
Six causes to purchase the iPhone 14 Plus over the iPhone 14 Pro Max
For the primary time ever, Apple is promoting two very huge telephones. There’s the iPhone 14 Pro Max beginning at $1,100, and there’s the iPhone 14 Plus for $899, which fits on sale right now. And whereas there are apparent variations between the 2 telephones, they may not be as main as you assume. Here are six causes to avoid wasting $200 and decide the iPhone 14 Plus over the Pro Max.
The show continues to be glorious
Like the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, the iPhone 14 Plus and 14 Pro Max have equivalent 6.7-inch display screen sizes. However, they’re not precisely created equally. On the iPhone 14 Pro Max, you get a number of options that aren’t accessible on the Plus: ProMovement with 120Hz refresh charge (versus 60Hz) and an always-on show.

The non-Pro iPhone 14 doesn’t have ProMovement or always-on, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a implausible show.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Those are implausible options that Pro Max customers will love. However, if you happen to’re coming from an iPhone 12 or XR, the show on the Plus will probably be simply pretty much as good as you had been used to in your outdated cellphone, simply greater. You’ve already lived for years with out ProMovement or always-on, so that you gained’t know what you’re lacking—and the iPhone 14 Plus’s show continues to be nice.
Battery life is definitely superior
We all know iPhones get implausible battery life, however Apple claims the iPhone 14 Plus will get the most effective battery lifetime of any iPhone ever. We’ll be working our personal assessments quickly, however early critiques corroborate Apple’s estimates. Reviewers report battery lifetime of 20-21 hours in video rundown assessments, which is about an hour longer than the iPhone 14 Pro Max in related assessments.
In real-world use, you’re more likely to get a number of days of use of the iPhone 14 Plus. According to The Verge’s Allison Johnson, “a day of average use with about two hours of screen-on time and loads of time away from Wi-Fi solely drained the battery by about 25 p.c.” So if you happen to’re upgrading from an iPhone 11 and even an iPhone 13, the development will probably be staggering: you’ll mainly by no means have to fret about reaching for a charger ever once more.
The cameras are nonetheless nice
Other than the Dynamic Island, the largest distinction between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and 14 Plus is the rear digicam. On the iPhone 14 Pro Max, you get a 48MP primary lens and a 12MP telephoto digicam, neither of that are discovered on the 14 Plus. In truth, the iPhone 14 has a really related digicam to the iPhone 13, with a dual-camera setup that pairs a 12MP vast digicam with a 12 MP ultra-wide digicam. But that doesn’t imply you gained’t take nice images with the Plus.

It solely has two cameras, however the iPhone 14 nonetheless takes superb images.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
The processors are mainly the identical
Apple cut up the A15 processor into two flavors with the iPhone 13—a 4-core GPU for the iPhone 13 and 13 mini, and a 5-core GPU variant for the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max—and took it even additional with the iPhone 14. The iPhone 14 Pro fashions have Apple’s latest A16 processor whereas the iPhone 14 Plus has the higher-end model of final 12 months’s A15.
But whereas it would look like an enormous improve, it’s actually not. In our testing, the A16 is barely sooner than the A15—actually not something that’s going to be noticeable in day-to-day use. So if you happen to purchase an iPhone 14 Plus it gained’t really feel any slower than an iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The Dynamic Island isn’t a must have characteristic but
The iPhone 14 Pro Max’s largest new characteristic isn’t {hardware}—it’s software program. The Dynamic Island—which is a characteristic that lives inside the brand new digicam cutout—is well probably the most fascinating and intriguing characteristic of the brand new cellphone and one which will probably be a standout on iPhones for years.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max’s Digital Island has tons of potential, nevertheless it’s at present not dwelling as much as it.
Foundry
But it’s not fairly there but. Most of the time the Dynamic Island is as lifeless because the notch, and even when iOS 16.1 launches with Live Activities, it’ll take a while earlier than builders correctly replace their apps to make the most of it. It’ll be a couple of months earlier than all that occurs and by then we’ll all be waiting for the iPhone 15 Plus—which can doubtless undertake the Dynamic Island too.
It might save your life
Apple launched two new iPhone options this 12 months: Crash Detection and Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc. Those two options might very properly save your life sooner or later—and so they’re accessible on all iPhone 14 fashions, Pro or no.
For extra assist selecting which iPhone to purchase learn our purchasing guides:
Which iPhone? iPhone shopping for information 2022
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