It’s always interesting to see how technology changes when you compare new and old. Last year, we took the iPhone XR and iPhone 13 as examples. Now it’s the turn of the current iPhone.
For comparison, we took the iPhone 11, introduced in the fall of 2019, and the fresh iPhone 14, which began selling in 2022. But if the iPhone 13 a year ago was not significantly different, but still distinct from the iPhone 12, something unpleasant happened this season. Between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13, the difference is entirely minimal. Therefore, an exciting situation arises: we are comparing the iPhone 13 and iPhone 11. However, this is not so important from the user’s point of view. Therefore, I will proceed from the position of a person who bought an iPhone 11 for himself, spent several years with him, and now wants to change it to a fresh iPhone.
Design
Smartphones are similar in size, but in terms of convenience, the iPhone 14, for my taste, turned out to be more interesting. It has more comfortable flat surfaces. It is more “grasping.” At the same time, it is noticeably lighter, thinner, and generally feels like a more compact device. Both iPhones have aluminum cases and glass surfaces, but the iPhone 14 has a stronger Ceramic Shield glass to protect the screen.
Dry numbers for statistics:
- iPhone 11: 150.9 × 75.7 × 8.3mm, weight 194g
- iPhone 14: 146.7 × 71.5 × 7.8mm, weight 172g
Comparing the shades, we must admit that even the color scheme is similar. The iPhone can be black, white, purple, or red. But if the iPhone 11 was still in yellow and green, then the iPhone 14 offers a blue color reminiscent of last year’s flagship Sierra Blue. The color scheme for the iPhone 11 was more colorful, but the iPhone 14 turned out to be more neutral, which is already a matter of personal taste.
In the spring, Apple will most likely add one more color to the palette, and then the number of versions will be equal. In the meantime, the iPhone 11 wins in terms of the number of shades: six colors against five.
Water protection
With smartphones, you can take water treatments, but the iPhone 14 has a slightly higher level of protection. It will last underwater for half an hour at a depth of up to 6 meters. And the iPhone 11 has a limit of 2 meters for the same half an hour.
Display
The physical dimensions of the screens are identical, but that’s where the similarities end. The iPhone 14 uses free space more efficiently, with much less bezel. It is clear that there is almost a twofold difference in price between the devices, and the iPhone 14 is better in all respects. Regarding image quality, the iPhone 14 is definitely on top compared to the iPhone 11. This is a significant step forward.
Let’s turn to dry statistics:
- iPhone 11: 6.1 inches, IPS, 828×1792, 326 PPI, True Tone, DCI-P3, 625 nits
- iPhone 14: 6.1 inches, OLED, 1170×2532, 460 PPI, True Tone, DCI-P3, 800 nits in normal mode and up to 1200 nits in HDR.
By the standards of expensive smartphones, support for a frequency of 120 Hz has become the norm, but in the case of Apple, this rule only works for the most costly iPhones of the Pro series. So both the old iPhone 11 and the new iPhone 14 have the same frequency of 60 Hz.
Comparing the screens, it is noticeable that the cutout in the new iPhone is noticeably more minor, but in practice, this difference does not affect usability in any way. But the iPhone 14 has a flat-screen – it is more convenient to glue the protective glass on it, and stands out less. Moreover, even though the Ceramic Shield in the iPhone 14 is difficult to break, the glass is scratched easily and quickly. Therefore, it is better to use glass on the old and the new iPhones for protection.
Processor
Evaluating smartphones by benchmarks, in this case, is not the most logical task – and the iPhone 14 will defeat the old device. But for appearances, here is a performance comparison in Geekbench 5. The difference in favor of the novelty is about 30-40%.
It just happens that Apple has not added the latest system-on-a-chip to the new iPhone. However, it will be enough for several years with a margin, as practice shows. Therefore, even the three-year-old iPhone 11 looks quite confident against the background of competitors on Android.
- iPhone 11 – 4GB RAM, 7nm A13 Bionic.
- iPhone 14 – 6GB RAM, 5nm A15 Bionic.
Regarding speed and response, the iPhone 11 is inferior to the iPhone 14; it reacts a little more slowly to actions. Another thing is that there is no directly significant difference in the work. A few milliseconds difference can hardly be called essential with all desire. The performance of the iPhone 11 is enough to this day. It does not feel backward or outdated. But here, it should be noted that we are talking about a fresh, new device. And when you use the phone for several years, the level of inhibition will be more noticeable.
An important issue is the amount of memory. If the iPhone 11 was produced with 64, 128, and 256 GB of memory, and is now available only in the first two versions, then 128, 256, or 512 GB are already offered for the iPhone 14.
Communications
Please note that the iPhone 14 for the US market only comes with eSIM support. This was not the case before. In other markets, you can find a version with a physical SIM and an eSIM; there is also an option with just two physical SIM cards. Here is the variety!
The iPhone 14 is designed to work in networks with 5G, although this is not particularly relevant for Russia. Both smartphones support Wi-Fi 6, but the iPhone 14 has a more recent Bluetooth 5.3, while the iPhone 11 has version 5.0.
And even in the iPhone 14, the function of determining an accident appeared – however, in Russia, it still does not work, like satellite communications. Support for 5G frequencies in the iPhone 14 is also worth mentioning. It is not in the iPhone 11.
Cameras
Despite its age, the iPhone 11 looks decent even against the backdrop of the freshest iPhone. It has two modules of 12 megapixels, one camera with an aperture of f / 1.8, and an ultra-wide angle with f / 2.4.
The iPhone 14 received a pair of 12-megapixel cameras: a wide-angle one with f / 1.5 aperture and Sensor-Shift optical stabilization and an ultra-wide angle with f / 2.4. There was a Photonic Engine function for post-processing frames and removing defects when shooting in poor lighting conditions.
I can’t say that a very tangible difference between the cameras and the iPhone 11 will be defeated in comparison. No. But the iPhone 14 does a better job with white balance, it doesn’t overshoot with colors, and the trademark “yellowness” is finally gone. When shooting indoors or in the evening on the street, the iPhone 11 often launches night mode, and the iPhone 14 copes with the standard settings without activating a slow shutter speed.
At the same time, even when the images are enlarged, there are no critical differences. A few examples are below.
iPhone 11:
iPhone 14:
When zooming in on a shot taken in dim room light, you can see how the colors of the discs differ. If the color is closer to gold on the iPhone 11, then the iPhone 14 shows a more realistic silver.
iPhone 11:
iPhone 14:
In this frame, where there are a lot of white objects, the difference between the colors is no longer so visible. The iPhone 11 did well too, but on the iPhone 14, white is a little closer to accurate. Plus, it is noticeable how better the scarf’s texture is worked out.
iPhone 11:
iPhone 14:
On the iPhone 14, the brickwork is slightly better worked out: it seems they have added contrast, and on the iPhone 11, the processing is not so strong. The rest of the pictures are very similar.
