iPhone 14 Plus is a model many of you have been waiting for. In fact, the wait has been so long that questions went from when is the new “Plus” sized iPhone coming to is the new iPhone 14 Plus coming? Before deep diving into the new 14 Plus, to give you some background, Apple brought the Plus branding back after the iPhone 8 Plus, launched in 2017 and this year it replaces the mini models. We have been using the iPhone 14 Plus for two months, and here’s a complete breakdown of where it stands in the current line-up of iPhones.
iPhone 14 Plus
89,900
What Is Good?
- Absolutely crazy battery performance
- Solid design and feels lightweight for its design
- Excellent performance
- Capable cameras
- Guaranteed five years of iOS updates
What Is Bad?
- Still 60Hz refresh rate
- It could be too big to handle for people with smaller hands
- No charging adapter in the box
- Fast charging limitation to 20W
The iPhone 14 Plus is the company’s first non-Pro iPhone with a 6.7-inch display and retails well below the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Talking about upgrades in the new iPhone 14 series, the phones get a new TrueDepth selfie camera with autofocus, Action mode, Cinematic mode that can now shoot in 4K, an all-new Crash Detection feature, and Emergency SOS via satellite (available in limited countries). Additionally, the 14 Plus gets some more advantages over its vanilla version. If you want to try the iPhone 14 Pro, here’s our review link.
In this long-term review, we’ll tell you the benefits of the Plus over the regular iPhone 14 and if this is the value iPhone for this year.
iPhone 14 Plus Long-Term Review: Familiar design and reliability
For the new iPhone 14 series, Apple billboards had a straightforward tagline, “big and bigger”, where the iPhone 14 was the “big” phone while the 14 Plus was the “bigger” one. And why not. The first time we held it, there were two thoughts in our mind right away – this is so massive, like the Pro Max, and it’s lightweight.
There are two significant differences between the iPhone 14 and the Plus model. But, when it comes to the design, both are identical. Long thing short, the iPhone 14 Plus is a bigger version of the iPhone 14 with a bigger screen size and battery.
It sports the familiar flat-edge design that’s easy to use and looks great. The 14 Plus comes with aerospace‑grade aluminium chassis that feels durable. It comes in five colour options – Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and PRODUCT(RED). We got the Midnight which is Black in colour.
At the back of the phone, an oleophobic coating on the glass saves the device from smudges. The biggest highlight of the iPhone 14 Plus has to be the balanced weight distribution. At 203 grams, the 14 Plus is over 30 grams lighter than the 14 Pro Max despite being a wider phone. It’s amazing how Apple’s design team pulled off this feat. More so when you realise it is also lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Then, there’s an IP68 rating for splash, water and dust resistance.
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The front sports what the company markets as Ceramic Shield, which is “tougher than any smartphone glass.” In all these years of using recent iPhones, we can admit that the Ceramic Shield is more than just a gimmick name.
Overall, the iPhone 14 Plus is a solid iPhone choice that looks familiar and brings the reliability we expect.
iPhone 14 Plus Long-Term Review: Amazing display but still 60Hz
If you wanted to try your hands on the Pro Max model but couldn’t because of the pricing, then the 14 Plus is a great balanced choice. The iPhone 14 Plus packs a display that looks identical to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, of course, minus the Dynamic Island, ProMotion tech with 120Hz refresh rate and Always-On display. It has a 6.7-inch OLED display with 458PPI pixel density, 2778×1284 pixels screen resolution, and up to 1200 nits peak brightness. Not as bright as the panel on the Pro Max, but you won’t need that all day.
Talking purely in usage, the iPhone 14 Plus offers excellent brightness levels across different light conditions, good colour accuracy, deep contrast and blacks. It is both HDR10, and Dolby Vision certified. However, one thing that surely is a miss is a higher refresh rate display. We came from the iPhone 14 Pro so that we could notice more slow animations on the 14 Plus. If you’re ready for refresh rate compromise, then the iPhone 14 Plus makes up a great large-screen device for all your multimedia needs and gaming. The pricing of the 14 Plus also makes it the only phone with a 60Hz display available at such a premium in India.
iPhone 14 Plus Long-Term Review: A powerful package
Before jumping to the performance, we want to highlight that the iOS 16 update is a star this year and brings some of the much-demanded features to iPhones. The iPhone 14 Plus comes out of the box with the all-new iOS 16 update that brings customisable lock screen options, managed notifications, new privacy options, new focus filters, and more. The lock screen customisations have been done in a typical Apple fashion. This means the company may be late to the part, but it is done neatly and looks great on iPhones. Compared to iOS 15, the new iOS 16 update isn’t very different, but some additions are excellent.
Apple has also introduced some safety features like Crash Detection for iPhone 14 series that can detect a car crash and help users connect with emergency services. The good thing is that the Crash Detection feature works in India. Then, there’s Emergency SOS via satellite which won’t work in India but is an excellent feature for adventure-loving users and, overall, a good safety addition.
One surprise this year was Apple used last year’s A15 Bionic chipset on the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. However, the hexa-core processor on the 14 models is from iPhone 13 Pro and packs five GPU cores. While the upgrade in GPU may be negligible for customers and may not even be noticed during daily use. Apple also added a new Photonic Engine to the 14 series this year.
Talking about raw performance, the 15 Bionic is still a powerful chipset regardless of whether it is a 2021 chip. On Geekbench 5, the 14 Plus scored a decent 1695 in single-core and 4622 in multi-core tests – both scores being very comparable to the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro. Likewise, on AnTuTu 9, the iPhone 14 Plus (798765) easily beat iPhone 13 (789654) while being close to the 13 Pro (807843).
Overall, the iPhone 14 Plus is a beast in everyday performance and offers a flagship-level experience.
iPhone 14 Plus Long-Term Review: Capable cameras (as expected)
Coming to the cameras of the 14 Plus. This year Apple hasn’t given a groundbreaking update to the 14 and 14 Plus compared to iPhone 13 or 12. Yes, there are two upgrades – the primary camera packs a larger sensor than last year’s 13, and the selfie camera gets a much-needed autofocus function.
The back sports dual 12-megapixel cameras. The primary sensor with f/1.5 aperture and an ultra-wide f/2.4 aperture. The camera UI is the same as what we have seen on the 13. So, let’s dive into what it offers.
Talking purely in terms of camera performance, the iPhone 14 packs capable camera sensors, which means it can click excellent quality daylight shots with much detail, high contrast, and colour accuracy. The dynamic range is on point, and you have no reasons to complain. The portrait shots captured were excellent.
The low-light performance of the 14 Plus is also superb, and we captured amazing shots with plenty of details and almost no noise. The best thing about the cameras is the colour saturation is managed quite well for low-light shots.
Selfies captured on the 14 Plus look way better than what we saw on the iPhone 13. The selfies we took had a good amount of detail, low noise, true skin tones, and excellent sharpness.
In the last few years, Apple has upped its game regarding videos, and the 14 series is no different. The iPhone 14 Plus can record up to 4K videos with both rear cameras as well a selfie camera. The video quality in our tests was top-notch, and there is no doubt that iPhones have become the preferred choice of content creators on different social platforms. In addition, Apple this year has added 4K video recording capability in Cinematic mode, which should appeal more to content creators. Action mode is one big addition to iPhone 14 Plus and promises stabilised video. We tried it, and this is a great addition to the overall package.
iPhone 14 Plus Long-Term Review: Battery performance has no match
If there’s one department where iPhone 14 Plus outperforms every other device in the market, let alone just the new iPhones, then it’s in the battery. Apple claims that the 14 Plus offers the best battery life ever in an iPhone. Or to further break this statement, the iPhone 14 Plus has almost similar battery life as the iPhone 14 Pro Max. In our two months of use, this iPhone single-handedly killed our low battery anxiety that has become part of our modern-day lives ever since smartphones were much more than devices just for calling or texting.
In teardown reports, the iPhone 14 Plus is said to pack a 4323mAh battery, the same as the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Talking purely of use cases, the iPhone 14 Plus can last for almost 40+ hours of mixed-use, where we use it for navigation, browsing, streaming, music listening, calling or typing emails. Furthermore, in our video loop test, where we let the device run a video in a loop until it shuts down, the iPhone 14 Plus lasted for more than 14 hours which is incredible, and we haven’t seen any other device even coming closer to this milestone.
The charging department is the only place where the iPhone 14 Plus feels a little out of the league. The iPhone supports up to 20W max charging which means no full charging within minutes. But since the 14 Plus rocks the overall battery output figures, a compromise on the charging front will be a manageable letdown. Even with a 20W adapter, the 14 Plus charged up to 50% in 30 minutes, while full charging was too close to 85-90 minutes. It also supports wireless charging up to 7.5W.
iPhone 14 Plus Long-Term Review: An excellent buy
The iPhone 14 range starts at Rs 79,990 while the 14 Plus comes at Rs 89,900, and it is available in three storage trims – 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Looking at the pricing of the 14 Plus, it definitely is at par with rivals. However, when you factor in things like extraordinary battery life and a 6.7-inch screen size. The prices do become more justifiable.
The important thing is that the iPhone 14 Plus at no point looks lacking as an overall package. On the contrary, it is aptly packaged, looks solid and offers the same reliability that one expects from an iPhone. In addition, the battery performance is a highlight; what only furthers the 14 Plus’ case is how well it fits into a competitive premium space. The iPhone 14 Plus is a phone for those who can’t afford a Pro model but won’t mind getting extra battery life and the largest screen size in the current iPhone line-up. These factors are the biggest reason to consider the new iPhone 14 Plus. Of course, you don’t want to spend Rs 90,000, then there’s the iPhone 14 at slightly lesser price.
