's iPhone. And when it comes to price, we're left wondering if the £100 price increase for us Brits is worth it.

We're breaking down the main differences between the two iPhone series so you can decide what's best for you and your phone needs!

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In this blog:

• Differences in a nutshell
• Price
• Design and display
• Camera
• Battery
• Performance
• Features

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Differences in a nutshell

• Slightly thicker design
• New features: SOS via Satellite, Crash detection, Dynamic Island (on Pro models)
• £100 price increase for the UK
• Photonic Engine software for better image quality in low light
• Slightly larger main camera sensor with AF on the front camera
• Action Mode video stabilization
• Upgraded A15 Bionic chip (14 and 14 Plus) and A16 Bionic chip (Pro and Pro Max models)
• Slightly longer battery life, same 20W charging

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Price

For those in the US, the price of the iPhone 14 range matches that of the iPhone 13 release price. UK Apple users, however, will have to pay more for their new upgrade. As the value of the pound (GBP) has fallen, Apple has chosen to increase the price of their iPhone 14 range accordingly.

The iPhone 14 series consists of the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max – that's right, no more Mini! Since the Mini has been replaced with the Plus model, we can't compare its price, but it seems to fall in line with the price increase of the rest of the devices.

The iPhone 14 costs £849 ($799 in the US), £70 more than the iPhone 13 did when it was first released. The iPhone 14 Plus currently costs £949 ($899) £100 more than the 14, which is about right for a Plus model. 

Coming in at £1099 ($999) and £1199 ($1099), the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max are slightly more expensive than the standard 14 device. While spending a little extra on the Pro models is expected, the cost has jumped by £150 compared to the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models.

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Design and display

In terms of design, the iPhone 14 looks almost identical to the iPhone 13. The diagonal dual camera system remains unchanged along with the glass-backed flat aluminium side frame. The display sizes have also remained the same; the 14 and 14 Pro have a 6.1" display, while the 14 Plus and 14 Pro Max have a 6.7" display. 

One big difference between the 14 and 13 Pro models is the addition of the Dynamic Island. This is Apple's innovative solution to the dreaded iPhone notch. While the notch is still very much there, it's now a smaller pill-shaped notch that works with your display in widget style.

Although the display size remains the same, in true Apple fashion, the iPhone 14 is slightly thicker than the previous 13 models. This means that anyone looking to upgrade from the 13 to the 14 will have to spend some extra pennies on a new iPhone case too.

Apple has also switched up their colour palette for the new iPhone, swapping out the green and pink from the iPhone 13 series for two sets of purple. You'll be able to buy the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus in five colours: Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, and (Product) Red. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max colours include Deep Purple, Space Black, Silver and Gold.

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Camera

Similar to the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus both have two cameras on the back. The diagonal dual-camera arrangement consists of one main wide and one ultra-wide lens, identical to the 13. 

However, this doesn't mean that the cameras are the same. The iPhone 14 has a larger sensor size and a faster f/1.5 aperture. And while some of the camera features are the same as the iPhone 13, all of the cameras on the iPhone 14 benefit from a new processing model called the Photonic Engine, which makes low-light images even better. 

For Pro users, one of the three back cameras has been given quite an upgrade. The main wide camera on the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models had 12MP. However, for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, this has been increased to an incredible 48MP.

The front-facing camera has gotten an upgrade too. It's now a TrueDepth camera with an F/1.9 aperture and has auto focus – something that was previously only available on the Pro models.

In terms of video performance, there have been a few worthy improvements. Apple has introduced Action Mode, designed to stabilize videos taken on the go. All iPhone 14 models now support 4K video too.

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Battery

If you're hoping for a jump in battery life from last year's iPhone, you'll be disappointed. The iPhone 14 has managed to increase its video playback by one hour – not very impressive, but it's an extra hour nonetheless!

The iPhone 14 offers 20 hours of video playback, the lowest battery life of the entire iPhone 14 series. Coming in second place, the iPhone 14 Pro offers 23 hours of video playback compared to the 22 hours of video playback on the iPhone 13 Pro. 

The iPhone 14 Plus has 26 hours of video playback, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a whopping 29 hours of video playback. While there aren't any massive battery improvements from last year, 29 hours of video playback is the best result we've seen from an iPhone so far!

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Performance

A significant aspect of the iPhone is its performance, which usually comes down to its chipset. For the first time in iPhone history, not all of the new iPhone models feature a new chipset.

For the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, Apple has stuck with last year's A15 Bionic chipset. The A15 Bionic chipset has been upgraded slightly for the iPhone 14 models, with an 18% improvement from the iPhone 13. While this chipset has the same 6-core CPU and 16-core Neural Engine, it boasts a new Photonic Engine feature and 5-core GPU for better gaming and low-light performance.

If you're looking to buy the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max, you'll be happy to know that the chipset used is brand new. The A16 Bionic chipset will make the iPhone 14 Pro models faster and more efficient than iPhone models with the A15 Bionic chipset – including the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.

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Features

If you want a new iPhone, you want some excellent features to go along with it. Luckily, the iPhone 14 series doesn't disappoint!

All of the models within the iPhone 14 range come equipped with Crash Detection, a feature that was previously only available on Apple Watch devices. This feature makes it possible for your iPhone to detect if you have been in a severe car crash and it will automatically call the emergency services.

The iPhone 14 series also has Emergency SOS via Satellite, a new feature that will let you connect to a satellite to contact emergency services if you don't have WiFi or a cellular signal. While this feature is pretty groundbreaking, it's only available in the US and Canada, so it's not quite groundbreaking enough for Brits to enjoy. It's also said that users will have to start paying for the feature after two years of free usage.

Apple has finally adopted a well-loved feature from Android devices, the Always On display! Available only on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, this feature enables your display to stay on and visible (albeit in much dimmer light) at all times. Even when your device is locked, your screen will still be visible, making it possible to see notifications, the time, and other features on your display without waking your phone up.

A change that some love and some hate is the removal of the physical SIM card tray. That's right – the iPhone 14 range no longer supports the nano SIM or any physical SIM card at all, for that matter! Those wanting to purchase any of the iPhone 14 models will have to use e-SIM technology. This change is somewhat irritating for those that like traditional SIM cards, however the switch to e-SIM will help to reduce SIM card waste.

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