Should you buy the iPhone 14 for €1,019 or the iPhone 13 for €909?
Apple has made the iPhone 14 official as a successor to the iPhone 13. Are the two phones that different? The answer will surprise you.
During the back-to-school event, Apple made official the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which take over from the iPhone 13. Are there any significant new features to report? In fact, it’s not so much that the iPhone 14 could have been called the iPhone 13S – an iPhone with a nice inflation (€909 vs €1019 with a similar screen and capacity).
So the question arises, who wants to buy a new iPhone: should you get the iPhone 14 at all costs, or should you save a few euros and settle for the iPhone 13? Here’s our full comparison.
iPhone 13 and iPhone 14: what are the design differences?
We challenge you to find the aesthetic difference between iPhone 13 and iPhone 14. Apple keeps the same design from generation to generation: aluminum edges, notch screen (slim compared to iPhone 12), with dual sensor diagonal placement on the back. Nothing has changed.
However, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 differ in one important respect: the screen sizes offered. While the iPhone 13 is available in a mini format (5.4 inches), the iPhone 14 Plus has been introduced as an option (6.7 inches). At the center of the range is always a 6.1-inch screen in both cases.
Here are the colors offered for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 :
| Colors | |
|---|---|
| iPhone 13 | Green, Pink, Blue, Red, Midnight and Starlight |
| iPhone 14 | Blue, Violet, Red, Midnight and Starlight |
iPhone 13 and iPhone 14: similar display
If the dimensions are different, the technologies that control the screen are the same and are grouped under the name Super Retina XDR. Both iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 have an OLED screen with a pixel density of 460 dpi (for 6.1 inches). The iPhone 14 has not gained light output (1200 nits in HDR) and retains the True Tone display, Haptic Touch and wide color gamut (P3). Some rumors suggested that the new generation will gain ProMotion, which changes the refresh rate of the screen. This remains the exclusive right of iPhone 14 Pro (and iPhone 13 Pro).
iPhone 13 and iPhone 14: the same chip, or almost
Who says a new iPhone necessarily says a new chip? Not so with the iPhone 14. The smartphone retains the A15 Bionic chip introduced in 2021 in the iPhone 13. It’s simply optimized to offer more performance (its GPU goes from 4 cores to 5 cores). We’re not sure we’ll notice any difference in usage.
In terms of battery life, the iPhone 14 uses 1 hour more (20 hours of video playback compared to 19 for the iPhone 13). To have more autonomy, you should prefer the iPhone 14 Plus, which according to Apple tests reaches 26 hours.
iPhone 13 and iPhone 14: new features on the photo side?
The iPhone 14 Pro received a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a first for Apple. For its part, the iPhone 14 is always limited to a 12-megapixel sensor associated with an ultra-wide angle. A priori, there is no break with the hardware of the iPhone 13. You actually have to take out the magnifying glass to see the small changes. The lens moves to an f/1.5 (vs. 1.6) aperture, which should improve low-light shots a bit. Apple promises up to 2.5 times better photo quality in low light “.
First, the iPhone 14’s sensor gains autofocus for your selfies.
iPhone 13 and iPhone 14: additional features, but not in France
As you can see, the new features of the iPhone 14 are quite small. Worse, its biggest evolution – emergency calls via satellite – won’t be available in France for some time. Likewise, the disappearance of the compartment used to house the physical SIM card is only effective in the US.
In France, we can still benefit from a safety feature that detects car accidents thanks to a more advanced gyroscope and accelerometer (two devices that are missing from the iPhone 13). But you don’t buy a smartphone to have a car accident.
Which iPhone to choose?
Finally, if we compare the technical sheets of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14, there is nothing that can be weighed against the latest smartphone… The difference of a few tens of euros is not really justified, especially since users in France are missing out on certain new features. This is all the more true because the iPhone 13, given its age, is regularly offered in promotions on certain brands – which emphasizes the price difference a little more.
iPhone 14 may be interesting for those looking for a very large smartphone: the Plus version actually allows you to move to 6.7 inches without investing in the Pro Max model (the most expensive in the catalog).
