The iPhone 14 Pro is among Apple’s latest iPhone models and follows last year’s iPhone 13 Pro, but how different are the two successive high-end iPhone generations?
iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro Feature
In 2021, Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 Pro as the successor to the popular iPhone 12 Pro, featuring ProMotion displays, an improved rear camera system, the A15 Bionic chip, longer battery life, and more. The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max have now been discontinued by Apple, and as year-old models, prices from third-party resellers are falling. As such, some customers may be weighing up whether to upgrade to an iPhone 13 Pro or an iPhone 14 Pro.
As the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro share a large number of features and the same fundamental design, should you consider buying or sticking with the iPhone 13 Pro to save money? Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you, and serves as a way to clearly see the differences that the iPhone 14 brings to the table.
iPhone 14 Pro Vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Colors
The iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max comes in five colors: Alpine Green, Sierra Blue, Gold, Graphite, and Silver. The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max are only being offered in four colors instead: Silver, Gold, Space Black, and a new Deep Purple color that the show-offs are probably going to want just to differentiate themselves.
iPhone 14 Pro Vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Processor
The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max have an even better feature up their sleeve. Namely, their processor.
They have an A16 Bionic chip with a five-core GPU, whereas the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max have an A15 Bionic chip with a five-core GPU.
The A16 Bionic chip in iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max provides two high performance cores and four high efficiency cores. It also bundles a powerful 16-core neural engine. The latest chip is faster, more power-efficient, and drives the latest technology you’ll find on Apple’s ‘pro’ devices in 2022.
The processor performs all the operations and functions on your device. Hence, an A16 Bionic chip automatically means a more powerful device, longer battery life, greater power efficiency, better graphics, and much more.
iPhone 14 Pro Vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Display
The display is another component of the iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max that’s going to stand out from the iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max users out there. That’s because Apple is finally giving us something we’ve wanted for a long time: an Always-On Display. The Always-On Display on the iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max utilizes the same tech that comes in the Apple Watch, allowing Apple to slow the refresh rate down to just 1 hert for power savings. New technology in the A16 Bionic chip allows even a dimmed Always-On Display to show beautiful color that plays nicely with the redesigned Lock Screen aesthetics in iOS 16.
If that wasn’t enough, Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max are completely ditching the notch for a pill-shaped hole-punch that Apple calls the Dynamic Island. This feature utilizes the space of the TrueDepth camera system and pairs it with the true black colors of the OLED display to provide a dynamic space for apps to display information. It shrinks and grows depending on the usage, and Apple provides an API for third-party app developers to take advantage of this feature.
While the iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max sport the same 1,000 nits typical brightness and 1,600 nits HDR brightness as their predecessors do, they also have the ability to boost brightness to 2,000 nits when outdoors and in direct sunlight, making it easier to view information on a sunny day where you’d ordinarily have to squint to see what your iPhone is trying to tell you.
The size of the screens are still the same when comparing the iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max to the iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max respectively, but it seems that the newer handsets are picking up slightly more display pixels at 2556-by-1179-pixel resolution at 460 ppi compared to 2532-by-1170-pixel resolution at 460 ppi for the smaller models, and 2796-by-1290-pixel resolution at 460 ppi compared to 2778-by-1284-pixel resolution at 458 ppi for the larger models.
iPhone 14 Pro Vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Camera
Don’t be fooled with appearances on this one. While the naked eye may see the same three lenses on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, there are a lot of key differences on the inside of these cameras. The iPhone 14 Pro has many features we love, and the camera improvements are definitely included in that.
We’ll start with the hardware on both models. The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max have three lenses:
- Telephoto: ƒ/2.8 aperture
- Wide: ƒ/1.78 aperture
- Ultra Wide: ƒ/2.2 aperture
And here are the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max lenses:
- Telephoto: ƒ/2.8 aperture
- Wide: ƒ/1.5 aperture
- Ultra Wide: ƒ/1.8 aperture
The iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max features a 48-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and 12-megapixel telephoto camera. This compares to the iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max’s 12-megapixel camera system across the board and adds a new zoom mode.
In addition to the boost in megapixels, Apple is enhancing the camera’s low-light performance in the iPhone 14 Pro & Pro Max models when compared with the 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max models. This includes a dynamic True Tone flash system along with the new Photonic Engine, which provides truer colors and detail in low light than an ordinary camera ever could.
Even the front-facing camera on the iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max is picking up better low-light support with a larger ƒ/1.9 aperture compared to the iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max’s ƒ/2.2 aperture. The front-facing camera on the 2022 pro handsets will also be getting auto-focus support for the first time, in addition to support the Photonic Engine, which means your low-light selfies will be of better quality.
Camera enhancements can also be attributed to video recording, which picks up a new feature Apple calls Action Mode. This is a new advanced image stabilization unique to the iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max that provides close to the same amount of smoothness as a three-axis gimbal, only it’s built right inside of your iPhone.
iPhone 14 Pro Vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Battery life
Even with the Always-On Display, powerful new camera technology, and other under-the-hood enhancements, Apple managed to increase the battery life on the iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max handsets by up to an hour when compared to the iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max handsets. Granted, Apple only advertises this battery life increase while watching video, it’s likely you will see small gains elsewhere as you use your device as well.
Other miscellaneous differences
- iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max ditch the SIM card tray to become an eSIM-only smartphone, while the iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max still support physical SIM cards
- iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max ditch support for
- iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max get a new High-g accelerometer that assists in the detection of car crash incidents
- iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max get support for precision dual-frequency GPS
- iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max get support for Emergency SOS satellite communication with authorities
- iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max get support for the Bluetooth 5.3 standard
Conclusion
Whether upgrading to the iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max is worth it from your existing iPhone 13 Pro or 13 Pro Max will be worth it depends heavily on what you use your iPhone for. If the sleek new Always-On Display sounds like a fun upgrade, as well as the enhanced photography capabilities, then this could be worth the leap, especially with Apple’s convenient trade-in program in play.
Of course, we also understand that the economy isn’t in the best of shape right now, so some prospective buyers may be willing to wait another year to see what Apple brings by way of upgrades in 2023… and we totally understand that perspective too.
See also: 5 of The Best iPhone 14 Pro Hidden Features You Should Know
Do you plan to upgrade this year? Let us know in the comments section down below.