There's Really No Reason Not to Love this Phone

Ah, the perils of tech journalism... not that I'd ever dare to refer to myself as a journalist. More like an enthusiast. Let's just say I do move in similar circles though.

Anyway, the peril any journalist faces is becoming so engrossed in their core subject matter, they forget most other people aren't.

One of the primary reasons I started writing gadget reviews was FOMO - I just couldn't stand the thought of missing out on the latest tech - in fact I still can't. I'm obsessed with getting my hands on each new generation of phone or earbud or TV or whatever. I don't really know why, it's just my thing.

But when I write about "my things" I have to force myself to remember they're not necessarily other people's things. While I change my phone every couple of weeks, most research indicates "normal" people are only likely to upgrade every two to three years - and recently that interval has been growing even longer.

Which is why I've been somewhat taken aback at the level of criticism directed at this year's base-model iPhone...

Although the iPhone 14 arrived a week or so earlier than many predicted, that was about the only cat that hadn't been let out of the bag prior to its launch.

For months I'd been reading rumours about Apple making an unprecedented decision to split up its base and pro models by reserving the new-generation A16 Bionic chip for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max while recycling 2021's A15 chip for the cheaper iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. What a shock. 

Perhaps even more shocking is most of those articles neglected to point out there were two different chips used last year too; it's just they were just both called A15. The '21 Pro version boasted better graphics performance which also meant more powerful camera capabilities and it's that A15 Bionic running the iPhone 14.

This means a noticeable uptick in gaming and photography before you even touch the rest of the phone. The physical camera sensors have also been tweaked and combined with the processor boost, the photography experience on the iPhone 14 feels much more like what the pro models offered last time around.

Low light is becoming less of a barrier - which is just as well as many other manufacturers have made indoor and night shooting a priority too, often extremely successfully. The good news on the iPhone 14 is the selfie camera also works much better in the gloom. That front-facing cam now has full auto-focussing abilities too, not just a feature reserved for Cinematic mode on the primary shooter. This means group selfies or perhaps shots from a distance set with a timer are more likely to have you as the main subject, instead of the table in front of you or the building behind.

Back round the back, the main camera now offers Action mode - Apple's latest digital stabilisation tech to eliminate a lot of the wobble and bobble from the vids you take when you're out and about.

So you get all this extra functionality - and a slight bump in battery life too. This is all mostly thanks to that chip - that's right, the "same" one as last year. Although it isn't.

More importantly, I'd like to point out something so many tech critics often fail to; even if the iPhone 14 was exactly the same as the iPhone 13 - which as we've already established, it isn't - it would still be a great phone.

Features like its ceramic shield screen and MagSafe wireless charging and accessories are still totally unique in the market and are amazing. In fact, I've become so enamoured with MagSafe over the last couple of years I get withdrawal symptoms when I have to review another handset without it. Being able to magnetise my wallet onto my phone or my phone onto its car charger isn't just super practical, it's pretty cool too.

There's also an argument to be made that the A15 chips were so advanced you could probably keep putting them in next year's phones and they'd still outperform most of the competition.

Above all else, don't forget the Apple ecosystem. There are just so many apps I use on a daily basis that work much better on an iPhone because that's the device they were designed for. Not to mention how seamlessly you can connect to other Apple devices like Apple Watch and AirPods - although I'll highlight more on those in future reviews.

These days, Apple finally seems to be more amenable to connection with other devices as well and the very latest Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity on the iPhone 14 is further evidence of this.

And did I mention it now comes in blue and purple? (Along with the more traditional Midnight, Starlight and (PRODUCT)Red)

This year, the really good news is, if you like a big screen, the new iPhone 14 Plus model means you can upsize from 6.1 to 6.7-inches without having to stretch the budget to Pro Max prices.

Look, was the iPhone 12 a great phone? Yes. And it still is. Was the iPhone 13 a great phone? Yes. And it still is. Is the iPhone 14 dramatically different to either of those phones? Maybe not. So what does that mean? Yes, it's a great phone. Again. If it's been longer than two years you'll definitely appreciate the difference and if you're coming from another platform entirely, you may be surprised by just how good iOS has got. I know I was.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on Apple iPhone 14 and Apple iPhone 14 Plus.