iPhone 14 First Impressions: Did Apple Actually Release An iPhone 13s?

iPhone 14 has nothing new to offer when compared to iPhone 13 — be it specs, design, or even the price.

Back when Apple was not into the Pro-s and the Max-s, the only special iPhone we used to get from the series used to be the Plus and the ‘s’ models. The Plus variants usually came as the bigger versions of the vanilla iPhones and both used to get launched alongside each other. The next year Apple would add some changes — improved cameras, better processor, longer battery life, and others, all in comparison to the iPhone launched the year before. This used to be the ‘s’ model. 

Most of us believed that the ‘s’ series was a thing of the past but as it turns out, Apple has not given up on the special edition iPhone series just yet. The brand released an s-series phone this year with the iPhone 14 lineup as well. No, it was not part of a secret launch event that happened at a classified venue. It was launched with all the other devices launched at the Far Out event that happened recently. Apple only decided to change its name and call it the iPhone 14.  

Before you accuse us of talking nonsense, hear us out. These are our first impressions of the iPhone 13s…err… iPhone 14. 

iPhone 14 first impressions: Looks the same as iPhone 13

Have you seen the iPhone 13? Well, that's pretty much the iPhone 14 for you. The two phones are so similar that if you put the two up on a table, you will not be able to tell the two phones apart. Look at them, hold them, feel them, and there will be a fat chance of telling which one is which — they are actually that similar. 

The fact that Apple has recycled and reused the exact same design this year for the iPhone 14 aside, the design of the iPhone 14 is not at all bad. If you liked the look of the iPhone 13, you would like the iPhone 14 as well (they look the same).  

The phone comes with a slim bezel front, paired with the regular iPhone notch. It comes with Ceramic Shield on the front which is the toughest glass on any smartphone as per Apple’s claims. The front is also home to the inbuilt stereo speaker which is placed right on the edge of the top bezel while the notch holds the front camera and the Face ID sensors. 

The iPhone 14 also comes with flat sides made of aero-space grade aluminium. The smooth, buffed sides house the lock/ SOS button on the right while the volume buttons and the ring/silent slider sit on the left.  

The top of iPhone 14 is bare while the base holds the stereo speaker, the Lightning port, and microphones. 

Flip the phone around and the iPhone 13 vibes will continue to hit you. The device has a dual camera arrangement on the top left corner. The two cameras are (again) placed diagonally on a raised, matte platform. The rest of the back is covered in glossy, reflective glass and a shiny Apple logo sits right in the middle. We received the Purple colour variant which has just a hint of purple and is more light lilac which can often look like white. Some might call that subtly classy, but we would have honestly preferred a darker, more distinct shade. 

The phone has almost the same measurements as the iPhone 13 as well. It is 146.7mm tall and 71.5mm wide, which is identical to the iPhone 13. That said, at 7.80mm, the iPhone 14 is slightly thicker than the iPhone 13 which is 7.65 mm thick.  

You would think a thicker iPhone would weigh more but Apple somehow has reduced the weight of the iPhone 14 to 172 grams — 2 grams lighter than the iPhone 13. Barely noticeable, though.  

There is no change in the feel of the iPhone either. The iPhone 13 was a premium-looking (and premium-feeling) phone which goes for the iPhone 14 as well. The glass back does pick up scratches and smudges easily which means casing the phone as soon as you get it out of the box would be your best bet to keep it looking new and shiny.  

The iPhone 14 also comes with IP68 dust and water resistance which means you can dunk it in water and the phone will still keep going.

iPhone 14 first impressions: Similar specs, with a few tweaks 

The specs story is not that different from the design story either. The iPhone 14 does not just look like the iPhone 13 but the specs sheet might look a little too familiar as well. The biggest difference between the two different generations of iPhones almost always used to be a new processor but with the iPhone 14, Apple has decided to go from a completely new processor to a better but older processor. 

Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 are powered by the same A15 Bionic processor, but the one in the iPhone 14 comes with a variant of the chip that was actually seen in the iPhone 13 Pro series and has a 6-core GPU as compared to the 5-core GPU on the iPhone 13. 

This seems a little underwhelming considering that in the past both the plain and Pro iPhones had the same Bionic chip. As to what difference that extra GPU core makes, we will discover that in the coming days when we use the phone more thoroughly. 

Other than that, the iPhone 14 has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with 2532x1170-pixel resolution at 460ppi, similar to the iPhone 13, and yes, even the same notch for Face ID (no Dynamic Island here, folks, that's for the Pro types) as well as the very "normal" 60 Hz refresh rate.  

We know some folks have an issue with that refresh rate, especially with even budget Android phones having 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rates, but we were fine with it on the iPhone 13 and so far, it has not affected our viewing experience on the iPhone 14 either. 

The iPhone 14 also brings two 12-megapixel camera sensors on the back like the iPhone 13 but Apple claims they are new and improved. The main wide sensor has a bigger f/1.5 aperture and the camera combo comes with Apple’s new Photonic Engine which is supposed to improve the phone’s low light skills and deliver better details. 

The iPhone 14 also comes with Action mode in video recording which is expected to bring extra stability to your videos. The megapixel count on the front-facing camera is also 12-megapixel, the same as the iPhone 13 but the iPhone 14 has a bigger f/1.9 aperture and comes with support for Apple’s Photonic Engine, and what's more, has autofocus for the first time. 

All said and done, the iPhone 14 has a bit more photography muscle than the 13, but the point to be remembered is that the iPhone 13 was pretty good as it was. 

iPhone 14 first impressions: More battery hours, crash detection, and crash-free software

The slight extra thickness of the iPhone 14 could be because of the battery, which Apple claims is better than the 13. It delivers an extra hour of battery life on video playback and an extra five hours of audio playback. 

We remember the battery life of the iPhone 13 being rather good, and this would take things up a clear notch. Like its predecessors, the phone supports wireless charging and comes with support for 20 W fast charging which may not be the fastest by industry standards but can get your phone charged up to 50 percent in 30 minutes. And no, there's no charger in the box even now.  

Apart from SOS, Apple has also added a crash detection feature on the iPhone 14. Thanks to a number of motion sensors, a new dual-core accelerometer, and gyroscope, the iPhone 14 will be able to detect accidents and call for help, if the user cannot. The phone runs on the much-respected and smooth iOS 16 out of the box and supports 5G as well.

iPhone 14 first impressions: Same price as iPhone 13

At a starting price of Rs 79,900 for the 128GB model, the price of the iPhone 14 also remains the same as the launch price of the iPhone 13, which is a feat considering general inflationary trends in the smartphone market. 

Some would say that it seems almost too similar to the iPhone 13, but Apple claims that with that familiar exterior comes superior performance, thanks to that slightly better processor, better cameras, and more battery life. 

See what we meant about getting iPhone 13s feels? Perhaps Apple could have called it that.