Picking out an iPhone used to be easier – just get the newest one with all the storage you can afford. We still recommend buying as much storage as you can afford, but the choice of which iPhone to get it on isn’t quite so simple. Apple currently sells eight iPhone models, four of which launched last autumn, one in spring 2022, two from 2021 and one from 2020. Plus, you can still buy older refurbished models from the Apple Refurbished Store and elsewhere. Apple offers all this choice because, quite simply, different people have different priorities.
Apple’s latest iPhone line-up includes the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, which it sells alongside the iPhone 13, 13 mini, SE (3rd gen) and 12. The ‘best’ iPhone depends on your own personal preferences, so it’s not necessarily the case that the number one iPhone is the one you should buy. This group test of all the iPhones Apple sells should give you a good idea of which iPhone will suit you, and whether you can save money or if it would be worth spending more.
1. BEST NEW iPHONE
iPhone 14 Pro
Price: £1,099 from fave.co/3LYwTtL There are two new features that are exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro (and Max) that actually change the way you use your iPhone for the better: the always-on display and Dynamic Island. Implementation of the alwayson display is excellent and Dynamic Island is a revelation.
To create the Dynamic Island, Apple shrunk the notch that holds all the Face ID sensors and front-facing camera and moved it down into a little pill-shaped cutout that can change to display useful information like timers, sports scores and even the details of the currently playing music track. It’s a hit.
Thanks to the always-on mode, the time and date, lock screen widgets and notifications remain visible when your phone isn’t in use. Apple dims the screen significantly, but there is a small impact on battery life. If you place your iPhone screen down on a table or leave the room while wearing a connected Apple Watch, the screen will turn off.
There are other improvements to the screen tech. The most significant: the iPhone 14 Pro can crank up to 2,000 nits in bright sunlight so you can see the screen on a sunny day.
The iPhone 14 Pro (and Max) have the best cameras ever seen on an iPhone. There is a new 48Mp main wide-angle camera, a much bigger sensor and an f/1.78 aperture. These combine with the new Photonic Engine to create better low light photos. You
