'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Apple's iPhone 14 lineup is official: Goodbye Mini, hello iPhone 14 Plus
Apple on Wednesday held a special event from its Apple Park campus in Cupertino, Cali., where the iPhone 14 lineup was unveiled, alongside a trio of new Apple Watch models -- Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Ultra -- and new AirPods Pro wireless earbuds.
The 2022 iPhone offering consists of four new smartphones, including the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Notice that the iPhone 14 Mini isn't an option, as Apple has retired the smallest phone in its lineup and replaced it with a larger screen iPhone 14 Plus.
Also: iPhone 14 Pro vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Is the newest iPhone worth the upgrade?
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
The base iPhone 14 models now come in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch display sizes, forgoing the iPhone 14 Mini's smaller display. The displays have 1200 nits peak brightness for outdoor viewing.
Inside the iPhone 14 is an A15 Bionic processor -- that's the same that was used in the iPhone 13, with Apple touting the performance of the processor as a benefit to iPhone 14 users, even a year after its initial release.
ZDNET Recommends
The overall design of the iPhone 14 looks like the iPhone 13, with a notch cutout at the top of the screen for the True Depth Sensor that's used for Face ID to unlock the phone or approve Apple Pay payments. There are a total of five colors available for the iPhone 14 line: midnight, starlight, blue, purple, and red.
As for camera upgrades, the iPhone 14 has a new 12-megapixel main camera with a larger sensor and 1.5f aperture to collect more light. The ultra-wide camera stays at 12-megapixels. There's also a new 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera, with auto-focus, for taking selfies or used with FaceTime video calls.
A new feature coming to iPhone 14's camera is called Photonic Engine. Apple uses its Deep Fusion image processing earlier in the photographic process, capturing more detail, color and lighting in the image that's captured.
Video on the iPhone now comes with an Action Mode to stabilize video when you're active, such as when running.
Apple's also making a big push for customers to switch over from a plastic SIM card to an eSIM that's embedded in the phone and can be programmed and changed with the tap of a button or two. In fact, Apple has removed the SIM card tray from the iPhone 14 altogether. eSIM or bust, eh?
The iPhone 14 also features crash detection just like the new Apple Watch models, which can detect if you're in a car accident and alert emergency responders.
The rumored satellite connectivity feature for the iPhone 14 is real. The iPhone 14 will be able to connect to satellites when you're in an area where there's no cellular service, so you can contact emergency responders and request help. Emergency SOS via Satellite uses the iPhone 14's antennas to connect directly to a satellite, with the phone directing and telling you exactly where to point the phone to ensure a connection. You'll be able to send messages using the new feature.
Also: How the Apple iPhone 14 connects to satellites during emergencies
It's hard to not see Emergency SOS via Satellite being a feature that's highlighted in Apple commercials as having saved lives a year from now. It will be free for two years, starting with the iPhone 14 in the US and Canada. Emergency SOS via Satellite launches in November.
The iPhone 14 starts at $799, while the iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899. You can preorder either model starting Sept. 9, with the iPhone 14 shipping Sept. 16 and the iPhone 14 Plus shipping Oct. 7.
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
ZDNET Recommends
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max features a slightly new design, at least when it comes to the notch -- or lack there of -- on the display. Instead of a notch, there's now a cutout just below the top of the screen that houses the new TrueDepth camera. Instead of leaving the cutout on its own, Apple uses it as a starting and stopping point for new alerts and notifications that appear to show up from the new cutout, or as Apple calls it - the Dynamic Island. All jokes about the name aside, it really does look useful. We'll see, though.
There are four colors for the iPhone 14 Pro models this year. They are space black, silver, gold and deep purple.
The iPhone 14 Pro has a new display, keeping the same sizes of 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch with a peak brightness of 2000 nits. But wait, there's more -- the iPhone 14 Pro will have an always-on display, a first for the iPhone, and something that Android phones have had for years.
It's a feature that's been rumored to come to the iPhone for awhile now, and one that makes sense to bring to life alongside the new lock screen widgets
Inside the iPhone 14 Pro line is a new A16 Bionic processor. It's a 4nm chip with 16 billion resistors. Apple included a Display Engine in the A16 Bionic that allows the always-on display to exist without draining the iPhone's battery. At least that's according to Apple, we'll have to wait and see what battery life is like in actual use.
The camera system on the iPhone 14 Pro has an upgraded 48-megapixel camera with a quad-pixel sensor. With the larger sensor, Apple is able to do some impressive things, such as directly crop the image on the sensor and provide a 2x telephoto picture option. The ultra-wide camera is 12-megapixels, with improvements across the board, including its macro mode capability. Apple mentioned the dedicated telephoto lens but didn't go into any details. Now that the iPhone 14 Pro website is up, I can tell you that the telephoto camera is 12-megapixels.
Apple estimates the battery life of the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max will stay strong enough to power through a full day.
The iPhone 14 Pro will start at $999 and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099. Preorders start on Friday, Sept. 9. Deliveries will begin a week later on Friday, Sept. 16.
When can I preorder the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro?
Preorders for all four iPhone 14 models will begin on Friday, Sept. 9. Preorders usually start at 5:01 am PT/8:01 am ET. Orders of the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will begin to arrive at the same time as in-store availability, beginning on Friday, Sept. 16. The iPhone 14 Pluswill follow with shipping and availability on Oct. 7.
You can order directly from Apple, of course, and I'm certain carriers along with retailers will begin announcing preorder or launch plans before the end of the day.