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, nevertheless it’s a fresh seasonal color — yellow — that’s positive to seize your consideration.
Accessible throughout the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus lineup, this new yellow end simply hit cabinets this week. Previous 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 shade, however I’ve additionally been impressed with the telephone itself.
It will not be as highly effective because the higher-end iPhone 14 Professional and iPhone 14 Professional Max. Nonetheless, it packs so much into a light-weight and extra reasonably priced bundle (beginning at $799) that ought to make it successful with vacationers.
Right here’s why.
Greatest-ever battery life
If you happen to’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 retailers on the airport or toting round an exterior battery pack to ensure my telephone is at all times charged. As a final resort, I’ll interact Apple’s “Low Energy Mode” on the iPhone, however this characteristic comes with degraded efficiency to attenuate battery utilization.
Luckily, 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 may be very a lot substantiated in my expertise.
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I’ve had no downside attaining almost a day and a half of fairly constant utilization throughout productiveness, social media, journey and digicam apps with no need 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 happen to go for the entry-level iPhone 14, you’ll be able to count on as much as 20 hours of battery life which ought to nonetheless assist most vacationers get via their journey.
Greater, higher screens
“Plus” doesn’t simply discuss with a bigger battery. It additionally means the machine has a 6.7-inch Tremendous Retina XDR show, providing you with much more room to get pleasure from content material if you’re on the go.
Whether or not you employ the additional display screen actual property to immerse your self in a sport or peruse the inflight leisure programming, it received’t take lengthy to understand the bigger show.
Higher but, I discovered the larger telephone 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 resolution each traveler might want to make.
The 6.1-inch iPhone 14 additionally contains a crisp Tremendous Retina XDR show.
One characteristic from Apple’s higher-end iPhones you will not discover on the usual 14 and 14 Plus fashions is a ProMotion show. This enables content material to scroll extra easily between pages. One other draw back is that the show brightness on the entry-level fashions is not as excessive as on the costlier Professional units — a distinction that is instantly noticeable when the solar is shining open air.
For many informal vacationers, nonetheless, these two options alone will not be well worth the $200 improve to a Professional mannequin.
Spectacular efficiency
I not too long ago attended a gaming showcase the place some iOS builders confirmed off their newest video games.
Whereas I’m not a severe gamer myself, I left the showcase most impressed by how effectively Apple’s entry-level iPhone 14 fashions rendered the video games. When enjoying round with “Name of Responsibility: Warzone Cellular,” the iPhone 14 had no downside maintaining with the hundreds of thousands 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 Professional.
For the typical consumer, A15 is lots highly effective. It takes simply seconds to make batch edits and render movies in iMovie — two superior duties that the majority informal vacationers can have no bother acting on these units.
Emergency SOS
Knock on wooden, Emergency SOS via satellite is a characteristic you’ll hopefully by no means want to make use of. Nevertheless, the characteristic may save your life if you happen to, sadly, want it.
This characteristic permits you to join with emergency companies utilizing satellites, even if you happen to’re far off the grid with out mobile or Wi-Fi service.
Each iPhone 14, together with the entry-level fashions, has built-in satellite tv for pc connectivity — a game-changer for many who are sometimes trekking or adventuring off the overwhelmed path.
Even if you buy your iPhone within the U.S., you’ll be able to interact Emergency SOS through satellite tv for pc in 12 countries (and counting) — together with Canada and lots of the largest international locations in Europe. This makes it an awesome insurance coverage coverage to your summer time trip.
Even if you happen to don’t want emergency help, you should use satellite tv for pc connectivity to ship your location to family members again house via the Discover My app.
Though you received’t be capable to name or textual content them, having the ability to ship your location ought to assist reassure your loved ones and mates that you just’re doing effectively in your tenting journey.
For extra about utilizing Emergency SOS through satellite tv for pc, be sure you check out TPG’s dedicated guide.
No extra bodily SIM playing cards
For the previous 15 years, each iPhone mannequin has shipped with a bodily SIM (brief for subscriber id module) card slot.
These tiny chips include the knowledge wanted to hook up with the mobile community. Nevertheless, they’ve develop into a ache to handle — particularly if 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. In case your telephone will get misplaced or stolen, somebody may take away your SIM card to begin making calls and texts (and receiving two-factor authentication codes) along with your telephone quantity.
This 12 months, each iPhone 14 bought within the U.S. is dropping the physical SIM slot in favor of the brand new eSIM (or embedded SIM) commonplace.
With this innovation, you’ll be able to retailer at the least eight digital SIM playing cards straight in your telephone. This implies you will not must shuffle round with a number of 9-millimeter-by-12-millimeter chips.
You may change between telephone numbers straight in iOS, and you may even obtain low cost worldwide plans via apps like Airalo, Truphone and GigSky.
In reality, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus each help twin SIM, which means you’ll be able to join to 2 cell networks concurrently. It is a key characteristic to avoiding the pesky $10-a-day roaming charges with AT&T and Verizon.
Crash detection
Lately, Apple’s been busy constructing health- and safety-focused options throughout its complete telephone 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 automobile crash and robotically dial emergency companies if crucial.
Similar to Emergency SOS through satellite tv for pc, it is a characteristic you hope by no means to make use of. Nonetheless, it may carry vacationers additional peace of thoughts when hitting the street.
Backside 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 shade.
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 awesome possibility for vacationers who’re incessantly on the go.
Emergency SOS through satellite tv for pc and built-in crash detection are two essential safety-related options that may be significantly comforting to solo vacationers or these heading to distant locations.
After all, some heavy smartphone customers and creatives may need to splurge for the top-of-the-line Pro models. Nevertheless, until you want the digicam and show enhancements, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus ought to match the invoice fairly effectively.