Truth be told, most people jumping to a new phone are doing so from a model that's a couple years old. So that makes an iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14 comparison apt, as people who bought their last phone in 2022 may be wondering if the upcoming models merit an upgrade.
Certainly, it's understandable that you might want to squeeze another year or so out of your iPhone 14, which still runs on a powerful chipset even if it is one that's a couple years old. The iPhone 14 remains a formidable camera phone, too, and it will be able to run iOS 18 when the full version of the software update comes out later this month.
But a new phone brings new features, and the iPhone 16 will be able to boast two years of improvements that the iPhone simply can't offer. In addition to the camera upgrades that happend to last year's iPhone 15 models, the new iPhone figures to see other changes, like a new chipset that's capable of supporting Apple's upcoming AI-powered features.
We won't know how exactly an iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14 comparison will shake out until Apple officially announces the new model at its upcoming Glowtime product event. But there are enough iPhone 16 rumors out there to give us a pretty good idea on what improvements you can expect should you be considering an upgrade.
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Specs
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Price and availability
The iPhone 14 arrived in the fall of 2022, with a debut price of $799 for the base model with 128GB of storage. With last year's iPhone 15 launch, Apple cut the price on the iPhone 14 to $699. If Apple follows its usual patten with its phone lineup following the iPhone 16's debut, we'd expect to see the price on the iPhone 14 drop once again to $599 as it remains a low-cost option for people who don't want to pay full price for a phone.
Pricing rumors for the iPhone 16 have been few and far between, but it's generally believed that the standard model will remain at $799. Apple's also likely to keep the base storage at 128GB with other capacities available for extra. (Only the iPhone 15 Pro Max ships with 256GB of storage in its entry level model, though it's possible all iPhone 16 Pro models could adopt that approach.)
We expect the iPhone 16 to highlight the Apple Glowtime event happening on Monday (September 9). Again, Apple's pattern is to launch presales for its new phones on the Friday after its launch event — that's September 13 in this case. Our best guess would be that the iPhone 16 arrives in stores on September 20.
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Design
Many of the major design differences between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 14 are likely to be the changes Apple introduced with last year's iPhone 15. That model introduced a new aluminum enclosure with contoured edges that contrasted with the iPhone 14's sharper edges, and it's a look the iPhone 16 is likely to continue. Similarly, the iPhone 15 made the switch from a Lightning port to USB-C, and there's no going back for the iPhone 16. Be prepared to consider new cables and USB-C friendly accessories if you're mulling an upgrade from the iPhone 14.
The iPhone 16 figures to introduce some other changes, one of which takes its cues from the iPhone 15 Pro models. That would be the Action button, which replaces the mute switch on older iPhones. You can still silence calls with the Action button, but you can also dig into the Settings app to link the button with a specific shortcut like launching an app or turning on your phone's flashlight.
Rumors tip another button to be a part of the iPhone 16 — a Capture button that makes it easier to launch the Camera app and shoot photos or videos. There's even the possibility that you'll be able to swipe on the Capture button to adjust the zoom on your iPhone's camera.
The iPhone 14 comes in Midnight, Purple, Starlight, Product Red, Blue color options. Black, blue, purple and white figure to still be part of the iPhone 16 lineup, but color rumors also claim there will be pink, yellow and green options.
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Display
The iPhone 15 featured a brighter display than the iPhone 14, with Apple bumping up the peak brightness to 2,000 nits. Improvements to brightness with the iPhone 16 models may be limited to the Pro phones, but even if the iPhone 16 merely matches the iPhone 15's display, it will still be brighter than what the iPhone 14 had to offer with its 1,200-nit peak brightness.
Screen sizes also figure to change with the iPhone 16 Pro models, but the iPhone 16 is likely to retain the same 6.1-inch display as the iPhone 14. The similarities don't stop there, as the iPhone 16 isn't likely to feature an adaptive refresh rate. Unfortunately, that means it will still be locked at 60Hz, just like the iPhone 14, making it one of the few flagship phones to offer such a pedestrian spec.
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Cameras
As with the iPhone's design, Apple made its biggest changes to the iPhone 15, adding a 48MP main camera to replace the 12MP sensor that served as the iPhone 14's main shooter. That not only allows for more detailed shots, but the main camera can also crop in on zoom shots, essentially giving the iPhone 15 a 2x zoom that compares well with an optical zoom even though there's no dedicated telephoto lens.
The good news is that if you upgrade from the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 16, you'll reap the benefits of that change from last year, as the iPhone 16 should have the same camera setup. The bad news is that the iPhone 16 Pro models are tipped to get the more significant camera changes, including an improved ultrawide lens.
It is possible that the iPhone 16 will benefit from a larger main camera sensor, allowing it to capture more light. But most of the camera improvements that iPhone 14 users will see when they upgrade have already been in place since the iPhone 15 launch.
There is one other iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14 change to the camera setup worth talking about. The lenses on the iPhone 16 are expected to be arranged vertically instead of diagonally — the switch makes it easier to capture spatial video, which records video from both the main and ultrawide lenses at the same time.
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Performance
The iPhone 14 marked a departure for Apple in that it was the first time the phone maker used different chipsets in its standard and Pro models. That meant the iPhone 14 used an A15 Bionic chipset that had already been in the previous year's Apple handsets. (In fairness, it was the version of the A15 used by the iPhone 13 Pro models, which meant better graphics performance for the basic iPhone.)
Rumors for the iPhone 16 suggest that all new models will use the same family of chipset — the A18. (The iPhone 16 Pro is supposed to turn to a better variant with more cores in its GPU.) In essence, then, an upgrade from the iPhone 14 means you're jumping ahead three generations of Apple silicon.
We won't know what that means performance-wise until we test the iPhone 16. But the fact that the A18 will be built on a 3-nanometer process compared to the 5nm A15 Bionic suggests big improvements in performance and power efficiency. (The smaller the chip, the closer transistors are packed together, making everything more efficient.)
The potential performance improvements don't stop there. The iPhone 14 shipped with 6GB of RAM, based on teardowns of the phone. (Apple doesn't disclose how much memory it packs into its iPhones.) Reportedly, the iPhone 16 is jumping to 8GB of RAM in order to help with the Apple Intelligence AI features that will run on device. (More on those in the Software section.)
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Battery life and charging
The iPhone 14 didn't really impress with battery life, hitting a below average time of 9.5 hours on our test in which phones surf the web until they run out of power. Things improved with the iPhone 15, which topped the 11-hour mark, and we'd expect to see that trend continue with the iPhone 16, thanks in large part to the upgraded A18 system-on-chip and its likely improvements to power management.
But iPhone 14 upgraders should see an additional uplift from a bigger battery in the newer phone. The iPhone 14 used a 3,279 mAH power pack. With the iPhone 16, Apple is tipped to turn to a 3,561 mAh cell, which should also help the new phone last a longer time on a charge.
There are few rumors about any change to charging speeds, so don't look for an improvement
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Software
The iPhone 18 will debut with iOS 18 pre-installed, but iPhone 14 owners will be able to upgrade to the new software when a full version comes out later this month — that is, if they haven't already downloaded the iOS 18 public beta. The iPhone 14 is a recent-enough phone to support the new additions to iOS 18, including Messages via Satellite.
What the iPhone 14 won't be able to run is any of the new Apple Intelligence features. Tools that help you generate images from text prompts, make writing suggestions and more require an A17 Pro processor or later. So if you're an iPhone 14 owner who wants to take advantage of improvements like an enhanced Siri assistant or integrated ChatGPT, you're going to have to upgrade to a newer model.
iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 14: Outlook
Improvements to performance and the support for Apple Intelligence features seem like reason enough to upgrade from the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 16. But that's on paper — we'll see if the new rumored specs also translate to better photos and longer battery life once we get a chance to test the new devices. And with the September 9 event just around the corner, that chance will be here very soon.
