Apple iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: A big & cheaper iPhone but what’s missing
At the Far Out event, 7th September 2022, Apple gave us a bigger and more affordable iPhone 14 Plus with a 6.7-inch display equal in size to that on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Price wise, this slots between iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro which makes it the most affordable big phone from Apple.
Gone is the iPhone 14 mini but in its place at the other end of the size spectrum, is the bigger 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus mirroring the Pro offerings of 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch. Apple also freezes the prices on the Pro offerings making the pricing for iPhones really clear-cut. The prices for iPhone 14s and 14 Pros are $799, $899, $999, $1099 for standard, Plus, Pro, Pro Max respectively.
1. Cheaper to Buy
Big and cheaper doesn’t always come hand-in-hand. In the case of iPhone 14 Plus, it bucks that trend. At $899, it only costs 81.8% the price of the Pro Max. That’s nearly 20% cheaper. Yet the display is 21% bigger than the iPhone 14 Plus. So, the price and size are right, and most people would go for it if their buying decision is a financial one however, what are the compromises? What’s missing from this big iPhone 14 Plus when comparing it to the iPhone 14 Pro Max? We look at a spec-by-spec comparison here.
2. Colour Options and Finish
As before, the colour options for iPhone 14s are more vibrant and exciting. The aluminium frame with glass front and back body is available in Blue (light blue), Purple (light lavender), Midnight (black), Starlight (white) and Product Red (bright red). While, the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s stainless steel body, with glass front and back is available in Deep Purple, Gold, Silver and Space Black. The purple
3. Notch vs Pill
Also for the first time, Apple has decided to adopt the Pill shaped cut-out for the new iPhone 14 Pro Max. The iPhone 14 Plus retains the notched design, already an iconic design on all iPhones prior including the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Now, instead of calling it the pill-shaped, Apple calls this the Dynamic Island as it changes in size to accommodate new information dynamically and hides the true size of the cut-out. This makes it more seamless in design and works better with the app in use.
4. Last Years Chip
Here is the single biggest most significant feature that prompted many to criticise Apple for selling what is effectively last year’s model as new. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus use last year’s iPhone 13 chip. Granted that the Bionic A15 is still a strong chip with 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU but it is not the new generation Bionic A16. That chip is now reserved for Pro series.
The one thing you can take comfort is that this A15 Bionic chip is not crippled in anyway with all 5-core GPU firing versus last year’s iPhone 13 with only 4-core GPU enabled. You will see some improvements in gaming thanks to its updated internal design but that’s it. It allows for better heat management, letting you game for longer.
5. Super Retina XDR Display
Notch or pill, both are big 6.7-inch OLED panels Apple calls Super Retina XDR display. The difference is, one is more fluid with high dynamic refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz (ProMotion technology) and the other, we are guessing is a standard 60Hz. And, while it is common among some Android phones, the iPhone 14 Pro gets Always-on display. Resolutions on both panels are quite close, almost identical in fact. Both displays are also just as bright with typical use with the iPhone 14 Pro Max performing better outdoor with up to 2000nits peak brightness.
- iPhone 14 Plus: Super Retina XDR display 6.7-inch all-screen OLED 2778‑by‑1284-pixel resolution at 458 ppi
- iPhone 14 Pro Max: Super Retina XDR display 6.7-inch all-screen OLED 2796‑by‑1290-pixel resolution at 460 ppi
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | iPhone 14 Plus |
|---|---|
| Dynamic Island | Notched Design |
| Always-On display | NA |
| ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz | NA |
| HDR display | HDR display |
| True Tone | True Tone |
| Wide color (P3) | Wide color (P3) |
| Haptic Touch | Haptic Touch |
| 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical) | 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical) |
| 1000 nits max brightness (typical); 1600 nits peak brightness (HDR); 2000 nits peak brightness (outdoor) | 800 nits max brightness (typical); 1200 nits peak brightness (HDR) |
| Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating | Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating |
| Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously | Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously |
6. Optics
Apart from the chip, the next biggest disadvantage comparing iPhone 14 Plus to the iPhone 14 Pro Max is its rear cameras. As before, the standard iPhone 14 and now iPhone 14 Plus relies on two rear shooters while the Pro series has three with an all-new 48MP advanced quad-pixel sensor (65% larger than iPhone 13 Pro). Again, such a sensor is not new with Android handsets but it is a first for Apple.
The iPhone 14 Plus still uses a pair of 12MP Wide and Ultra Wide. Undoubtedly, the Pro camera system on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is way more advanced but in practice, for the rest of us, what’s missing really are the 3x telephone 12MP sensor, the ability to crop in for 2x telephoto on the quad pixel sensor and shoot 0.5x ultra wide macro. So the optical zoom steps on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are 0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 3x while the iPhone 14 Plus only comes with 0.5x and 1x, that’s just 2x optical zoom out with no telephoto zoom.
The front facing TrueDepth camera on both phones are virtually identical. Just like the main rear main shooter, it misses out on the ability to capture images in RAW and video in ProRES format.
Main Rear Shooter
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | iPhone 14 Plus |
| Pro camera system | Dual-camera system |
| 48MP Main: 24 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels | 12MP Main: 26 mm, ƒ/1.5 aperture, sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels |
| 12MP Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view, six‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels | 12MP Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view, five‑element lens |
| 12MP 2x Telephoto (enabled by quad-pixel sensor): 48 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels | NA |
| 12MP 3x Telephoto: 77 mm, ƒ/2.8 aperture, optical image stabilization, six-element lens | NA |
| 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range; digital zoom up to 15x | 2x optical zoom out; digital zoom up to 5x |
| Sapphire crystal lens cover | Sapphire crystal lens cover |
| Adaptive True Tone flash | True Tone flash |
| Photonic Engine | Photonic Engine |
| Deep Fusion | Deep Fusion |
| Smart HDR 4 | Smart HDR 4 |
| Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control | Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control |
| Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono) | Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono) |
| Night mode | Night mode |
| Night mode portraits enabled by LiDAR Scanner | NA |
| Panorama (up to 63MP) | Panorama (up to 63MP) |
| Photographic Styles | Photographic Styles |
| Macro photography | NA |
| Apple ProRAW | NA |
| Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos | Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos |
| Lens correction (Ultra Wide) | Lens correction (Ultra Wide) |
| Advanced red‑eye correction | Advanced red‑eye correction |
| Auto image stabilization | Auto image stabilization |
| Burst mode | Burst mode |
| Photo geotagging | Photo geotagging |
| Image formats captured: HEIF, JPEG, and DNG | Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG |
Front Selfie TrueDepth Shooter
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | iPhone 14 Plus |
| 12MP camera | 12MP camera |
| ƒ/1.9 aperture | ƒ/1.9 aperture |
| Autofocus with Focus Pixels | Autofocus with Focus Pixels |
| Six‑element lens | Six‑element lens |
| Retina Flash | Retina Flash |
| Photonic Engine | Photonic Engine |
| Deep Fusion | Deep Fusion |
| Smart HDR 4 | Smart HDR 4 |
| Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control | Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control |
| Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono) | Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono) |
| Animoji and Memoji | Animoji and Memoji |
| Night mode | Night mode |
| Photographic Styles | Photographic Styles |
| Apple ProRAW | NA |
| Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos | Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos |
| Lens correction | Lens correction |
| Auto image stabilization | Auto image stabilization |
| Burst mode | Burst mode |
| 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps | 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps |
| 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps | 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps |
| Cinematic mode up to 4K HDR at 30 fps | Cinematic mode up to 4K HDR at 30 fps |
| HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps | HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps |
| ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage) | NA |
| Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps | Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps |
| Time‑lapse video with stabilization | Time‑lapse video with stabilization |
| Night mode Time-lapse | Night mode Time-lapse |
| QuickTake video | QuickTake video |
| Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) | Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) |
7. Video Recording
On the subject of sensors and cameras, the iPhone 14 Plus doesn’t support ProRes video recording of any kind. It also doesn’t support Macro video recording (slo-mo or time-lapse) due to the lack of the third lens. It does however share the same Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field in 4K HDR up to 30fps and up to a 4K video recording at various frame rates (24, 25, 30 and 60fps) with HDR, Dolby Vision and Action Mode using sensor-shift Optical Image Stabilisation. So, the only compromise here really is the lack of ProRes video recording on both front and rear cameras.
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | iPhone 14 Plus |
| 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps | 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps |
| 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps | 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps |
| 720p HD video recording at 30 fps | 720p HD video recording at 30 fps |
| Cinematic mode up to 4K HDR at 30 fps | Cinematic mode up to 4K HDR at 30 fps |
| Action mode up to 2.8K at 60 fps | Action mode up to 2.8K at 60 fps |
| HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps | HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps |
| ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage) | NA |
| Macro video recording, including slo-mo and time-lapse | NA |
| Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps | Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps |
| Time‑lapse video with stabilization | Time‑lapse video with stabilization |
| Night mode Time-lapse | Night mode Time-lapse |
| QuickTake video | QuickTake video |
| Second‑generation sensor‑shift optical image stabilization for video (Main) | Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video (Main) |
| Dual optical image stabilization for video (Main and Telephoto) | 2x optical zoom out |
| 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range | NA |
| Digital zoom up to 9x | Digital zoom up to 3x |
| Audio zoom | Audio zoom |
| True Tone flash | True Tone flash |
| Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) | Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) |
| Continuous autofocus video | Continuous autofocus video |
| Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video | Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video |
| Playback zoom | Playback zoom |
| Video formats recorded: HEVC, H.264, and ProRes | Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264 |
| Stereo recording | Stereo recording |
8. Battery Life
This won’t make a huge of difference but the iPhone 14 Pro Max will lasts up to 3 hours longer at 29hours compared to the already long battery life of the iPhone 14 Plus, up to 26 hours on a full charge. Both phone support fast MagSafe charging with the right accessories.
Search Apple iPhone 14 Plus on Amazon
Final Thoughts
To summarise, the iPhone 14 Plus is cheaper because it has the old notched display design from iPhone 13 Pro Max, last year’s A15 Bionic chip, 2 versus 3 main shooters with standard 12MP sensors instead of 48MP Quad Pixel sensor. Still, it benefits from the new Photonic Engine for better low light performance, Action Motion for steady video capture, Cinematic mode for shift focus, 2x zoom out but no ProRes video recording capabilities.
Even the front facing TrueDepth camera receives an upgrade with larger aperture for 2x better low light performance. It misses out on the new Dynamic Island pill shaped cut-out for front camera and sensors and Always-On display. It also has slightly dimmer display although on normal use, you wouldn’t notice it. Plus, slightly shorter but still very long battery life at up to 26 hours. The new iPhone 14 and 14 Plus also benefits from the all new Emergency SOS via satellite and Crash Detection that automatically triggers a call to the emergency services or contact.
What do you think, are these features worth paying extra for or if you would rather stick with last year’s chip just so you get a big display whilst enjoying a huge discount. Let us know in the comments below.
