The iPhone 14 Plus is a good flagship smartphone for 2022. While it is missing some common high-end features and introduces minimal updates this year, it is worth considering if you want a large iPhone with excellent battery life without spending $1,099.

Key Features
  • 6.7-inch Super Retina Display
  • Great performance with the A15 Bionic chip
  • Dual Camera System
  • Battery Life
Specifications
  • Brand: Apple
  • SoC: A15 Bionic
  • Display: 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR Display
  • RAM: 6GB
  • Storage: 128GB-512GB
  • Battery: 4323mAh
  • Ports: Lightning
  • Operating System: iOS 16
  • Front camera: 12 Megapixel TrueDepth Camera
  • Rear camera: 12 Megapixel Main Camera, 12 Megapixel Ultra Wide
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, 5G, Bluetooth 5.3
  • Dimensions: 6.33 x 3.07 x 0.31 in
  • Colors: Midnight, Starlight, Red, Blue, Pink
  • Display type: OLED
  • Weight: 203g
  • IP Rating: IP68
  • Price: $899-$1,229
  • Micro SD card support: No
Pros
  • Modern, durable, and repairable design
  • Dual camera system
  • Great battery life and standby time
Cons
  • No high refresh rate display
  • Doesn't feature Apple's latest SoC
  • Minimal new features
Buy This Product
Apple iPhone 14 Plus

Apple has released its iPhone lineup for 2022; the iPhone 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max, iPhone 14, and the 14 Plus. The Pros and the regular 14 launched in September, with the 14 Plus arriving in early October. The Pro models have again taken the spotlight in tech publications since they feature more interesting changes. However, the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are for the regular consumer, and this year's is the first Plus version.

iPhone 14 Plus Design

iPhone 14 Plus on a desk

If you put an iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 next to each other, most people would not be able to tell the difference. That's because the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus feature the same design as the 13. This year's only change in the design is that the US models lack a physical SIM card slot in favor of eSIM. It uses an aluminum frame and a glossy glass back compared to the stainless steel frame and frosted glass back on the Pro models.

The phone feels solid in hand with the squared-off edges, and since the sides are aluminum, it doesn't show grime or fingerprints as easily as stainless steel. Apple transitioned the iPhone lineup to the squared-edge design back in 2020 with the 12 series, and it continues to be a favorite among users. The Plus model, in particular, is very light for its size. That's the first thing that stands out to you when you pick one up. The weight is due to the aluminum and the camera system.

The iPhone 14 Plus isn't as top-heavy as the 14 Pro Max. If you have used a recent iPhone Pro Max model, you'll know what it's like to hold an iPhone 14 Plus since it is the same size, despite being called the Plus. You no longer have to spend over $1,000 to get the bigger iPhone.

Unboxing & Setup

iPhone 14 Plus box and contents

The iPhone 14 Plus packaging and the set-up are similar to years past since the iPhone 12 series. You get the phone, lightning to USB-C cable, and documentation in the box. If you get the US version, you no longer get the SIM card tool. Apple continues to not include a charging brick in the box with your phone, so you will have to purchase one separately if you don’t already have one.

Set up with iOS 16 is a breeze, just like in previous years, especially if you already have an iPhone. During the Quick Start process, you can also restore the phone from an iCloud or computer backup, making it easy to get all your data onto the device. This year, a new part of the process is setting up your eSIM. This can be intimidating for people who are unfamiliar with eSIM.

But thankfully, the process of setting it up is straightforward. You can transfer your current number from your old iPhone to your new iPhone 14 with just a few easy steps. If you encounter any issues activating your number on the eSIM, you can contact your carrier for further assistance.

The Display: Hard to Justify

iPhone 14 Plus

The iPhone 14 Plus features a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display with a resolution of 2778 x 1284. The display is OLED and features wide P3 color, True Tone, and HDR. The 14 Plus display is also very bright, with a typical peak brightness of 800 nits. When watching HDR content, it can reach a maximum of 1200 nits.

Although not as bright as the Pro models, the 14 Plus is more than passable for outdoor viewing. Another part of the display that has returned this year is the smaller notch introduced on the iPhone 13 series. It’s not as exciting as the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro, but it isn’t bothersome on the 14 Plus. Hopefully though, the Dynamic Island won’t be a Pro iPhone exclusive feature in future iPhones.

Everything for the display checks out for a flagship smartphone, except for one critical missing feature: a high refresh rate. Even though the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are flagship smartphones, they lack high refresh rate displays, which is unforgivable in 2022. Even budget Android phones, such as Samsung's Galaxy A23 5G, offer a 120Hz display while costing a fraction of the iPhone 14 Plus' price. While Apple considers a high refresh display a “pro” feature, the rest of the smartphone market doesn’t, and not having one holds the iPhone 14 Plus back.

The same goes for the always-on display. Compared to the Pro models, the iPhone 14 Plus doesn’t feature it either. Some people don’t prefer the always-on display; however, users typically can disable it on other smartphones, including on the iPhone 14 Pro. Having the option to have an always-on display on the iPhone 14 Plus would have been appreciated.

The iPhone 14 Plus has a great display, but the lack of a high refresh display on a phone that costs as much as the iPhone 14 Plus is a tough pill to swallow. At the bare minimum, this iPhone should have a 90Hz display.

A15 Bionic: Second Time Around

Instead of Apple giving the A16 Bionic to the regular 14 series as it did with the Pro series, Apple decided to use the same A15 chip that was in the iPhone 13 Pro. This version of the A15 chip features an additional GPU core, which provides up to 18% faster graphics. In terms of Geekbench 5 numbers, the iPhone 14 Plus scored a CPU single-core score of 1740, and a multi-core score 4782. While on graphics benchmarking, the 14 Plus scored 12614.

The phone handles regular smartphone tasks flawlessly and performs well when playing mobile games such as Apex Legends or running other graphically intense applications. It also features improved thermal performance. Thanks to this, the phone stayed relatively cool while playing games. It certainly got a little warm, but not to the point where you couldn’t hold the phone.

The A15 chip still features the six-core CPU, unchanged from last year. Even though the CPU hasn’t changed, most people can’t tell the difference in performance between the A15 Bionic and A16 Bionic chip. This speaks volumes about Apple’s silicon longevity, especially since year-over-year performance jumps are not as groundbreaking in smartphones as they used to be. Apple’s A15 chip was never sluggish in the 13 Pro.

Therefore, you can have the same expectation here. However, this is a flagship smartphone in Apple’s lineup, and it doesn’t feature its latest chipset. Although not a dealbreaker, it would help justify the cost of the phone if it came with Apple’s latest SoC.

The Dual Camera System

iPhone 14 Plus Dual Camera System

The regular iPhone 14 series uses a dual camera system, made up of a wide-angle camera, and an ultra-wide camera. Both cameras were updated this year mainly with improved low-light photo capabilities. The iPhone 14 Plus takes solid low-light photos thanks to Apple's improvements. The iPhone 14 Plus did a solid job with the sample low-light photo by exposing the existing light.

iPhone 14 Plus low-light sample

The result looks surprisingly natural. In normal daytime conditions, the 14 Plus produces photos with a surprising amount of detail. The colors in the images are not oversaturated and stay more realistic while having an accurate white balance. The ultra-wide camera is still one of the best on any smartphone, allowing you to capture so much in the shot.

The iPhone 14 Plus also has good autofocus, enabling you to quickly focus on the subject and represent it in great detail. However, since the camera system lacks a LiDAR scanner, it can sometimes struggle with focusing on subjects that are in the foreground.

The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus also takes video up to 4K at 60FPS and offers a new feature called Action Mode. The new feature enables you to take super smooth videos when there is a lot of movement when taking the video. It's important to note that for the video to not look grainy, you will need a fair amount of light, so it's best suited to daytime shots.

Even though the iPhone 14 Plus camera doesn't have the same feature set as the 14 Pro Max, the 14 Plus can produce excellent photos and videos in preferable conditions.

Best Battery Life in an iPhone

Apple touts that the iPhone 14 Plus offers the best battery life ever in an iPhone. We’ve heard this in years past, however, this model sets a new bar. The iPhone 14 Plus offers a 4323 mAh battery, which is a large capacity for an iPhone and not far off from what many Android flagships feature. Furthermore, since the phone doesn’t offer a 120Hz refresh rate or an always-on display, that helps save battery during the day.

During regular usage, the iPhone 14 Plus can certainly last a full day on a charge. At the end of the day with light to medium usage, the phone would have roughly 65% left on the battery after gaming, watching YouTube content, checking email and social media, and listening to music. The iPhone 14 Plus even lasts slightly longer than the 14 Pro Max in real-world usage. Apple continues to provide the solid battery life that was first introduced on the iPhone 11 Pro line in 2019.

SOS: Safety Features

Like the 2022 Apple Watches, Apple also focused on new safety features for its iPhones this year. An entirely new feature that comes to the iPhone is Emergency SOS via Satellite connectivity. Starting in November 2022, you will be able to send a message to emergency services, even if you have no cellphone service or Wi-Fi. This is a great feature if you participate in adventurous and risky outdoor activities. If you purchase an iPhone 14 now, the service is free for two years.

Crash Detection also makes its way to the iPhone 14 Plus, a feature that will contact emergency services if the phone detects if you have been in a car crash. Recently, multiple tech writers and YouTubers put Crash Detection to the test. Joanna Stern, Senior Personal Tech Columnist at the Wall Street Journal, attempted to trigger Crash Detection by crashing a derby car into a few old vehicles while in a controlled testing environment.

During the testing, Crash Detection went off on the Apple Watch Ultra that the driver had on, but the iPhone was not as consistent. While Crash Detection didn't consistently trigger during Joanna's controlled test, and Apple does state that it can't detect every crash, it's safe to say that having the feature work sometimes is better than not having it at all.

As for Emergency SOS Messaging via Satellite, we will have to wait and see how the feature performs.

Currently, Crash Detection is being evaluated to see if it is a reliable feature. With reports of Crash Detection triggering while users are on a roller coaster, we will have to see how the feature plays out and hopefully Apple can address the accidental triggers through software updates.

Repairability: Apple Reverses Course

Repairing an iPhone has never been a straightforward process. Steve Jobs never wanted people to open up the iPhone and mess around inside; that's part of the reason why the iPhone uses proprietary screws and some parts are unnecessarily tricky to repair. However, Apple may have had a change of heart with the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. To everyone's surprise, Apple changed the internal design of the iPhone 14 to make the device easier to repair.

One part, in particular, is easier to repair and significantly less expensive to replace by Apple itself; the back glass. iFixit did a teardown that reviewed the changes to the internal design of the regular iPhone 14. The same of course applies to the Plus model.

The iPhone 14 also makes it easier to replace the screen, thanks to covering the rest of the internals with a metal shield while still exposing the display connectors. These changes are a big win for people who want to fix their iPhones themselves. And even if you want Apple to replace the back glass for you, it will now cost you $169 versus $500 or more from years past.

Should Anyone Buy The iPhone 14 Plus?

You should buy the iPhone 14 Plus only under three conditions: if you have an iPhone 11 or older, the 60Hz display doesn't bother you, and you want the bigger model.

Apple has finally released a modern large-sized smartphone that is under $1,000. Before, many consumers would spring for the Pro Max model since it was the only large iPhone in the lineup, not caring about the features only the Pro models offered. Those consumers now have a solid option that doesn't require overspending on a large-sized iPhone.