Abstract
- I virtually purchased an iPhone 16 Professional, however then I noticed my iPhone 14 Professional nonetheless greater than meets the mark.
- Its battery life is nice nonetheless, and the 6.1-inch OLED show with ProMotion remains to be beautiful even after two years of use.
- The A16 Bionic chip within the iPhone 14 Professional remains to be snappy. Its additionally lacks Apple Intelligence assist, which may be seen as a profit.
A number of of my buddies lately upgraded to the
iPhone 16 Professional
, and it bought me fascinated by selecting one up, too. I had the iPhone 16 Professional sitting in my cart on Apple’s web site and was very near testing till I finished myself. Why? I nonetheless have an
iPhone 14 Professional
that appears nice and runs like a attraction. I used to be foolish even to contemplate the iPhone 16 Professional within the first place.
Certain, the iPhone 16 Professional has an
Digicam Management button
, and
USB-C
, all of which the iPhone 14 Professional would not function. However is all that actually value $1,000 for a brand new telephone? Upon reflection, no, probably not in any respect. I have been utilizing my iPhone 14 Professional because it launched in 2022, and it is undoubtedly the most effective telephone I’ve ever had, and one I am not able to let go of. Listed here are 5 causes the iPhone 14 Professional nonetheless holds up effectively in 2025, and why upgrading is not obligatory.
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5
Battery life is not a problem
I can simply get by way of a day
I assess smartphone batteries utilizing an easy check. If I can get up at 7am, use my telephone intermittently all through the day, and nonetheless have battery life left at 10pm, then I am a cheerful camper. My iPhone 14 Professional is sort of two years previous and simply passes this check with flying colours. I might be irritated if the battery could not final all day, however that has by no means occurred with my iPhone 14 Professional.
After I test my battery well being, it exhibits that my iPhone 14 Professional has a most battery capability of 87 %, indicating that it has declined by 13 % since I bought it. Whereas it is disappointing to see it lower that a lot, I am actually nonetheless impressed by how effectively it performs regardless of that. For reference, the iPhone 14 Professional contains a 3,200mAh battery, which is smaller than the iPhone 16 Professional’s reported 3,582mAh battery. A failing battery is among the high causes I see individuals improve their telephones, however fortunately, that is not the case with my iPhone 14 Professional.
Moreover, in contrast to previous iPhones I’ve owned, I’ve by no means encountered any points with the Lightning port on this telephone. With my iPhone 12 Professional, I wanted to improve it primarily as a result of the charging port was not connecting to cables correctly, even after extensively cleansing it. My iPhone 14 Professional’s Lightning port nonetheless works completely, which has been a reduction.
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4
The show appears nice
It has a surprising 6.1-inch OLED display, with ProMotion assist
Even after utilizing the iPhone 14 Professional each day for 2 years, I am persistently impressed by its show. I’ve the common iPhone 14 Professional, not the Professional Max, so it contains a 6.1-inch OLED Tremendous Retina XDR show with a decision of 2556 x 1179 pixels. For watching YouTube movies, motion pictures, or TV exhibits, this show continues to impress, and the HDR appears beautiful.
In distinction, the iPhone 16 Professional has a barely bigger 6.3-inch OLED Tremendous Retina XDR show with a 2662 x 1206 pixel decision. Though it is the newest iPhone, not a lot has modified display-wise, apart from the elevated measurement. I desire smaller handsets, so the iPhone 14 Professional’s show wins over the 16 Professional in my books.
I might be remiss if I did not additionally point out that the iPhone 14 Professional options ProMotion assist, which offers a buttery clean 120Hz adaptive refresh price. The 16 Professional has the identical refresh price, so there are not any positive factors to be made there both. Additionally, the iPhone 14 Professional has Dynamic Island, not a notch, so appearance-wise, there may be hardly any distinction from the newest iPhones.
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3
Efficiency hits the mark
The A16 Bionic chip remains to be snappy
My iPhone 14 Professional has by no means stuttered or lagged throughout use, which is a testomony to Apple’s exceptional software program with iOS 18 (and former variations) and its custom-built silicon. The iPhone 14 Professional options an A16 Bionic chipset. Whereas it is not as highly effective because the A17 Professional chip discovered within the iPhone 15 Professional or the A18 Professional within the iPhone 16 Professional, it handles primary duties like shopping the net, checking my e mail, and doomscrolling social media with ease and nonetheless feels extraordinarily snappy.
I am not a lot of a cellular gamer, so I can not actually touch upon the A16 Bionic’s gaming efficiency. If I performed extra cellular video games, I could be tempted to improve solely for the sooner chipset, however since I do not, it is not one thing I’ve ever thought of. As a testomony to the A16 Bionic chip’s energy, Apple even included it into the newest entry-level
Eleventh-generation iPad
, so it stays in use to today.
For reference, my iPhone 14 Professional scored a 2,674 single-core rating and 6,828 multi-core rating on Geekbench 6’s CPU Benchmark.
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2
A digicam that also impresses
Images look sharp and detailed
The digicam is among the most talked-about options of any iPhone. In 2025, the iPhone 14 Professional’s digicam continues to be a formidable contender. All through my in depth travels with this telephone during the last two years, I stay regularly impressed by the incredible pictures it has captured throughout my adventures. The iPhone 14 Professional boasts a f/1.8 48-megapixel predominant digicam, a f/2.2 12-megapixel ultra-wide digicam, and a f/2.8 12-megapixel telephoto lens providing 3x optical zoom, all of which nonetheless maintain up excellently.
Whether or not I am engaged in macrophotography, taking portraits, capturing beautiful landscapes whereas on trip, or photographing know-how, the iPhone 14 Professional’s digicam persistently exceeds my expectations. Whereas the iPhone 16 Professional has interesting enhancements, resembling a brand new f/2.2 48-megapixel ultra-wide digicam that captures extra element than the 14 Professional’s 12-megapixel ultra-wide, it is not sufficient to persuade me to modify over. Nonetheless, the iPhone 17 Professional’s rumored
8K video capabilities
would possibly change my thoughts.
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1
No Apple Intelligence
Not lacking out on a lot
One of many main promoting factors that Apple highlights for the iPhone 16 sequence is Apple Intelligence, its array of AI options. The iPhone 14 Professional doesn’t assist Apple Intelligence, however actually, in 2025, this isn’t a big concern.
At present, Apple Intelligence is underwhelming and lacks most of the options that Apple showcased at WWDC 2024, resembling on-screen consciousness and Siri’s cross-app performance. Apple itself has acknowledged that it requires extra time to refine these options,
suspending their launch
to “the approaching yr.” At this level, Apple Intelligence just isn’t a considerable promoting function for the iPhone except you are significantly concerned with AI writing instruments, and even Apple has scaled again its advertising efforts attributable to these delays.
If, like me, you are not invested in AI, the absence of Apple Intelligence within the iPhone 14 Professional can really be seen as a bonus reasonably than an obstacle. In a yr or two, as Apple Intelligence evolves right into a extra sensible instrument, it’d persuade people like me, who nonetheless use older iPhones, to improve. Nonetheless, that point hasn’t arrived but. I’ve by no means discovered myself considering, “I want I had Apple Intelligence proper now.” Even when I owned an iPhone 16 Professional at this time, I might disable Apple Intelligence.
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