How to Choose the Right iPhone 14 for You

A variety of iPhone models are on the market; it can be daunting when trying to decide which one you want to purchase. In this article, I focus on Apple’s newest models, the iPhone 14 series. If you’d like to explore others, Apple has a great tool on its website for making comparisons.

The sizes of the latest iPhone 14 models vary:

• iPhone 14 measures 2.82" by 5.78" (6.1" diagonally) with a depth of .31 inch (smaller of the phones on the left in the image below).
• iPhone 14 Plus measures 3.07" by 6.33" (6.7" diagonally) with a depth of .31 inch (larger of the phones on the left in the image below).
• iPhone 14 Pro measures 2.81" by 5.81" (6.1" diagonally) with a depth of .31 inch (smaller of the phones on the right in the image below).
• iPhone 14 Pro Max measures 3.05" by 6.33" (6.7" diagonally) with a depth of .31 inch (larger of the phones on the right in the image below).

You can get iPhone 14 and 14 Plus in starlight, midnight, blue, purple, and a beautiful product red version. iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max come in gold, silver, space black, and a great-looking deep purple.

Why the iPhone 14 is worth buying

Not sure whether to get an iPhone 14 model? Here are a few more key differences:

• All iPhone 14 models include upgraded batteries. You get up to 20 hours of video playback for iPhone 14, up to 23 hours for 14 Pro, 26 hours for 14 Plus, and a whopping 29 hours for 14 Pro Max.
• iPhone 14 models use eSIMs instead of physical SIMs. A SIM stores important information about your phone and your cellular provider network. Physical SIMs can be moved from phone to phone, but eSIMs are permanently built-in.
• All models received camera upgrades. iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max have triple rear-facing cameras, providing amazing optical zoom, portrait mode, and other features. The 14 and 14 Plus have dual rear-facing cameras.
• Screen resolution. The higher the resolution the better, especially for larger screens since you need to pack more pixels (the tiny dots of color that make up the images) into a larger space. The iPhone 14 offers 2532 x 1170 resolution; 14 Plus provides 2778 x 1284 resolution; 14 Pro boasts 2556 x 1179; and 14 Pro Max provides a stunning 2796 x 1290.

The table below gives you a quick comparison of the iPhone SE (third generation), 12, 13, 13 mini, 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max (models currently sold by Apple). All costs are as of the time this book was written. (Some carriers may introduce non-contract terms.)

iPhone Model Comparison

Other differences between iPhone models come primarily from the current operating system, iOS 16.

One exciting pricing option is the iPhone Upgrade Program. You choose your carrier, get an unlocked phone so you can change carriers, and receive Apple Care+ to cover you in case your phone has problems, all starting at a cost of $39.50 a month (depending on the iPhone model you select). The price does not include data usage from your carrier.

Decide How Much Storage Is Enough

Storage is a measure of how much information — for example, movies, photos, and software applications (apps) — you can store on a computing device. Storage can also affect your iPhone’s performance when handling such tasks as streaming favorite TV shows from the web or downloading music.

Streaming refers to playing video or music content from the web (or from other devices) rather than playing a file stored on your iPhone. You can enjoy a lot of material online without ever downloading its full content to your phone — and given that the most storage-endowed iPhone model has a relatively small amount of storage, streaming is a good idea.

Your storage options with an iPhone 14 or 14 Plus are 128, 256, and 512 gigabytes (GB), while 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max have 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB (terabyte, which is 1000GB).

You must choose the right amount of storage because you can’t open the unit and add more, as you usually can with a desktop computer. However, Apple has thoughtfully provided iCloud, a service you can use to back up content to the internet.

How much storage is enough for your iPhone? Here are some guidelines:

• If you simply want to check email, browse the web, and keep your calendar up to date, and you enjoy communicating via voice, video, and instant messaging, 128GB likely is plenty.
• For most people who manage a reasonable number of photos, download some music, and watch heavy-duty media such as movies online, 256GB may be sufficient. But if you might take things up a notch regarding media consumption and creation in the future (such as the newest grandchild being on the way soon), you should seriously consider 512GB.
• If you like lots of media, such as movies or TV shows, you might need 512GB or 1TB. For example, shooting 4K video at 60 frames per second will take roughly 1GB of storage space for every two and a half minutes of footage. If you shoot a lot of video, 1TB of storage might be more appealing.

Do you know how big a gigabyte (GB) is? Consider this: Just about any computer you buy today comes with a minimum of 256GB of storage. Computers have to tackle larger tasks than iPhones, so that number makes sense. The iPhone, which uses a technology called flash storage for storing data, is meant (to a great extent) to help you experience online media and email; it doesn’t have to store much since it pulls lots of content from the internet. In the world of storage, 64GB for any kind of storage is puny if you keep lots of content (such as audio, video, and photos) on the device.

What’s the price for larger storage?

• iPhone 14, a 128GB unit costs $799, 256GB is $899, and 512GB will set you back $1,099.
• iPhone 14 Plus with 128GB goes for $899, 256GB at $899, and 512GB for $1,199.
• iPhone 14 Pro with 128GB is $999, 256GB is $1,099, 512GB goes for $1,299, and the model tops out at $1,499 for 1TB.
• Not to be outdone, iPhone 14 Pro Max is the priciest: $1,099 for 128GB, $1,199 for 256GB, $1,399 for 512GB, and $1,599 for 1TB.

Note that prices may vary by carrier and where you buy your phone.