Apple’s annual flagship iPhone 14 series has been on sale for half a month. Among them, the Pro and Pro Max series are in short supply. On the contrary, the iPhone 14 is deserted and uninterested. I believe that one of the reasons is that many people believe that the iPhone The 14 and the iPhone 13 don’t look much different at all. But in fact, is it really so? In the text, I will analyze the differences in specifications and selling prices between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 series for your reference.
Specification difference
Like the previous generation iPhone 13 series, the iPhone 14 series also launched 4 models, two regular versions and two Pro versions, namely iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, compared with the previous generation The difference is that due to the poor global sales of the iPhone 13 mini, Apple canceled the mini model this year and replaced it with the iPhone 14 Plus, which has the same screen as the Pro Max; therefore, whether it is the general version or the Pro version, there are Models with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen specifications.
That is to say, if you used the 4.7-inch/5.5-inch screen style of iPhone 7 and 8 before, and you still feel that the 6.1-inch screen is too big and you must have a small phone, then you may want to consider the iPhone 13 mini (currently on Apple’s official website). still on sale), or the iPhone SE 3.
▲ Whether it is the regular version or the Pro version, the iPhone 14 series has 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen styles, but the previous mini style was cancelled this year.
So, what are the differences between the regular version of the iPhone 14 and the Pro version? In addition to the screen size mentioned above, the specifications of the screen panel are also somewhat different. The two Pro models use LTPO OLED panels. In addition to supporting the 120Hz ProMotion screen update rate, it can also reduce the update rate to a minimum of 1Hz, so it can support “always on display” (that is, always-on screen), and the lock screen will be displayed. Clock, wallpaper and notifications are no longer a black screen when in standby. The general version of the two phones does not support a 120Hz update rate, nor does it have a permanent display function.
Since the two models of the iPhone 14 Pro have changed to a capsule screen opening design, Apple has also added a “dynamic island” to turn this seemingly shortcoming into a new feature. I have to admire Apple’s ingenuity here. However, it is still quite an eyesore when chasing dramas and watching movies, and it may not be better than the normal version of the screen bangs.
▲ The iPhone 14 Pro series can support the function that the screen is always displayed, and the screen will not be black after it is locked.
Differentiation of the processor
The biggest difference between the iPhone 14 series models is the processor. The two regular versions of the iPhone 14 / iPhone 14 Plus are equipped with the Apple A15 Bionic processor with a built-in 5-core GPU, which is similar to last year’s iPhone 13 Pro / The Pro Max is equipped with the same processor; while the iPhone 14 Pro / Pro Max uses the updated Apple A16 Bionic processor, in addition to a more advanced 4nm process, the overall performance is about 15% higher than that of the A15.
In addition to the processor, the regular version of the iPhone 14 is also disclosed to use the same LPDDR4X RAM as the previous generation, while the two models of the iPhone 14 Pro are LPDDR5 with better performance, making the gap between the two series even wider. And this is why many netizens think that the iPhone 14 regular version series is not much different from the previous generation. After all, if the performance is similar, then why buy a more expensive new model?
▲ A16 is only available on the two Pro models.
Camera pixel improvement but limited picture quality improvement
Another spec that widens the difference between the regular and Pro versions of the iPhone 14 is the camera. The iPhone 14 series uses a dual-lens and triple-lens configuration similar to the previous generation. The two Pro models use a 48-megapixel standard lens with a larger sensor, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and a 12-megapixel 3X telephoto lens. 2X lossless zoom can be provided by central cropping of the standard lens; as for the general version of the two models, it still maintains the 12-megapixel standard and 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle configuration, although Apple emphasizes low-light shooting performance is better, but the book There seems to be almost no difference.
In our previous camera test article, if the 48-megapixel camera of the iPhone 14 Pro Max takes general photos, the difference between the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the iPhone 13 Pro Max is really not that big. In contrast, the advantage of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is Because it can shoot 48-megapixel ProRAW photos, in addition to higher pixels, it can also have a wider post-production retouching space.
iPhone 14, iPhone 13, who is more worth buying?
So much has been said above, but the point is: Is the iPhone 14 worth buying? Basically it depends on what kind of phone you are using now. If you are using an Android phone and want to turn the table, or use an earlier iPhone (pre-11), I think iPhone 14 is basically a good choice, if you are using iPhone 12 / 13, I don’t really recommend spending money to upgrade to the iPhone 14, because it’s not that much of a difference.
And if you have budget constraints and choose between iPhone 14 and 13, I would suggest that those who need a large screen can buy it iPhone 13 Pro Max, the current price of 128GB in large chain stores is $8499, which is $800 more expensive than the $7699 (128GB) price of the iPhone 14 Plus with the same screen size, but there is an extra telescopic lens and LiDAR, the screen also has 120Hz, and the processor is also In the same way, there are also better body materials, which are quite worth the price increase. It’s just that Apple has discontinued the iPhone 13 Pro series, so if the stock on the market is sold out, it may not be available.
If you don’t like the big screen style, or just want to buy cheap ones, then we suggest you can start directly iPhone 13, now 128GB is priced at $5999 in Dapu, which is already a fairly easy flagship phone, and its performance will not lose too much to the iPhone 14; in contrast, the iPhone 14 128GB costs $6899, and the price/performance ratio is not high. . If you want a smaller phone, or also want a cheaper iPhone, you can also choose models such as the iPhone 13 mini, iPhone SE 3, etc., but this is not what we are talking about today.
▲ The price-performance ratio of the iPhone 13 is relatively higher than that of the iPhone 14.