Standardization is a particular aspect of the industrialization of product design. On the one hand, it aims to assure you of a reference that you can expect from a product. On the other hand, standardizing a product can also make it appear lukewarm in terms of the level of innovation. This is evidenced by the growing smartphone upgrade cycle in India – while the average smartphone usage time was estimated at around six months in 2015, at present the same duration is around 30 months. .
Among other factors is the fact that users these days don’t see the features that would require them to upgrade to a new phone, thus turning new phone purchases into a purely discretionary expense – something users would choose to upgrade to. engage from a lifestyle perspective. The new Apple iPhone 14 is the personification of this.
Also read: Apple iPhone 14 Pro review: Is the new display a ‘dynamic’ next step?
On the face of it, the iPhone 14 is as incremental an upgrade as it could have been. It uses the same processor as before, the A15 Bionic – a sign that Apple itself doesn’t particularly consider it a true ‘upgrade’ of sorts. It uses the same screen – still without a fast refresh rate that you’ll find in even the cheapest Android smartphones today. The cameras retain the same sensor as before and the battery is 1.2% larger than the iPhone 13.
Just on that basis, users who upgraded to the iPhone 13 last year would do well to avoid upgrading again — at least not to the iPhone 14.
But, given that the iPhone still retains an ambitious label unlike most other (even premium) smartphones, it still attracts users who are at least curious about the next generation of the lineup.
First, then, come get it. The iPhone 14 is identical to the iPhone 13 from the outside, unless you follow the colors of the iPhone very closely. Just for that reason, if social credibility is something that appeals to your gadget-buying decision, you wouldn’t really attract the envious stares of your neighbors with the iPhone 14.
Apple swapped the green and pink options for purple this year, while the dark blue shade has been replaced with a light, rather pleasant shade of blue that I like. Other than that, the diagonal camera layout is the same and the new notch design only arrived on the ‘Pro’ model this year. The thickness differs by a tenth of a millimeter — and frankly you’d be wrong if you say you can notice the difference.
The iPhone 14 screen is smoother as the new phone has more memory to handle heavier apps and games. The difference isn’t exactly big, and it’s something you’ll only feel if you compare it to an iPhone 12. For all intents and purposes, the iPhone 13 is just as smooth. It feels faster to play, and even without a new processor, Apple seems to have gotten slightly better performance thanks to more memory on hand.
This, in terms of performance for most mainstream games and photo/video editing applications, makes the iPhone 14 as smooth as the iPhone 13 Pro. It might be the iPhone 14’s biggest win, but the lack of a fast “ProMotion” refresh rate panel on it means that once the iPhone 14 has at least more a year, the little flickers and stutters will start to appear.
But it also means that if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 11 or iPhone 12, the iPhone 14 might just be a prudent buy. Developers have yet to figure out creating use cases for the Dynamic Island notch on the iPhone 14 Pro, and for the most part, the quality of the main camera should be enough for creators and enthusiasts.
That brings us to the camera, where you’ll likely feel a difference from before. Apple’s use of an overhauled machine learning technique, which it calls the “Photonic Engine,” will clearly give you brighter, sharper photos at night. But the cost of those brighter images lies in image noise – large, prominent grains that totally devour the darker shadows of low-light photography.
The main camera lens is a little faster, using the f/1.5 aperture this year. Simply put, this means that your new iPhone will be able to take more stable photos at the same brightness level as older “vanilla” iPhones. You’ll notice this difference more obviously if you hang out in dirty bars every weekend and really want to show off how much better the new iPhone is. It’s clearly better, but could do well by improving its noise reduction algorithms.
What’s also better is the front camera, which now has a noticeably faster lens that can absorb more light in dark conditions, and also has autofocus. As a result, self-portraits are generally sharper and retain better detail when partying.
The new “Action Mode” on the video side is trying to break into action camera territory, and companies that have attempted to miniaturize pro-level video stabilization have typically had to build a very expensive device, use a miniaturized gyroscope engine that inflates a phone, or compromised video quality.
While expense isn’t much of a factor here, Apple hasn’t bloated its phone. Instead, it uses an age-old trick of cropping in a sensor, while using software to adjust the video to a horizontal plane. The results aren’t terribly impressive in terms of video fidelity, however, as objects in stabilized video look pretty soft.
The “action mode” also constantly prompts you to find a brighter environment, ironically even inside brightly lit office interiors. This basically proves that Action Mode, much like Cinematic Mode, is still a work in progress. They have huge potential, and a future software update will hopefully improve the mode as well. But, they are not yet ready to be compelling buying factors for the mighty iPhone.
So how is the iPhone 14, and who is it really for? First of all, if you’re looking for a bit of social glamor and pizzazz, nothing below Apple’s three-camera ‘Pro’ models would work – which makes the iPhone 14 a moot point anyway.
But if you’re reading this, you’re probably considering the iPhone 14 anyway. If you’re upgrading from the iPhone 11 or iPhone 12, the new iPhone 14 will definitely feel smoother and have a better camera. iPhone 13 users would do well to skip this one (or the iPhone 14 Pro as well), and for first-time iPhone buyers, the price of ₹79,900 makes it a new enough, good enough, and reliable enough phone to buy.
Admittedly, it’s the iPhone that offers all of its improvements in fine print. But, for what it’s worth, its incremental improvements make it feel like a new phone, as long as you’ve spent at least two years or more with your old iPhone.
Also read: The Apple MacBook Air enigma: M1 or M2?
#Apple #iPhone #review #warrant #upgrade #years #phone
