iPhone 14 (Pro) vs iPhone 13 (Pro), Is It Time to Upgrade to iPhone 14?

The newest Apple's flagship series, including iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, are finally here. Are you on the fence about getting new iPhone 14 (Pro) or stay with iPhone 13? You may be curious how iPhone 14 Pro fares up against its predecessor, in the face of Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro. After all, Apple rule the smartphone world. If you are eagerly anticipated the iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13 confrontation, scroll down and check the face-offs between iPhone 14/Pro and iPhone 13/Pro in details.

Part 1. iPhone 14 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro: Display

• Overall change: ★★★★☆
• Summary: iPhone 14 Pro lineup features always-on display that isn’t available on iPhone 13 models.

According to Apple, the highly-anticipated always-on display feature is added to the new iPhone 14 Pro lineup. This falls in line with the expectations. Actually, the code of new iOS 16 operating system announced at WWDC 2022 on June 6, 2022 had tipped that the AOD is implemented onto iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max.

Another big difference between the Pros is the screen. With the similar screens on iPhone 13 Pro (Max), iPhone 14 Pro (Max) features the same Super Retina XDR ProMotion display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, aiming to make some on-screen motion smoother. On top of that, the fresh models have higher outdoor brightness, twice as bright as iPhone 13 Pro.

Part 2. iPhone 14/Pro vs iPhone 13/Pro: Design

• Overall change: ★★★★☆
• Summary: There is no notch on iPhone 14 Pro lineup compared to iPhone 13 lineup.

There isn't much difference between iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13 change in terms of design. But when it comes to the Pro versions, something changes a lot.

Apple’s notch design creates a debate spike in the iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13 confrontation. If you hate Apple’s notch, you may be lucky to find that the design of the new iPhone 14 Pro/Max undergoes a major change compared to its predecessors. Despite iPhone 13 shrunk the notch by 20% compared with iPhone 12, it is still far from perfect for Apple fans who want a clean and unobstructed display.

Now iPhone 14 Pro models look radically different from iPhone 13 Pro lineup, dropping the notch for the new design. Instead, the new iPhone 14 Pro models get a round punch hole for front-facing camera and a pill-shaped cutout for Face ID, while the regular edition iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus still stick with the smaller notch design of iPhone 13.

Screen size and resolution are the same as iPhone 13. The iPhone 14 Pro series get 6.1-inch and 6.7 inch models, the same to the current iPhone 13 pro.

Part 3. iPhone 14 (Pro) vs iPhone 13 (Pro): Chip and Performance

• Overall change: ★★★☆☆
• Summary: iPhone 14 Pro gets Apple's new A16 chip, but iPhone 14 retains the same old A15 chipset as iPhone 13 models.

In terms of performance face-off between iPhone 14 and iPhone 13, the standard iPhone 14 is still powered by the same processor as the iPhone 13, A15 Bionic chip with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM instead of 4GB. While the iPhone 14 Pro series are packed with a new system-on-chip A16 Bionic, a slight upgrade over the predecessor.

Apple adopts 4nm process instead of a 3 nanometer chip in the next-gen A16 chip due to technical challenges, an upgrade from the 5nm-based A15 bionic. But we can expect the 3nm process will be released along with the iPhone 15 in 2023. Now the new A16 chip comes with a faster 6-core CPU meant to handle computer-intensive workloads efficiently, and 5-core GPU that houses up to 50% more memory bandwidth. Besides, satellite connectivity is in all iPhone 14 models, though it is available in US and Canada in November.

And in benchmark tests, the iPhone 14 Pro uses 20% less power. With the new A16 Bionic chip powering the iPhone 14 Pro lineup – Apple’s new flagship iPhone 14 Pro puts up much of a fight against the iPhone 13 Pro and its A15 Bionic chip, and once again leaves flagship phones in the dust across the industry.

Part 4. iPhone 14 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro: Cameras

• Overall change: ★★★★☆
• Summary: iPhone 14 Pro models introduce a 48-megapixel camera, along with greatly enhanced front-facing camera.

iPhone 14 Pro brings a big upgrade over iPhone 13 Pro in terms of cameras. The newer model brings a massive 1/1.3-inch 48MP sensor, quite the upgrade from the 12MP sensor used across the iPhone 13 family. We unfortunately find that the new sensor doesn't allow for 8K video recording in iPhone 14. Instead, it is the same to the current iPhone 13 that can only capture 4K at 60fps. However, the camera bump is marginally thicker than the previous-generation iPhone 13 Pro models, as a move to hold the new camera hardware.

In addition, iPhone 14 gets an upgraded front-facing camera, featuring a wider f/1.9 aperture and autofocus. This is great for vloggers and users who enjoy a good-looking selfie since it takes brighter selfie in better focus.

Part 5. iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: Battery

• Overall change: ★☆☆☆☆
• Summary: There is no much difference between iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 in terms of battery life.

As rumored, iPhone 14 Pro doesn't diverge too much from the iPhone 13 Pro, the former of which makes a slight jump in battery life from 3095mAh to 3200mAh.

To be specific, the new standard and pro editions of iPhone 14 slightly exceed the 19 hours the iPhone 13 Pro did and 15 hours the iPhone 13 did, managing to ensure up to 29 hours video playback on its Pro Max, and 23 hours on its Pro.

Part 6. iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: USB-C

• Overall change: ★☆☆☆☆
• Summary: Apple doesn't ship the USB-C in iPhone 14.

As for the charging front, iPhone 14 series still doesn't adopt a USB-C port or retire Lightning finally, despite of the pressure from the European Commission to adopt the charging port standard on all electronics.

Of course, this decision has the biggest impact on Apple, which is almost the only vendor that current doesn’t use USB-C charging ports. It’s estimated Apple has sold 241M iPhones last year, 56M of which were gobbled up in Europe.

Despite of that, iPhone 14 still keeps the Lightning port like the iPhone 13, and you cannot see the USB-C until the release of iPhone 15.

Part 7. iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: Touch ID

• Overall change: ★★★★☆
• Summary: iPhone 14 doesn't bring back Touch ID.

It seems to be ridiculous that it's almost 2022 and we are still wearing masks in many places, whether it's airport, movie theater, or public transit. So it makes a sense to have the Touch ID integrated into the new iPhone 14 rather than sticking to iPhone 13’s Face ID.

Apple reportedly began testing Touch ID on the iPhone 13 before it was released, and early rumors have hinted the return of Touch ID in the form of an under-display fingerprint scanner. But to our disappointment, the new iPhone 14 doesn't ship with Touch ID.

Part 8. iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: iOS 16

• Overall change: ★★★★☆
• Summary: both iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 series have the ability to upgrade to the new iOS 16.

As expected, Apple officially unveiled iOS 16 at WWDC and it has set tongues wagging about the iPhone 14. While Apple announced a long list of new features coming to the next-generation release - including a revamped customizable lock screen with widgets and multiple pages, overhauls of iMessage (edit/recall messages), Apple Pay, a new Safety Check security feature designed to protect people in abusive relationships, etc.

Both iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 supports the new iOS 16. The iPhone 14 family comes with iOS 16 on board. And you can upgrade iPhone 13 or elder version to iOS 16. However, new iOS update is generally accompanied with problems. So you’d better back up your iPhone first before updating to iOS 16.

Part 9. iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: Price

• Overall change: ★★★☆☆
• Summary: Price of iPhone 14 remains the same to that of iPhone 13, starting cost of $799. While Plus is $100 more pricy than iPhone 14.

As far as the pricing is concerned, iPhone 14 is likely to be similar to the iPhone 13, with a price hike by $100 in the other three models. The price hike is because of several factors including the more expensive components, display, price inflation, etc.

Specifically, the standard iPhone 14 will start at $799 like the iPhone 13, and the rumored iPhone 14 max may go at $899. While guess for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max can be between $1099 and $1199 respectively, another $100 over the previous iPhone 13. Here are the anticipations.

Part 10. Other Features differences between iPhone 14 and iPhone 13

In addition to the above changes, there is one minor color addition that the new iPhone 14 brings over iPhone 13. As for the iPhone 14 colors, it has 5-6 different color versions for iPhone 14 and 14 Max models, including Midnight, Purple, Starlight, (PRODUCT)RED, Blue, while colors about iPhone 14 Pro series include space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple. That means iPhone 14 family ships with a new purple option that iPhone 13 doesn’t have.

Sum Up

From the above-mentioned iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 face-off, we can draw a conclusion that iPhone 14 is almost similar to iPhone 13, with near identical design, display, chip, and rear camera. There are some minimal upgrades such as the addition to AOD feature, new dynamic range (removal of notch from its pro series and bumped camera). If you are excited about the changes made from iPhone 13, iPhone 14 is probably the phone to buy.

We are for sure that there are still some problems with the new iPhone 14, especially the new Dynamic Range. And we will keep updating our post and give you the most trustful sources so that you can make a better decision whether to stick to iPhone 13 or move to iPhone 14. So stay tuned.