Apple iPhone 14 Plus Review – Pros and cons, Verdict | 91Mobiles

judgment

The iPhone 14 Plus It’s a healthy addition to Apple’s smartphone lineup this year, especially for users who want a big-screen experience and aren’t willing to pay a premium. iPhone 14 Pro Max (Review) Apple took last year iPhone 13 (Review) and adorning the internals with some nifty upgrades will enhance the 14 Plus’ overall experience. Meanwhile, iPhone 14 Plus’s Rs. 89,990 starting price tag is not cheap in itself. Consequently, if you’re not interested in buying a large-screen iPhone, competing Android flagships retailing for the same price (and lower) may offer better features.

• Performance: 6.7 inch OLED
  
• Refresh rate: 60Hz
• Processor: A15 Bionic (Hexa Core)
• GPU: Apple GPU (Five Core)
• Rear cameras: 12MP wide-angle, f/1.5 + 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4
• Front Camera: 12MP wide angle, f/1.9 with auto-focus and OIS
• Battery: 4,300mAh
• Software: iOS 16

Buyers are competing Pocketable The company’s latest iPhone 14 line-up of iPhones will no doubt cause confusion. I say this because the brand decided against launching a refreshed iPhone Mini and instead opted to bring back the super-sized iPhone 14 Plus alongside the regular iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. The 128GB variant is priced at Rs. 89,990, the iPhone 14 Plus looks like a compelling choice that can bring gamers and media buffs to its doorstep. In fact, Apple is promising the biggest battery life on the iPhone with the device. So, is this the right phone for you? Let’s try and find out in this review.

Which is better

• Let’s start with what works for the iPhone 14 Plus. You see, I have an affinity for smartphones that can handle computing, and the A15 Bionic chipset powering the iPhone 14 Plus really hits it out of the park. I have some benchmark numbers that paint a better picture, including Geekbench 5, which tests smartphone CPU performance. Suffice it to say that the 14 plus numbers are solid and the handset comfortably outperforms competing Android smartphones powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC.

• Now, you can make a case on the smartphone’s Antutu score, which isn’t as remarkable as it sounds, the 8+ score output by the Gen 1-backed OnePlus 10T. Don’t get me wrong, the 14 Plus racked up 846,865 points, which is amazing. Comparing this to an Android phone’s Antutu score doesn’t paint a clear picture, as the difference in kernel between the two platforms forces Antutu to run significantly different tests on the devices. In fact, iOS devices use Apple’s Metal API while running Android phones OpenGL ES and Vulkan API for GPU tests.
• However, I can assure you that during my usage which included heavy-duty gaming, video editing and more, the device did not miss a beat. A small but important detail revolves around the use of an additional GPU core in the iPhone 14’s A15 Bionic chipset compared to the iPhone 13’s A15 Bionic SoC. As for the memory requirements, the iPhone 14 Plus has 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
  

• I also like how rich the smartphone’s stereo speaker setup is. Of course, unlike some competing devices, the iPhone 14 Plus speakers aren’t tuned by big-name players in the audio space like Harmon Kardon. However, the iPhone 14 Plus’s speaker setup rivals the best devices in the segment. For authentication purposes, Apple’s Face ID also works flawlessly regardless of lighting conditions.
• iOS still remains an interface tightly controlled by Apple, and the current version of iOS 16 draws many parallels from the last iteration. Barring a few bugs here and there, the software experience is highly refined and intuitive. The main change this time is to customize and create multiple lock screens for different functionalities.

• Notifications have been moved to the bottom of the screen for a cleaner look. And, if you’re a fitness enthusiast, you can use the Live Activities widget to track your workouts. Read more about the new features in iOS 16 Here. The icing on the cake is that the smartphone gets software updates for five years and as a result, you can use the iPhone 14 Plus running the latest software until at least 2027, which is great.

• The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus also offer marginal camera improvements over the iPhone 13. To wit, the handset packs a 12MP primary shooter along with a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 12MP selfie snapper on the front. On paper, the camera specs may seem similar, but, this time, the primary sensor size has been upgraded 1.9µm And the unit has a large f/1.5 aperture. Suffice it to say, for general photography purposes, Apple gets a lot done by not stuffing in huge lenses with unreasonable megapixel counts.

• Daylight shots are sharp and crisp with oodles of dynamic range to back them up. Lastly, you can choose a standard, rich contrast, vibrant, warm and cool camera shooting profile. The sample shots I clicked with the phone used a rich contrast profile that looked more appealing to my eyes. Focusing speed is excellent, and I particularly enjoy how well the focus shifts when moving closer to a subject.
• Low-light snaps follow years of computational photography implemented by Apple, and the results are evident. The newly introduced photonic engine helps in gathering more details and brightness especially at night. I tested the iPhone 14 Plus camera in various challenging conditions and the device did not disappoint in the slightest. A dedicated night mode kicks in based on the lighting and – if you keep your hand reasonably still – outputs a snap with good detail. What’s more, the shadow areas of the frame have a natural look and bring out the details of subjects without looking too beautiful or over-processed.

• The ultra-wide shooter also takes advantage of the photonic engine and captures more than reasonable night shots. In daylight, the quick focus speed, coupled with the high level of detail, allows the phone to take some of the best ultra-wide shots I’ve seen.
• The front-facing 12MP shooter comes with autofocus capabilities, which was missing from last year’s iPhone 13. I wholeheartedly support Apple’s choice of facial detailing and skin tone when it comes to selfies. The iPhone 14 Plus has a slightly contrasting look but captures various facial features impeccably. Autofocus comes into play with multiple faces in the frame, each of which is captured to perfection.
• When it comes to video, the iPhone 14 Plus knocks it out of the park with its stability, color science and measured shift in focus. Cinematic mode can now do 4K 30fps and isn’t just a gimmick. Action mode also worked like magic and the utility provided excellent stability when I was running and filming at the same time. For routine video recording shenanigans, I think the iPhone 14 Plus is a great device, second only to the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro range.

• The iPhone 14 series also comes with crash detection, a feature unique to the lineup. Several sensors such as gyroscope, GPS, barometer and microphone work in sync to detect if you are in a car crash and automatically alert emergency services to your location. You can turn off the feature in Settings.
• The nifty Emergency SOS by Satellite feature is a very useful feature when you’re stuck in an area with no cellular connectivity. Your iPhone 14 series device can connect with an overhead satellite traveling in clear skies and send emergency text messages to the nearest station. However, if the region is outside the US and Canada, you’re out of luck. Let’s hope that Apple can bring this unique feature to India in the near future as well.

• Apple is promising the biggest battery life on an iPhone with the 14 Plus. The company doesn’t really provide quantitative battery mAh figures and instead, relies on stats like video playback time. The cell capacity on the iPhone 14 Plus could be a 4,300mAh unit, which is slightly smaller than the 4,350mAh on the 13 Pro Max.

• However, without having to compete with a 120Hz panel or the newly introduced Always-On Display on the 14 Pro Max, the iPhone 14 Plus will really last a long time. In fact, it was so good that I only had to charge the phone once every couple of days. I usually finish my first day with 50 percent battery in the tank and even play it Code: Mobile For several hours. Needless to say, power users will love the battery backup of the iPhone 14 Plus.

What is not so good

• After talking in detail about the various strengths of the iPhone 14 Plus, now it’s time to get into some of the flaws. Surprisingly, I’m in two minds about the phone’s display. Don’t get me wrong, the smartphone’s 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with its 1,200nits peak brightness and Dolby Vision support makes it an excellent visual aid. However, Rs. For a device priced at 89,990, I would like to see support for a higher refresh rate screen as well.
• The lack of 120Hz promotion, which was a staple of last year’s and this year’s Pro models, is noticeable if you’re switching from the high-refresh screen that’s prevalent on most Android phones these days. Also, the notch design is really dated in the current landscape, but I don’t expect Apple to fix it anytime soon in its regular iPhone lineup.

• The iPhone 14 Plus also lacks variety in its camera setup, especially in the telephoto department. Comparable Android phones are packed with 10X zoom lenses, periscope lenses and more.
• While the battery life is excellent, the charging speed is not perfect. It takes about 30 minutes to charge half of the iPhone 14 Plus battery in a wired setup. Many Android phones in the price range can juice the battery completely in no time, and some even achieve the same feat wirelessly.

• Apple is still sticking with its proprietary Lightning port on all iPhones launched this year instead of adopting the universal USB Type-C standard, which is a bummer. Making matters worse, rumors of a Type-C iPhone launch as soon as next year are also floating around the interwebs.

Final judgment

Apple hasn’t really experimented much with the iPhone 14 Plus except for the form factor. In fact, with the exception of minor improvements in camera, battery life and processing capabilities, plus the addition of features like crash detection, the smartphone is – for all intents and purposes – the super-sized iPhone 13. No indication during an emergency. SOS will come to India via satellite feature.

Not only does the smartphone ship with a large, bright and colorful display, but the device does not benefit from the silky, fluid animations enabled by the HRR screen. On the plus side, the smartphone performs well, clicks amazing photos with its camera setup and thanks to Apple’s long software update roadmap, will undoubtedly stand the test of time. Ultimately, if you’re looking to upgrade from the iPhone 12 or 11 and want a bigger screen experience to make the most of your gaming and binge-watching sessions, the iPhone 14 Plus is the way to go.

Editor’s Rating: 4/5

Pros:

• An efficient performer
• Capable point and shoot cameras
• Long battery life

Disadvantages:

• Slow wired and wireless charging speeds
• No high refresh rate screen