Apple today announced the new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which are available with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays, respectively. Key new features include improved front and rear cameras, a slightly improved A15 Bionic chip with a 5-core GPU, and satellite connectivity for emergency texting in the United States and Canada.
As was widely rumored, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus feature the ability to connect to satellite networks in emergency situations where normal cell towers may be out of reach. When emergency messages are sent using the new feature, they'll appear as gray bubbles within the Messages app to distinguish them from iMessage or SMS messages.
The iPhone 14 and the new iPhone 14 Plus include the same overall design as iPhone 13 models, but a larger 6.7-inch size replaces the previous 5.4-inch iPhone 13 mini size. Both models have the same Retina XDR OLED display with True Tone, Haptic Touch, and up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness. Internally, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus feature the same A15 Bionic chip found in iPhone 13 Pro models for faster graphics.
Rear camera improvements on the Pro models include a larger sensor for the Wide lens that improves low-light performance and makes Night mode exposure twice as fast as before. On the front, there is a new 12-megapixel front-facing camera with autofocus.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus also include a new feature called the "Photonic Engine":
Through a deep integration of hardware and software, Photonic Engine improves mid- to low-light performance for photos across all cameras: up to 2x on the Ultra Wide camera, 2x on the TrueDepth camera, and an impressive 2.5x on the new Main camera. Photonic Engine enables this dramatic increase in quality by applying the computational benefits of Deep Fusion earlier in the imaging process to deliver extraordinary detail, and preserve subtle textures, provide better color, and maintain more information in a photo.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be available in midnight, blue, starlight, and purple in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB options. Pre-orders for the new iPhone 14 models open on Friday, September 9, and the iPhone 14 will begin shipping on Friday, September 16. The larger iPhone 14 Plus will begin shipping to customers on Friday, October 7.
