In what appears to have develop into an annual custom, the spring season will start with a brand new iPhone.
No, it’s not an all-new mannequin, but it surely’s a contemporary seasonal colour — yellow — that’s positive to seize your consideration.
Available throughout the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus lineup, this new yellow end simply hit cabinets this week. Prior to the launch, I had the chance to spend some hands-on time with the iPhone 14 Plus in yellow.
Not solely have I warmed as much as the daring new colour, however I’ve additionally been impressed with the cellphone itself.
It is probably not as highly effective because the higher-end iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Still, it packs quite a bit into a light-weight and extra reasonably priced bundle (beginning at $799) that ought to make it successful with vacationers.
Here’s why.
Best-ever battery life
If you’re something like me, you is likely to be (a tiny bit) obsessive about ensuring you don’t run out of juice whereas on the street.
Personally, meaning scouting out energy shops on the airport or toting round an exterior battery pack to verify my cellphone is all the time charged. As a final resort, I’ll have interaction Apple’s “Low Power Mode” on the iPhone, however this function comes with degraded efficiency to attenuate battery utilization.
Fortunately, vacationers will not want to fret about that with the bigger iPhone 14 Plus. Apple says this mannequin packs the longest-ever battery lifetime of any iPhone, and this declare could be very a lot substantiated in my expertise.
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I’ve had no downside reaching almost a day and a half of fairly constant utilization throughout productiveness, social media, journey and digicam apps while not having to recharge.
That’s fairly spectacular and maybe cause sufficient for some street warriors to go for the iPhone 14 Plus over some other mannequin.
If you go for the entry-level iPhone 14, you possibly can anticipate as much as 20 hours of battery life which ought to nonetheless assist most vacationers get by means of their journey.
Bigger, higher screens
“Plus” doesn’t simply discuss with a bigger battery. It additionally means the system has a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR show, supplying you with much more room to get pleasure from content material once you’re on the go.
Whether you utilize the additional display screen actual property to immerse your self in a recreation or peruse the inflight leisure programming, it received’t take lengthy to understand the bigger show.
Better but, I discovered the larger cellphone doesn’t truly really feel a lot bulkier. It weighs simply 7.16 ounces, and it suits completely in my hand. I do not thoughts sacrificing a little bit of portability for a bigger show and longer battery life, however that’s a private choice each traveler might want to make.
The 6.1-inch iPhone 14 additionally includes a crisp Super Retina XDR show.
One function from Apple’s higher-end iPhones you will not discover on the usual 14 and 14 Plus fashions is a ProMovement show. This permits content material to scroll extra easily between pages. Another draw back is that the show brightness on the entry-level fashions is not as excessive as on the costlier Pro units — a distinction that is instantly noticeable when the solar is shining open air.
For most informal vacationers, nevertheless, these two options alone will not be definitely worth the $200 improve to a Pro mannequin.
Impressive efficiency
I not too long ago attended a gaming showcase the place some iOS builders confirmed off their newest video games.
While I’m not a severe gamer myself, I left the showcase most impressed by how properly Apple’s entry-level iPhone 14 fashions rendered the video games. When enjoying round with “Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile,” the iPhone 14 had no downside maintaining with the tens of millions of inner computations wanted to show the sport with out lag or overheating.
This efficiency is powered by Apple’s proprietary A15 Bionic chip — the identical pro-level silicon that powered final 12 months’s iPhone 13 Pro.
For the common consumer, A15 is lots highly effective. It takes simply seconds to make batch edits and render movies in iMovie — two superior duties that almost all informal vacationers could have no hassle acting on these units.
Emergency SOS
Knock on wooden, Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc is a function you’ll hopefully by no means want to make use of. However, the function may save your life in case you, sadly, want it.
This function helps you to join with emergency providers utilizing satellites, even in case you’re far off the grid with out mobile or Wi-Fi service.
Every iPhone 14, together with the entry-level fashions, has built-in satellite tv for pc connectivity — a game-changer for individuals who are sometimes trekking or adventuring off the overwhelmed path.
Even if you buy your iPhone within the U.S., you possibly can have interaction Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc in 12 international locations (and counting) — together with Canada and lots of the largest international locations in Europe. This makes it an incredible insurance coverage coverage to your summer season trip.
Even in case you don’t want emergency help, you need to use satellite tv for pc connectivity to ship your location to family members again dwelling by means of the Find My app.
Although you received’t be capable of name or textual content them, having the ability to ship your location ought to assist reassure your loved ones and associates that you just’re doing properly in your tenting journey.
For extra about utilizing Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc, make sure to take a look at TPG’s devoted information.
No extra bodily SIM playing cards
For the previous 15 years, each iPhone mannequin has shipped with a bodily SIM (quick for subscriber id module) card slot.
These tiny chips include the data wanted to hook up with the mobile community. However, they’ve develop into a ache to handle — particularly once you’re touring overseas and fumbling round with a number of nano-size SIM playing cards throughout your journey.
Plus, bodily SIMs are much less safe. If your cellphone will get misplaced or stolen, somebody may take away your SIM card to start out making calls and texts (and receiving two-factor authentication codes) along with your cellphone quantity.
This 12 months, each iPhone 14 offered within the U.S. is dropping the bodily SIM slot in favor of the brand new eSIM (or embedded SIM) commonplace.
With this innovation, you possibly can retailer no less than eight digital SIM playing cards straight in your cellphone. This means you will not need to shuffle round with a number of 9-millimeter-by-12-millimeter chips.
You can change between cellphone numbers straight in iOS, and you may even obtain low-cost worldwide plans by means of apps like Airalo, Truphone and GigSky.
In truth, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus each help twin SIM, which means you possibly can join to 2 cellular networks concurrently. This is a key function to avoiding the pesky $10-a-day roaming prices with AT&T and Verizon.
Crash detection
In latest years, Apple’s been busy constructing health- and safety-focused options throughout its total cellphone and watch lineup.
With the introduction of Crash Detection within the iPhone 14 household, you may be reassured that your smartphone can detect a extreme automotive crash and mechanically dial emergency providers if vital.
Just like Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc, this can be a function you hope by no means to make use of. Still, it could actually convey vacationers further peace of thoughts when hitting the street.
Bottom line
Apple’s iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are phenomenal smartphones for the on a regular basis traveler — they usually now are available a daring new yellow colour.
They each pack many must-have options, together with the introduction of eSIM-only mobile connectivity. The actual star of the present is the Plus mannequin, which is Apple’s first entry-level mannequin to supply a 6.7-inch touchscreen.
It additionally packs the longest-ever battery life in an iPhone, making it an incredible possibility for vacationers who’re incessantly on the go.
Emergency SOS by way of satellite tv for pc and built-in crash detection are two essential safety-related options that may be notably comforting to solo vacationers or these heading to distant locations.
Of course, some heavy smartphone customers and creatives may wish to splurge for the top-of-the-line Pro fashions. However, except you want the digicam and show enhancements, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus ought to match the invoice fairly properly.