Best iPhone 14 to buy for Christmas 2022 – but stock is disappearing fast

WANT an iPhone 14 for Christmas 2022? There are four great options to choose from – but you better be quick.

Here’s a simple guide to this year’s iPhone quartet, including features and price.

Apple

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus both look great[/caption]

Apple

For a more premium experience, consider the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max[/caption]

We’ve now tested all of the 2022 iPhone models, which include the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

But be warned: many of the models are in high demand. If you want an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, you may struggle to order one with delivery from Apple this side of Christmas.

iPhone 14 – £849/$799

The iPhone 14 is the entry-level model in this year’s line-up.

It’s got the same tried-and-tested square-edge design introduced with the iPhone 12 – and comes in Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight and Red.

There’s a blisteringly fast A15 Bionic processor inside with improved graphics performance thanks to a 5-core GPU. That means mobile gaming is very smooth for a smartphone.

The iPhone 14 ships with a very bright and colourful Super Retina XDR OLED display.

The iPhone 14 is also water-resistant too, so don’t worry about getting it a little wet.

There are two new features built for life-preservation.

The first is car-crash detection, which uses sensors inside your iPhone to register when you’ve been in a severe motoring accident.

The second is emergency SOS satellite calling.

This lets you link up with satellites when you’re in a very rural area but need emergency help.

You can request an emergency response in a situation where you’d normally be unable to contact anyone.

Apple is promising a massive 20 hours of video playback in the iPhone 14, which is a great testament to its battery life.

In my own use, it comfortably lasted a full day. If you’re very careful, you could probably get close to two days of usage.

There’s a new main camera (and some improved image processing) that will net you much better lowlight photos.

I’ve been very pleased with the quality even in very dim settings.

You can record very impressive video in 4K at 24fps, and there’s also a new camera mode for ultra-stabilised footage.

It’s called Action Mode and uses some clever camera tricks to avoid shaking, rocking and bouncing video.

iPhone 14 Plus – £949/$899

The Plus is largely the same as the regular iPhone 14, with a few minor differences.

It’s marginally heavier (by about an ounce) and has a 6.7-inch display (versus 6.1 inches).

A more subtle but useful change is that the Plus delivers more battery life.

According to Apple, the Plus delivers 26 hours of video playback against the iPhone 14’s 20 hours.

In actual usage, the iPhone 14 Plus is very impressive. I found it difficult to run down in a day, even with extra usage due to the novelty of using it.

That said, the iPhone 14 also comfortably lasts a day – so that might not be enough to sell you on a Plus.

iPhone 14 Pro – £1,099/$999

The iPhone 14 Pro is the next tier up from the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.

That means it costs more, but the benefit is plenty of pro features.

The Pro model has a 6.1-inch screen (just like the iPhone 14), and the Pro Max rises to a gargantuan 6.7 inches.

The screen itself is brilliant, serving up a dense 460 pixels-per-inch and a ludicrous peak brightness of 2,000 nits.

At the top of the screen, you’ll notice that the “notch” (introduced with iPhone X to house Face ID) is gone.

In its place is a new smaller detached cut-out that Apple is calling the Dynamic Island.

It transforms its shape and size depending on your activity.

For instance, it will show album art and a colour-matched waveform if you’re listening to music.

It will even pop out into a square if you’re using Face ID. 

Two new colours (Space Black and Deep Purple) join the old Silver and Gold options to keep things feeling fresh.

There’s an Always On display (for the first time ever), which works great with iOS 16’s customisable Lock Screen.

The iPhone 14 Pro manages to produce detailed and colourful images even in very dim settings.

Really though, the iPhone 14 Pro’s real magic is in video.

Apple has managed to pair its impressive hardware with expertly crafted computing to create shockingly good video quality.

You can record 4K video right up to 60fps, or Cinematic Mode in 4K at 30fps.

There’s also a new 60fps Action Mode that massively smoothes your footage capture during high-movement situations – removing any bumping, rolling, wiggling and shaking.

Apple has fitted its new iPhone 14 Pro with an A16 chip – unlike the A15 powering the regular iPhone 14.

The A16 is about as fast as mobile chips get.

Really the chip’s advantages come from intense image computing, AI processing, efficiency for battery life and more.

The battery will comfortably take you through an entire day, and then some.

iPhone 14 Pro Max – £1,199/$1,099

The Pro Max is hardly different from the Pro – aside from a few key differences.

Perhaps most obvious is screen size: it’s 6.7 inches from corner to corner, rather than 6.1 inches.

This matches up with the screen size difference between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Neat.

The Pro Max is heavier at 240 grams versus 206 grams.

And battery life is much better on the Pro Max.

Apple claims 29 hours of video playback, against the regular Pro’s 23 hours.

So really, the key differences are screen size and battery life.

Which new iPhone 14 should I buy?

For most people, the iPhone 14 will suffice.

It’s got the bulk of the features you’ll really want from the new iPhone 14 line-up – and manages to keep costs down.

The iPhone 14 Plus is available for about £100/$100 more, and gets you a bigger screen plus more battery life.

It’s personal preference really: this iPhone will simply be too big for some people.

Scaling up to the iPhone 14 Pro means paying significantly more versus the regular iPhone 14.

The advantage is that you’ll have an iPhone that is clearly new, thanks to the Dynamic Island at the top of the screen.

And you get loads of extra perks, including a more impressive camera and a speedier chip.

In some ways, the iPhone 14 Pro is simply overkill for a lot of people. The regular iPhone 14 is very good already.

But if you’re a gadget geek, you’ve got some spare cash, or you simply want a fancy new iPhone, the Pro is the way to go.

And only you’ll know whether the Max is worth the additional cash for the screen size and battery boost.

Bear in mind that Apple is still selling older (and cheaper) phones.

So don’t feel like you absolutely must buy the iPhone 14 (or one of its variants).

There are great deals to be had on the still-brilliant iPhone 13 and iPhone 12.

And Apple’s very cheap iPhone SE can be picked up for just £449/$429.

It can even upgrade to iOS 16, if that takes your fancy.

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