iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14 Review: Which iPhone to buy?
Check out our in-depth comparison guide for a deeper dive into each phone's strengths
You can now buy any of the four new iPhone 15 models. They came out on September 12, 2023. The iPhone 15 is the standard one, and it has three siblings: the iPhone 15 Plus, the iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
These are some of the best iPhones ever. Want to know more about them? Check out iPhone 15 Pro review, and iPhone 15 Pro Max review for the other ones.
We also have some reviews that compare the top-end iPhones. See how the iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro are different. Or how the iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max compare as well as iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Plus . But in this article, we focus on the iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14. How do they match up? Let’s find out.
Contents
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: specs
| Specification | iPhone 15 | iPhone 14 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED with Dynamic Island, 1179×2556 pixels, 1000 nits (typical), 2000 nits (peak) | 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED, 1170×2532 pixels, 800 nits (typical), 1200 nits (peak) |
| Processor | A16 Bionic with 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine | A15 Bionic with 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
| Rear cameras | 48MP main with f/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift OIS, and 100% Focus Pixels; 12MP ultra-wide with f/2.4 aperture and 120-degree field of view; 12MP 2x telephoto with f/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift OIS, and 100% Focus Pixels | 12MP main with f/1.5 aperture, sensor-shift OIS, and 100% Focus Pixels; 12MP ultra-wide with f/2.4 aperture and 120-degree field of view |
| Front camera | 12MP with f/1.9 aperture and PDAF | 12MP with f/1.9 aperture and PDAF |
| Battery | 3349 mAh with 20W fast charging and 15W MagSafe wireless charging | 3279 mAh with 20W fast charging and 15W MagSafe wireless charging |
| Connectivity | USB-C, 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC | Lightning, 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC |
| Water resistance | IP68 (up to 6 meters for 30 minutes) | IP68 (up to 6 meters for 30 minutes) |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink | Midnight, Starlight, , Blue, Purple, Yellow |
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: price and availability
Apple didn’t change the prices of the iPhone 14 much from the previous iPhones. You can get a basic iPhone 14 for $799, an iPhone 14 Pro for $999, or an iPhone 14 Pro Max for $1,099. The only thing that changed was that they replaced the $699 iPhone 13 mini with a new $899 iPhone 14 Plus model. But if you live outside the U.S., you might have to pay more. In the U.K., the iPhone 14 starts at £849, the iPhone 14 Plus at £949, the iPhone 14 Pro at £1,099, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max at £1,199 — that’s at least £100 more than the iPhone 13 models.
It’s the same in Australia, where the iPhone 14 models are all more expensive than the iPhone 13 models. The iPhone 14 costs AU$1,399, the iPhone 14 Plus AU$1,579, the iPhone 14 Pro AU$1,749, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max AU$1,899.
But in the U.S., the only iPhone 15 model that costs more is the Pro Max version. It’s now $1,199, which is $100 more than before. The other iPhone 15 models have the same prices as the iPhone 14 models. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are still $799 and $899, and the iPhone 15 Pro is still $999.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: design
The iPhone 14 and 15 look almost the same, but they have some important differences, Dynamic Island and the USB-C port. The iPhone 15 has the new Dynamic Island, which makes the screen more useful. Some people might not like how much space it takes, but others might not mind it on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
And finally, Apple is switching from its Lightning port to the USB-C (Thanks EU!). That means Apple users won’t have to search for a Lightning cord among all the USB-C ones. This won’t change the preference for Samsung phones for some people, but it’s good to know that they can offer a charge to their friends and family if needed. That also makes the iPhone 14 a rare item, as it’s the last iPhone with the old Lightning port.
Another reason to like the iPhone 15 is that it has some fun colors in Apple’s otherwise serious lineup. The phone comes in Yellow, Green, Blue, Pink, White and Black. The iPhone 14, though, has more colors like Purple, Deep Purple, Starlight, Midnight, Space Black, Blue, Gold, Silver, Yellow and Product(RED). And because of its aluminum (mostly recycled) body, ceramic shield and water and dust-resistance, the iPhone 15 is one of the strongest iPhones ever.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: display
The iPhone 14 has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen with curved edges that fill the front. The iPhone 14 Plus has a bigger screen of 6.7 inches.
The screen resolution is 2,532 x 1,170 pixels for the iPhone 14 and 2,778 x 1,284 pixels for the iPhone 14 Plus, giving them both a sharp pixel density of around 460 ppi. They can show HDR content with up to 1,200 nits of brightness for HDR and 800 nits for normal use. They also have a high contrast ratio of 2 million:1 because of the OLED technology.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have similar screens of 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, but with slightly higher resolutions of 2,556 x 1,179 and 2,796 x 1,290 pixels respectively, keeping the same pixel density of 460 ppi.
Apple has also made the screens brighter, with up to 1,000 nits for normal use, 1,600 nits for HDR, and 2,000 nits for outdoor use.
The iPhone 14 has a notch at the top of the screen that houses the TrueDepth camera system. The iPhone 15 has a new Dynamic Island UI feature that adapts to the notch.
The screens of both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 have TrueTone, Wide color (P3), Haptic Touch, and a coating that resists fingerprints.
The iPhone 15 models have some features from the iPhone 14 Pro’s screens, but not all of them. For example, they do not have ProMotion, which is only available on the Pro models.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: cameras
All iPhone 15 models have a 48MP main camera, which is an upgrade from the iPhone 13 and 14. But the Pro models still have some extra features that make them stand out. They can take pictures in different focal lengths (24mm, 28mm and 35mm) and the iPhone 15 Pro Max camera has a special “tetra prism” telephoto lens that can zoom up to 5x and has a 120mm focal length.
This lens is so big that it only fits in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, not in the iPhone 15 Pro. The Pro models also have some software enhancements that the other models don’t, like a new Photonic Engine for better night shots and the help of the A17 Pro chip that runs the new Pro iPhones.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: performance
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 have different levels of performance, even though they look quite similar. The iPhone 14 runs on the A15 Bionic chip, which is the same as the iPhone 13 Pro from 2021. The A16 Bionic chip is only for the Pro models. The iPhone 15 also uses the A16 Bionic chip, which is what the iPhone 14 Pro had. This means the iPhone 15 is technically faster than the iPhone 14, but not by much.
The iPhone 14 is still a very speedy device. In other words, the performance gap between the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 is similar to the performance gap between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. Which isn’t very big. The iPhone 14 can handle most tasks with ease – the iPhone 15 just has a bit more juice to deal with streaming, swiping, snapping and gaming more smoothly. Both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 have the same storage options, with 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB to choose from. Apple doesn’t tell us how much RAM they have, but they are both said to have 6GB RAM.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: battery life
Apple doesn’t tell us what battery sizes are. The iPhone 14 has a 3,279mAh battery that can last for a whole day with normal use.
The iPhone 15 has just come out, so we don’t know its battery size yet. But we tested it and it also lasted for a whole day with casual use. By ‘whole day’, we mean about 15 hours, not 24 hours. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 have the same charging speed. You can charge them to 50% in 30 minutes. They also have the same wireless charging speed of 15W for MagSafe and 7.5W for Qi. But the iPhone 15 has a new feature: it supports Qi2, which is a new wireless charging standard. This means you might be able to charge it at 15W with cheaper, non-Apple chargers soon.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: connectivity
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 have similar cellular connectivity, with fast 5G support in both sub-6GHz and mmWave bands, and 4×4 MIMO. They also have Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO and LAA, which is a way of combining different frequencies.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 also have a new feature: Emergency SOS via Satellite. This lets people who are in remote areas without cell service send a message and get help via a satellite link. The iPhone 15 has another new feature like this: Roadside Assistance via Satellite. It works the same way, but it sends a message to a roadside service instead. The iPhone 14 can use both of these features too, even though they were introduced with the iPhone 15.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 also have Wi-Fi 6, or 802.11ax, which is a faster and more efficient Wi-Fi standard. They also have Bluetooth 5.3, which connects them to other devices and accessories.
One of the main differences between the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 14 is the type of port they use. The iPhone 15 has a USB-C port, which is a modern and widely used connection. The iPhone 14 has a Lighting port, which is an older and more exclusive connection that Apple has been using for years. Another difference is the chip inside the phones. The iPhone 15 and Plus have an upgraded chip that can do some cool things, like finding other iPhone 15 phones nearby with the same technology as an AirTag. But the iPhone 15 still has the same data transfer speed as the Lighting port, which is 480Mbps, not the 10Gbps that USB-C can do.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 have some other features that are common to all of them. They have GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou, which are systems that help with navigation. They have a digital compass, iBeacon microlocation, and NFC, which are technologies that help with orientation, location, and payment. NFC is mainly used with Apple Pay, which is a way of paying with your phone.
iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14: verdict
The decision depends on what iPhone you have now and what you want from a phone.
The iPhone 15 is a great phone that lasts long and has good features. But you don’t have to buy it every year. If you have an iPhone 13 or 14, you can skip the iPhone 15.
The iPhone 15 has some new things, like the Dynamic Island, a 48MP camera, a USB-C port, and a nicer design.
But you only need the iPhone 15 if you really want the new screen cutout or the better camera. The USB-C port is cool, too.
If you want more than that, you should get the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max. They have bigger changes and better cameras. The iPhone 15 is for iPhone fans who care more about quality and value than fancy stuff.
