Which one’s right for you?

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  Apple / Pocket-lint

  Apple iPhone 15

  Plenty of upgrades

  Apple’s iPhone 15 has a steady stream of upgrades, including a USB-C port, faster processor, improved camera and the Dynamic Island makes its debut on non-Pro models. 

  Pros

  • Excellent camera results, including 2x zoom
  • Superb design
  • USB-C

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  Apple / Pocket-lint

  Apple iPhone 14

  Tried and true

  The Apple iPhone 14 is the base model of the 2022 range, featuring the same hardware as the iPhone 13 but with a faster GPU, upgraded main camera and front camera improvements. It comes in five colour options and retains the notch.

  Pros

  • Excellent display
  • Good battery life
  • Lovely colour options

Apple’s iPhone 15 is one heck of a phone with plenty of upgrades to offer compared to last year’s iPhone 14. And with both phones staying in Apple’s lineup, you may very well find yourself debating which phone you should get.

It’s a reasonable query, as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 are pretty similar. They both run Apple’s latest software, iOS 17, have similar battery life and should be close when it comes to overall performance.

However, the iPhone 15 gains USB-C, the Dynamic Island, and perhaps most importantly, a pretty big camera upgrade. But does that make it the best entry-level iPhone? Let’s take a look.

Price, specs & availability

Apple’s iPhone 15 is available to purchase directly from Apple, in retail stores and through wireless carriers. It starts at $799 for the 128GB version, with the 256GB and 512GB models priced at $899 and $1,099, respectively. The iPhone 15 comes in new colours, which include blue, pink, yellow, green and black.

Apple and its partners are still selling the iPhone 14 at a reduced starting price of $699 for 128GB, $799 for 256GB and $999 for 512GB. The iPhone 14’s colours are similar but brighter than the 15’s. You can find it in blue, purple, yellow, midnight, starlight and Product(RED).

• 	Apple iPhone 15	Apple iPhone 14
  SoC	Apple A16 Bionic	A15 Bionic
  Display	6.1in, OLED, 2556 x 1179, 460ppi, 2000 nits peak	6.1-inch, OLED, 2532 x 1170, HDR, 1200nits
  Storage	128, 256, 512GB	128/256/512GB
  Dimensions	147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8mm; 171g	146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8mm, 172g
  Colors	Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink	Blue, Purple, Yellow. Midnight, Starlight, Product(RED)
  IP Rating	IP68	IP68

Design and display

At a quick glance, the iPhone and iPhone 14 look identical. But once you look closer, you’re going to find plenty of differences.

Both phones have the same Super Retina XDR display of 6.1 inches, with slightly different resolutions, due to the iPhone gaining Apple’s Dynamic Island pill-like cutout for the front-facing TrueDepth camera. The iPhone 14 has a notch cutout at the top of the screen for the same TrueDepth camera setup.

Both phones run iOS 17, the latest update for the iPhone from Apple. Where you’re going to see the biggest differences, however, is with the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15. Developers can display information, similar to widgets, in the Dynamic Display surrounding the front-facing camera cutout.

The iPhone 15’s resolution is 2556 x 1179, while the iPhone 14’s is 2532 x 1170. However, both phones have the same 460 pixels per inch, so you shouldn’t notice a difference in overall quality.

The peak brightness of the iPhone 15 has increased from last year’s model, with 2,000 nits of brightness in an outdoor setting, which should make the display much easier to see in direct sunlight compared to the iPhone 14’s 1,200 nits of peak brightness.

Both phones have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, translating into being in a depth of 6 meters of water for up to 30 minutes.

The iPhone 15 is slightly, and I mean slightly, taller than the iPhone 14, measuring 147.6 millimetres compared to 146.7. Otherwise, the phones have the same width and depth at 71.6 and 7.8 millimetres, respectively.

On the right side of both phones is the side button that’s used to sleep/wake the phone. The volume up and down keys are on the left side, along with a mute switch.

On the bottom of the phone is where you’ll find a big change with the iPhone 15 – the removal of Apple’s proprietary Lightning port in exchange for a USB-C port. The iPhone 14 still has Apple’s Lightning port, however.

The iPhone 15’s design and display are very clearly the future of the iPhone, which can make it more appealing to the masses. However, the iPhone 14 has aged well.

Cameras

Apple also made some changes to the overall camera setup of the iPhone 15 compared to last year’s iPhone 14, even though both phones have a dual-camera system on the rear of the phone.

Most notably, the iPhone 15’s main camera is now a 48MP sensor with support for 24MP and 48MP pictures. The ultra-wide camera is the same at 12MP and has a 120-degree field of view.

However, Apple lists 12MP 2x Telephoto as a camera option on the iPhone 15, but this isn’t due to an extra lens. Instead, this is done via software using the 48MP camera. It’s a little confusing to see it listed on the spec sheet.

The iPhone 14’s camera setup is a dual 12MP setup for both the main and ultra-wide cameras.

Those same software tricks that give the iPhone 15 a 2x option mean that it has optical zoom levels of 0.5x, 1x and 2x, while the iPhone 14 only has 0.5x and 1x.

Furthermore, the iPhone 15 has an advanced portrait mode with more focus and depth controls compared to the iPhone 14.

While you’ll still be happy with the photos you get out of the iPhone 14, the iPhone 15’s camera setup is the better of the two.

Hardware and performance

Inside the iPhone 15 is Apple’s A16 Bionic processor, which powered the iPhone 14 Pro lineup. Yes, that means it’s last year’s flagship processor. Apple first started using this approach last year when the iPhone 14 shipped with the A15 Bionic.

And even though the processor is a year old now, it’s still one of Apple’s more powerful mobile chips that’s sure to make the iPhone 15 feel as fast and smooth as you’d expect.

Both phones have the same storage options, ranging from 128GB to 512GB.

Battery life for both models is estimated to be 20 hours, according to Apple and our testing.

Truth be told, you likely won’t be able to tell a significant difference between the two phones’ performance unless you have them side by side.

Which is right for you?

The iPhone 15 is the better option for most due to the change to USB-C, the addition of the Dynamic Island, camera upgrades and improved performance.

But if you don’t care if you have the latest and greatest hardware and you have plenty of Lightning cables you’d rather not ditch quite yet, the slightly more affordable iPhone 14 isn’t a bad choice either.