Skip to main content

The iPhone Mini is dead — long live the iPhone 14 Plus

The iPhone 14 series is here and with one major change. Just as the rumors suggested before Apple’s Far Out event, there is no Mini model this year. After launching the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 13 Mini, Apple has given up on the small size form factor to go the Plus route.

The iPhone 14 Plus is the new entrant in the lineup. For the unaware, the latest Apple iPhone models are iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. While the Plus is similar in screen size to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, it borrows everything else from the vanilla iPhone 14.

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.
Apple

The iPhone 14 Plus features a 6.7-inch OLED XDR display with 1,200 nits of peak brightness. It is powered by the same A15 Bionic chipset that was seen on the iPhone 13 series and is now available on the iPhone 14. It comes equipped with the same set of cameras as the 14, and you get no design changes from the previous generation. This means you’ll still see the notch on the iPhone 14 Plus, which is different from the new cutout found on the iPhone 14 Pro series.

The larger display allows more content to appear on the screen and is covered by the Ceramic Shield. Apple touts the iPhone 14 Plus to last longer than any iPhone ever on a single charge. You still get a 12MP primary camera with a larger sensor, larger pixels at 1.9 microns, and an f/1.5 aperture. It also includes sensor-shift OIS, and the faster aperture allows for better motion freezing. Apple says that the camera system comes with a 49% improvement in low-light performance while also making night mode exposure twice as fast.

iPhone 14 & iPhone 14 Plus | Big and Bigger | Apple

On the front lies a new 12MP selfie shooter with a faster f/1.9 aperture and a 38% improvement in low light. It has a hybrid system that focuses faster, and group shots can be in focus from further away. The larger sensors and aperture, combined with A15 Apple silicon and deep fusion, bring multiple frames into a single image in mid to lower-light environments. It applies deep fusion earlier in the process for uncompressed images that allow the rendering of more and brighter colors.

An iPhone 14 Plus in hand.
Apple

No U.S. model has a SIM tray. Apple says that eSIM support has skyrocketed in the U.S., and that is the only way to activate your SIM going forward. Apple is also bringing satellite connectivity to the iPhone 14 series.

The iPhone 14 Plus, as well as the iPhone 14, comes with crash detection, which is the same as Apple Watch. This means it consists of a high dynamic range gyroscope and dual-core accelerometer that can detect up to 256g and can contact emergency automatically.

Prakhar Khanna
Prakhar writes news, reviews and features for Digital Trends. He is an independent tech journalist who has been a part of the…
These are the only 2 reasons I’m excited for the iPhone 15 Pro
The App Library on the iPhone 14 Pro.

It’s peak summer right now, though fall is just around the corner with back-to-school season on the horizon. With that also comes Apple’s annual iPhone event.

This year, we are definitely expecting the iPhone 15 lineup, as well as Apple Watch Series 9, and maybe a new Apple Watch Ultra. The rumors for the iPhone 15 series have been going strong for months, though there has also been a lot of back-and-forth too, mostly relating to the iPhone 15 Pro models.

Read more
Apple may face ‘severe’ iPhone 15 shortage over production issue, report says
The Apple logo on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Hoping to get your hands on an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max when the new phones come out in the fall? Well, you may be in for a wait.

Apple is experiencing production issues caused by a new manufacturing process designed to significantly reduce the size of the bezel around the display, according to a report from The Information on Thursday.

Read more
An iPhone just sold for a crazy amount at auction
An original, unsealed iPhone.

An original, still-boxed iPhone. LCG Auctions

Rare iPhones have been going under the hammer for some large sums in recent months, and the latest auction to feature one of the first Apple handsets has just smashed the record for such a device.

Read more