iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro Buyer's Guide

The iPhone 14 and ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro are among Apple's newest iPhone models and follow the previous year's iPhone 13 and ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro, but how different are the two latest 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ models, and what exactly does a "Pro" device give you?

iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Pro Feature
Last year, the biggest differences between the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro were ProMotion, 2GB of memory, three hours of battery life, and rear cameras with different apertures. With ‌iPhone 14‌ and ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro, both devices share new features like Emergency SOS via satellite, Crash Detection, Action mode, 6GB of memory, Photonic Engine, and an upgraded 12-megapixel TrueDepth front camera with autofocus, but Apple's "Pro" and non-Pro ‌iPhone‌ models are more different than ever.

Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two ‌iPhone‌ models is best for you, and serves as a way to clearly see what additional features and upgrades the ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro brings to the table.

Key Differences

‌iPhone 14‌ ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro
Aerospace-grade aluminum design with glass back Surgical-grade stainless steel design with frosted glass back
ProMotion with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
Always-on display
800 nits max brightness (typical) 1,000 nits max brightness (typical)
1,200 nits peak brightness (HDR) 1,600 nits peak brightness (HDR) and 2,000 nits peak brightness (outdoor)
"Notch" TrueDepth camera array TrueDepth camera array with Dynamic Island
A15 Bionic chip A16 Bionic chip
"Advanced" dual-camera system "Pro" camera system
2x optical zoom range (2x optical zoom out, digital zoom up to 5x) 6x optical zoom range (3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out, digital zoom up to 15x)
12-megapixel Main camera with ƒ/1.5 aperture 48-megapixel Main camera with ƒ/1.78 aperture
12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture 12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera with ƒ/2.2 aperture
12-megapixel Telephoto camera with ƒ/2.8 aperture
Sensor-shift optical image stabilization Second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization
True Tone flash Adaptive True Tone flash
LiDAR scanner
Night mode portraits
Macro photography
Apple ProRAW
ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB capacity)
Macro video recording, including slo‑mo and time‑lapse
146.7mm height 147.5mm height
7.80mm thickness 7.85mm thickness
Weight of 172 grams Weight of 206 grams
20-hour battery life (during video playback) 23-hour battery life (during video playback)
128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options
Available in Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and PRODUCT(RED) Available in Deep Purple, Space Black, Silver, and Gold
Starts at $799 Starts at $999

Final Thoughts

The ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro offers a large number of upgrades over the standard ‌iPhone 14‌. With just $200 difference to obtain a brighter display with ProMotion and always-on functionality, the ‌Dynamic Island‌, the A16 Bionic chip, and a radically different rear camera set up, not to mention longer battery life and a more premium design, many customers will be able to justify getting the ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro over the ‌iPhone 14‌. Due to the scale and breadth of the ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro's improvements and features, customers should actively choose the high-end model in most cases.

It will only be worth getting the ‌iPhone 14‌ over the ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro if you want a lighter device, do not care for the "Pro" rear camera setup or features like ProMotion and the always-on display, or cannot afford the $200 to upgrade to the high-end model. In this instance, you will still benefit from shared features like Emergency SOS via satellite. The ‌iPhone 14‌ is still a well-rounded device, especially for customers coming from a much older model.

Related Roundup: iPhone 14
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

Luna Murasaki Avatar
20 months ago

This is a reasonable, rational concern. But, to Apple's credit, they support their devices for many years. For example, iOS 16 is supported all the way back to iPhone 8, released in 2017. That's pretty darned solid.

It's likely the 14/Plus will be supported for 5+ years. That's a long time to keep a phone...
Well, we've been looking at our budget here at our household and we are trying to save money where we can. We were upgrading our phones every 4 years but want to move to a 6-year cycle instead. We can't be the only ones thinking of this. These things are expensive and if it still works well, can still get the latest iOS with the latest security patches, and can still run the latest apps, and you aren't a tech enthusiast or someone with shallow friends, it doesn't seem a huge sacrifice to keep the device longer, especially with how mature the iPhone's feature set is at this point. This also applies to people on a hand-me-down system with a relative which is part of what we are doing. So I think the concern is more relevant than it seems at first glance.

If you do the math by calculating the price of each device per year of support rather than the total price, having one less year of support for the non-Pro shrinks the already small price gap between the two phones considerably. And with how badly they differ this year in terms of specs, it's looking like the non-Pro is a rip-off to me. I agree it greatly depends on the person though, and this is of course assuming they actually WILL get 1 year less of support, which we don't and can't actually know.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MayaUser Avatar
20 months ago
you should point out just the difference to be easier for understanding
Car industry is doing it like this for years and its easy to understand what the pro has additional
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Luna Murasaki Avatar
20 months ago
To me, I'm very concerned with the use of last year's chip in the non-Pro iPhone 14. That makes me think it won't be supported as long in new iOS releases, making it necessary to replace it earlier and calling into question how much money you actually save by getting it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
You're So Right Carl Avatar
20 months ago

Still on my XR and was debating getting the 14 Pro since it looks like the Apple Store near me has plenty in stock for same day delivery, but this phone still just works. So I’ll hold out for at least a USB-C iPhone.
XS user here. I'm picking up what you're putting down.

Plus, my gal still uses an 8 Max. She's winning this war of attrition!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
snipr125 Avatar
20 months ago
The regular 14 is a good device in its own right, but just too expensive and not worth it IMO if one already has an iPhone with an A15 chip (13, 13 Mini and SE3). If they had at least put in a 90 hz refresh rate display, then its value proposition would be a lot higher.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
20 months ago

I'm sorry, what are the other models among which these are the latest?
The 6.7" 14 Plus and Pro Max. They are explicitly only comparing the 6.1" models here.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
iPhone 15 General Feature Green

Apple Says These New iOS Features Are Coming Later This Year

Sunday March 24, 2024 7:45 am PDT by
Apple has previously announced three new iOS features that it said are coming to the iPhone later this year, as outlined below. The new features include the ability to install iPhone apps on the web in the EU, RCS support in the Messages app, and next-generation CarPlay. Web Distribution Apple recently announced that eligible developers will soon be able to distribute their iOS apps to ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID Single Camera Hole

Seven Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Tuesday March 19, 2024 5:20 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
maxresdefault

iOS 18 Rumored to Feature 'More Customizable' Home Screen

Sunday March 24, 2024 7:10 am PDT by
iOS 18 will feature a revamped Home Screen that is "more customizable," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He revealed this information in his Power On newsletter today, but he did not provide any specific details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will announce iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC in June. Other features and changes rumored for...
combine images

Top Stories: iOS 18's Generative AI Features to Rely on Google?, Latest on New iPads, and More

Saturday March 23, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
We're getting closer to the launch of new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, while rumors about iOS 18 are continuing to ramp up with this week's surprise revelation that Apple has been talking to Google and others about potentially helping power the generative AI features expected to be a major part of this year's update. Other news this week saw the release of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1...