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Apple iPhone 16 vs iPhone 14: What’s new two years on?
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Apple has just announced the long-awaitediPhone 16, but how does it compare to theiPhone 14?
It’s been two years since Apple first unveiled the iPhone 14 in September 2022, but it still remains a fantastic device. The question is, is it time to upgrade or should you save your money and stick with the iPhone 14 for another year?
If you’re upgrading from a newer phone then you can check out our breakdown of theiPhone 16 vs iPhone 15. For everyone else, keep on reading to discover all of the biggest differences between the iPhone 14 and the brand-new iPhone 16.
Price
The iPhone 16 was announced on September 9 2024. Prices start at $799/£799 when paired with the base 128GB of storage.
The iPhone 14 launched in September 2022 with prices starting at $799/£849/€999 for the 128GB model. Two years on, you can find the phone for less through Apple, as well as through third parties and on contract.
Amazon, for example, currently has the iPhone 14 listed for as low as £599.
The iPhone 16 includes the new Camera Control button
The iPhone 16 is two years ahead of the iPhone 14 in terms of development and this is particularly noticeable in the design.
Firstly, the iPhone 16 features both the customisableAction Buttonand theCamera Controlbutton that functions as both a more intuitive way to snap photos and a shortcut to the iPhone 16-exclusiveVisual Intelligencetool.
The display, meanwhile, is brighter at 2000 nits compared to the iPhone 14’s 1200 nits of brightness. It also sports the interactive Dynamic Island whereas the iPhone 14 has the older notch design at the top of the display.
iPhone 16 boasts a larger 48MP camera
Apple opted to return to a vertically stacked camera module on the iPhone 16, with the phone featuring the same 48-megapixel main camera that gained attention on last year’siPhone 15.
This main camera also supports 2x optical zoom and is paired with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera.
The iPhone 14 also features a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera. However, this is paired with a 12-megapixel main camera that is unable to achieve quite the same super-high-resolution stills as the iPhone 16 and doesn’t offer 2x optical zoom.
iPhone 16 packs a more advanced chipset
The iPhone 16 is powered by Apple’s new A18 chipset, which includes a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine built to support Apple’s incomingApple IntelligenceAI software features.
The A15 Bionic chipset found in the iPhone 14 also features a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine. However, the iPhone 14 is not capable of the processing power required to handle Apple Intelligence.
This means you won’t be able to access the systemwide Writing Tools, phone call summaries, notification summaries, Image Playground and Genmoji image generations or ChatGPT-backed Siri all coming withiOS 18.
iPhone 16 charges via USB-C
Finally, the iPhone 16 offers a slightly longer battery life, delivering 22 hours of video playback compared to the 20 hours offered by the iPhone 14. That said, we haven’t tested the battery ourselves yet, so you’ll want to hold on a bit longer to learn how the two iPhone batteries compare in our experience.
The iPhone 16 also charges via USB-C, whereas the iPhone 14 is stuck with the dated Lightning port. This makes it trickier to use the same cable for multiple devices when you’re on the go.
Both models support theMagSafe,Qi2and Qi wireless charging standards.
Early verdict
There are only two years between the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 16 but that doesn’t mean Apple hasn’t made some major changes in that time.
While there are plenty of design changes from the Dynamic Island and brighter display to the Camera Control button and USB-C charging port, the biggest difference is likely to be felt when interacting with Apple Intelligence which won’t be supported on the older iPhone 14.
Hannah joined Trusted Reviews as a staff writer in 2019 after graduating with a degree in English from Royal Holloway, University of London. She’s also worked and studied in the US, holding positions …
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
