iPhone 14 Plus review

Two-minute review

Everything you read about Apple’s iPhone 14 is true of the iPhone 14 Plus. You're getting the same processor, display technology, and dual camera array on the back. What sets this phone apart from its smaller sibling is, obviously, its screen size and battery life; and for some, that will be reason enough to choose it over the iPhone 14.

The 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus is a newcomer to the iPhone lineup, supplanting the adorably small iPhone 13 mini, which apparently failed to inspire buyers. With this more affordable plus-sized smartphone, Apple hopes to attract those who aspire to the big-screen excitement of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but don’t have the budget to afford it; or who perhaps just don't need the power afforded by the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s 48MP sensor and leading-edge A16 Bionic CPU.

Coming with most of the same limitations as its non-Pro sibling, the iPhone 14 Plus might seem like just another good-enough handset; but don’t underestimate the benefits of a big screen and excellent battery life. These things matter, and getting them for $899 / £949 / AU$1,579 (for the base 128GB phone), as opposed to the $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899 you’d pay for the iPhone 14 Pro Max, means this is a smartphone worth considering.

Taken by itself, the iPhone 14 Plus is a somewhat staid but attractive smartphone. The design is virtually unchanged from the iPhone 13 lineup, except for its Pro-level-without-being-Pro size. There's no Dynamic Island upgrade for the iPhone 14 or 14 Plus, with the notch that Apple made 20% smaller with the iPhone 13 sticking around for another generation. It’s still an excellent, 458ppi display with 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio; just note that there’s no always on-display or adaptive refresh rate here, and you'll be happy enough with the tasteful 60Hz OLED panel.

The best iPhone of this generation, sadly not, but it's still a brilliant option and offers a nice middle ground between the standard 14 and the 14 Pro Max, without the 14 Pro's price premium.

Even though we don't get a telephoto lens or a 48MP primary sensor on the iPhone 14 Plus, the two 12MP cameras on the back (the main and ultra-wide) are a step up from the iPhone 13’s array. Part of this is due to better sensors and lenses, but there’s also the new Photonic Engine, which applies Apple’s Deep Fusion image technology to uncompressed images. Even the front 12MP camera gets an upgrade, with a better sensor and autofocus.

These are characteristically above-average cameras that we think will satisfy most casual photographers and videographers.

Performance is excellent; in benchmarks the A15 Bionic (the same version of the chip as found in last year’s iPhone 13 Pro) is a tick below what you'd get from the iPhone 14 Pro series’ top-of-the-line A16 Bionic, but we challenge anyone to tell the difference in real-world use.

Battery life is, as you might expect with a phone of this size, exemplary. In one video rundown test we got a solid 25 hours, although your mileage, obviously, may vary.

While it can be difficult to avoid fixating on what the iPhone 14 Plus doesn't have, we think many will look at what the iPhone 14 Plus brings to the table: big-screen iPhone fun, performance, and battery life at a more affordable price than the equivalent Pro. And where the iPhone 14 offers no compelling reason to upgrade from the iPhone 13, the appeal of the iPhone 14 Plus is visibly obvious.

iPhone 14 Plus price and availability

• 128GB: $899 / £949 / AU$1,579
• 256GB: $999 / £1,059 / AU$1,749
• 512GB: $1,199 / £1,279 / AU$2,099

Apple unveiled its entire iPhone 14 line – the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max – on September 7, 2022. 

The iPhone 14 Plus went on preorder on September 9 and is now available, as of October 7. It starts at $899 / £949 / AU$1,579 for the 128GB model, but you can get it with up to 512GB of storage (check out our best iPhone 14 deals if you're already interested).

• Value score: 4/5

iPhone 14 Plus specs

The iPhone 14 Plus comes in three storage configurations – 128GB, 256GB and 512GB – with 6GB of RAM offered across the board. 

iPhone 14 Plus design

• Aging design, but one that retains its allure  
• Solid aluminum construction
• Glass and Ceramic Shield have premium looks
• No SIM slot on US models

From its aluminum frame to its glass back, its edge-to-edge, ceramic-shield-covered and notched display, its pill-shaped volume and power buttons, alert slider, Lightning port and grille placement, the design of the iPhone 14 Plus is eminently familiar, and mostly – we emphasize mostly – unchanged from the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 before it.

Naturally, there's an undeniable size difference. Whereas the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 is virtually indistinguishable from the iPhone 13, the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus is 6.33 inches (160.8mm) tall and 3.07 inches (78.1mm) wide. Compare this to the 5.78-inch (146.7mm) by 2.82-inch (71.5mm) iPhone 14. The two phones are, by the way, the exact same thickness, at 0.31-inches (7.8mm).

Without question, the biggest design difference from the iPhone 13 generation to the iPhone 14 line of phones – although only on models sold in the US – is that there’s no SIM slot along the left edge. The switch to an all eSIM design in the US has made the physical SIM slot obsolete, and gives the phone a slightly cleaner look.

This larger iPhone does outweigh the iPhone 14, coming in at 203 grams to the iPhone 14’s 172 grams, although despite being essentially the same size as the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the iPhone 14 Plus is 37 grams lighter. This may be due to the Plus' new thermal management system, which helps keep the phone operating cooler and – according to Apple – makes it easier to replace a broken back glass panel.

In general, the handset feels cool, smooth, and solid. We didn’t drop it to test durability, but we did run the phone under some cool water. It can handle that, and is rated for up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for 30 minutes – just don’t plug it back in until it's fully dried out.

Design score: 4/5

iPhone 14 Plus display

• Super Retina XDR OLED is still the best iPhone screen technology you can get 
• You might miss adaptive refresh
• Bigger is better in videos, photography, gaming, and more
• Sorry, no always-on display
• It’s time to retire the notch

Apple gave the iPhone 14 Plus its best OLED display – the Super Retina XDR – but still with the limitation of the notch. This means Apple’s newest model remains saddled with a feature the company will surely phase out in a generation or two.

If we’d never seen the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max’s adaptable Dynamic Island, we probably wouldn’t mind, but the notch now feels excessive and overbearing by comparison. At least it appears smaller on the iPhone 14 Plus’s large 2278 x 1284 display – there are more pixels on this display than on the iPhone 14's, but the pixels per inch is actually a hair lower (458ppi vs 460).

None of this is to say the HDR, wide-color, True Tone-supporting display isn’t gorgeous. It is. Everything from games to photos, videos and TikToks looks great on it. Its 2,000,000:1 contrast ensures that blacks look inky, and everything else pops.

Even without an adaptive refresh rate, and despite the fact that the panel on the 14 Plus is stuck at 60Hz, it still feels responsive. Gameplay in PUBG and Asphalt 9: Legends looked smooth enough to the naked eye. If, though, you like the sound of Apple’s new always-on display, think about the iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max instead.

Of course, the other big benefit of the iPhone 14 Plus is that the screen is noticeably bigger than that of the iPhone 14, which means, to our eyes, an even better video and gaming experience. Obviously, you're not getting more pixels, but the extra millimeters of visual real estate make everything bigger. Plus, you have some nice little Plus-sized display benefits, like the ability to hold the device in landscape mode, open Mail and see your account's assorted folders in the left-hand column. These folders aren't persistent, but it’s still a nice perk that’s exclusive to the larger models in the iPhone 14 series.

As far as screen protection goes, the iPhone 14 Plus has the same Ceramic Shield as the rest of the iPhone 14 line – so might be worth watching this iPhone 14 Pro Max drop test to see what sort of punishment the material can take. 

• Display score: 3.5/5

iPhone 14 Plus cameras

• A good set of iPhone 13 Pro transplants
• Bigger sensor and Photonic Engine take image quality up a notch
• One bigger sensor would’ve been nice
• Action mode

Apple has upgraded the camera system on the iPhone 14, and has put the exact same setup on the iPhone 14 Plus. It’s still two 12MP cameras on the back: a 26mm, f/1.5 lens and a 13mm, f/2.4 ultrawide with a 120-degree field of view.

Apple has not only upgraded the lenses, but is backing them with a larger sensor sporting larger pixels, for better low-light performance. All the cameras, including the new 12MP front-facing camera, are also supported by Apple’s new Photonic Engine, which, among other things, applies the company’s Deep Fusion image processing to uncompressed images, earlier in the image processing pipeline than before. This also results in better low-light performance, and more visual detail.

If your eyes glazed over during that description, then just know that photo quality is noticeably better when compared to iPhone 13’s cameras. It’s not a huge change, but we really could see it in every single image. Better color, clarity, and detail… there's more truth in the images. The impact is especially noticeable in ultrawide photos, which offer more color information across the entire frame.

Portrait mode photography continues to improve on both the front and back, and is particularly impressive in low-light situations.

For video, the cameras are all still capable of shooting up to 4K 60fps video. The marquee feature is the new Action Mode that's available for the rear cameras, which uses software and AI to smooth out the shaky video. It essentially acts like a digital gimbal, as you’d find on a GoPro. We took a run with an iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Plus, enabling Action Mode on the Plus (but leaving it off on the 14). As you’d hope, video turned out smoother, however, despite being a cool feature it’ll likely be of limited utility for most people.

• Camera score: 3.5/5

iPhone 14 Plus three cameras

• A 12MP main (26mm, f/1.5)
• A 12MP ultrawide (120-degree field of view, 13mm, f/2.4)
• Front-facing camera: 12MP f/1.9

Camera samples

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