The iPhone 14 Plus came to India back in September 2022 with a price tag of Rs 89,900. This is the second phone in the latest series, with the vanilla model starting at Rs 79,900. Both the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are nearly identical as they get the same A15 Bionic chipset and 12MP dual cameras. The 14 Plus, however, gets you a bigger screen and a larger battery. It’s been over five months since the iPhone 14 Plus came out and I decided to revisit the device to see how well it has aged, and if you should consider buying it during an upcoming festive sale.
I brought along the iPhone 14 Plus with me to Barcelona, Spain, where I am fully prepared to report on MWC 2023, the largest annual mobile technology event globally. While you should revisit our website for all the latest on MWC 2023, at the moment, I want to talk about what works and what doesn’t work for the iPhone 14 Plus.
What works for the iPhone 14 Plus
The very first thing that impressed me about the iPhone 14 Plus was its weight. At around 203 grams, this is one of the lightest 6.7-inch iPhones out there. Mind you, I switched to the iPhone 14 Plus from the iPhone 12 Pro Max that I was using as my daily driver, which is a whole 25 grams heavier. So, the iPhone 14 Plus’ weight instantly attracted me the moment I picked it up.
Now, Apple is using an older A15 Bionic chipset to power the iPhone 14 Plus instead of the A16 Bionic, but you won’t really be able to tell the difference. The phone is absolutely smooth when it comes to multitasking between apps. Speed is not an issue with the iPhone 14 Plus and the A15 Bionic is more than capable of running intensive tasks. But the cherry on the cake here is its thermal efficiency as the phone barely heated when used at a stretch, especially while recording videos.
The fact that the iPhone 14 Plus keeps its cool during the day also means you won’t notice its battery life drop substantially. In fact, the iPhone 14 Plus has a terrific battery life. I was able to use it for an entire day, which included taking numerous photos and videos, browsing various social media applications and emails, and still had approximately 30 to 40 percent battery life remaining at the end of the day.
Cameras on the iPhone 14 Plus are, of course, very good. You get 12MP sensors across the board – two on the back and one on the front. I was able to capture some crisp daylight shots of Barcelona with a decent dynamic range and natural-looking colours. Photos look largely consistent when switching between the 12MP main and 12MP wide-angle cameras. The larger apertures are particularly useful in low light and the iPhone 14 Plus does quite well when there’s enough ambient light around. Again, the streets of Barcelona looked pretty darn good in low light on the iPhone 14 Plus.
What doesn’t work for the iPhone 14 Plus
Getting a standard 60Hz refresh rate on a Rs 90,000 smartphone is still hard to digest, even if it is an iPhone. Apple could have provided a 90Hz screen, but unfortunately, you will have to buy one of the Pro models if you want an ultra-smooth 120Hz ProMotion display. This is not to say that the display of the iPhone 14 Plus is bad. It is still a large and gorgeous OLED screen with vibrant colours and enough brightness for outdoor usability. But you still miss out on that smooth scrolling and gaming experience that you get on a higher refresh rate display.
At Rs 89,900, the iPhone 14 Plus is an expensive smartphone in India. While there is a lot to love about the device, and very few cons as you can see for yourself, I feel the asking price is beyond most people’s reach. I do feel, however, that the iPhone 14 Plus is the iPhone to buy as soon as it gets a good discount later this year during a festive season sale.
