Introduction
The iPhone 14 Plus is one of the newest models in Apple’s iPhone 14 lineup. As the name suggests, it’s a larger version of the standard iPhone 14. But the iPhone 14 Plus differentiates itself with a bigger 6.7-inch display, making it the most affordable large-screen iPhone you can buy without going Pro.
In this iPhone 14 Plus review, I’ll examine how it compares to other recent iPhones and whether it’s worthwhile if you want a big screen without paying premium prices. The iPhone 14 Plus competes directly against phones like the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung’s Galaxy S22+. Let’s dive into the details on Apple’s latest big-screen iPhone.
Design
The iPhone 14 Plus shares the same design language as the rest of the iPhone 14 lineup. It has flat aluminum sides and a glass back, with both the front and rear protected by Apple’s Ceramic Shield material. The frame is made from aerospace-grade aluminum for durability.
The Plus measures 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.8 mm and weighs a hefty 203 grams. The size and weight are both necessary though to accommodate the larger display. It feels substantial in your hand without being overly heavy. The bigger footprint also allows for a larger battery inside.
The iPhone 14 Plus has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. So it can withstand being submerged in up to 6 meters of water for 30 minutes without issues. The glass back does attract fingerprints, but is less slippery than the glossy glass used in older iPhones.
Overall, the iPhone 14 Plus is well-built with premium materials that give it a sturdy feel. The bigger chassis required for the larger screen does add noticeable weight, but not enough to make it uncomfortable for extended use. It’s comparable in size to other jumbo-sized flagship phones.
Display
The defining feature of the iPhone 14 Plus is its expansive 6.7-inch display. This is notably bigger than the 6.1-inch screen of the standard iPhone 14. Apple calls this a Super Retina XDR display which uses OLED technology for deep blacks and vibrant, accurate colors.
It has a resolution of 2778×1284 pixels for a pixel density of 458 ppi. Everything looks incredibly sharp on this large display. The panel also supports up to 1200 nits of HDR peak brightness. This allows HDR photos and videos to really stand out.
The display quality is excellent across the board. It matches what you’d expect from a premium OLED panel. Colors are vivid and true to life. Contrast is excellent thanks to the true blacks. And everything is razor sharp thanks to the high resolution.
The notch at the top does look a bit more obvious given the larger display size. It’s essentially the same notch as other recent iPhones though, just scaled up. I do wish the iPhone 14 Plus had the newer pill-shaped cutout introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro models as that looks far better. Still, overall display quality is fantastic and immersive here.
Camera
The iPhone 14 Plus has a dual 12MP rear camera system. This consists of a main wide angle lens and an ultra wide angle lens. It’s the same setup as the regular iPhone 14.
The main camera has a large f/1.5 aperture and sensor-shift optical image stabilization. This is excellent for low light photography. The ultra wide camera lets you fit more of a scene into each shot with its 120-degree field of view.
There are some notable camera upgrades powered by the A15 Bionic chip and Apple’s image processing. This includes better low light performance through a faster aperture and sensor. Night mode photos look sharper and brighter.
Video recording is available at up to 4K 60fps quality from the rear cameras. The TrueDepth front camera enables 1080p video recording and Night mode for selfies, along with Portrait mode. Overall, the cameras on the iPhone 14 Plus are versatile for everyday shots. But the Pro models do offer significant advantages for professional-level photography.
Performance
Powering the iPhone 14 Plus is Apple’s A15 Bionic chip. This is the same processor used in the iPhone 13 lineup. It has performance cores for demanding tasks and efficiency cores for lightweight use cases. In benchmarks, it scores about 10-15% faster than the A14 in the iPhone 13.
Performance is excellent across the board. iOS 16 feels smooth and responsive. Apps open instantly, and you can jump between multiple apps without any lag. This is a very capable chipset for gaming, video editing, augmented reality, and other productivity uses.
Enhanced thermal management means the A15 Bionic can sustain peak performance levels for longer periods. The iPhone 14 Plus also comes with 6GB of RAM, ensuring you can keep dozens of browser tabs and apps open without any slowdowns. Storage options are 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB.
In real-world use, the iPhone 14 Plus handles demanding games, creative apps, 4K video editing, and other intensive tasks without breaking a sweat. Thanks to the A15 Bionic chip, performance is flagship-level and will easily last several years down the road.
Battery Life
The large size of the iPhone 14 Plus allows it to fit a bigger battery than the standard iPhone 14. Apple rates the iPhone 14 Plus for up to 26 hours of video playback versus 20 hours on its smaller sibling.
In practice, the battery life is notably improved over the regular iPhone 14. I consistently got 1.5-2 days of use out of it even with heavy usage. Standby time is fantastic thanks to the power efficiency of the A15 chip. This phone has arguably the best battery life ever in an iPhone.
It still charges rather slowly at up to 20W wired. There’s no support for wireless or reverse wireless charging. But thanks to the big battery, you can easily stretch it out between charges even as a power user. For lighter use cases, you may only need to charge it every 2-3 days. The battery life is a major highlight.
Software
The iPhone 14 Plus runs Apple’s latest iOS 16 software out of the box. This brings useful new features like a customizable Lock Screen, widgets on the Home Screen, upgraded messaging capabilities, and Visual Look Up.
iOS 16 also enables editing and unsending messages, a redesigned Home app, shared photo libraries, and intelligent dictation. Apple Maps adds transit fare cards and multi-stop routing. Fitness tracking is also improved.
These new capabilities on iOS 16 complement the great core user experience of iOS. It’s a responsive and intuitive operating system. You can expect at least 5 years of software support on the iPhone 14 Plus in the form of annual major OS updates. It’s one advantage iOS holds over Android.
Conclusion
The iPhone 14 Plus brings a spacious 6.7-inch OLED display to Apple’s non-Pro iPhone lineup for the first time. The larger size allows for a bigger battery, resulting in excellent battery life. It shares the same powerful A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 13 Pro models.
The rear camera setup is solid for everyday shooting and gets enhanced through Apple’s computational photography. Build quality is premium thanks to the glass and aluminum design. And it runs the user-friendly iOS 16 right out of the box.
On the downside, the aging A15 Bionic processor is a bit disappointing. The camera doesn’t have the major hardware upgrades of the iPhone 14 Pro. And the big notch looks dated compared to modern Android designs.
Still, for the users who want a big screen iPhone without paying premium prices, the iPhone 14 Plus hits the mark. It retains everything that makes iPhones great while providing a more immersive display and excellent battery life. If you want a giant display on an iPhone for under $1,000, the iPhone 14 Plus is the model to get.