iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15: Should you buy the iPhone 14 or wait for the iPhone 15?

If you’re ready to upgrade your aging iPhone, you have a few options in 2023. First, you could consider the iPhone SE if you’re on a budget. For those looking for a more premium experience, the iPhone 14 family could be worth a look. Of course,  those phones are about a year old — give or take a few months, depending on the model. Another option would be to wait for the upcoming iPhone 15 family. In this guide, we take a look at the iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15 to help you make that decision.

iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15: Expected differences

Although we don’t know everything about the iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15 just yet, there are enough rumors that we can tell you some of the biggest differences you can expect.

Every year Apple releases new silicon for its Pro models, and this year is no exception. The A17 will reportedly have a 15% speed boost over its successor. In reality, that’s a pretty small jump forward, but Apple’s chips are fast and powerful enough that there’s only so much room for improvement year after year.

According to Nikkei, the A17 Bionic may be the first Apple SoC built on the TSMC 3nm process. That said, another report from MacRumors claims Apple may switch from the N3B process to N3E in 2024 in order to reduce costs. This would make later chips a bit different and less energy efficient than the initial batch. They’d still likely be on par or more energy efficient than the A16, at least. That said, we don’t think Apple would do this in the middle of a product lifecycle as it would create a lot of confusion, but anything is possible.

While we’d love to see the A17 in all iPhone 15 models, it’s very possible that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will utilize the previous-gen SoC. After all, the base iPhone and Plus models both used A15 chips last year. The good news is the A16 is still a blazing-fast chip and can easily hold its own against competing chips like the Tensor G3.

Aside from having a better SoC, the iPhone 15 Pro family is rumored to have 8GB of RAM. That’s a notable upgrade over the 6GB found in the iPhone 14 family. There may even be a storage variant with a whopping 2TB of storage. There’s no mention if these upgrades would come to the cheaper iPhone 15 variants, but it wouldn’t be too surprising if Apple kept this upgrade for its pricier models.

Apple will bring a next-gen UWB chip to all iPhone 15 models

According to a new rumor, Apple is gearing up to release its next-gen Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip. This new chip would use a 7nm process, a jump from the 16nm process used in its predecessor. This would allow for “improved performance or reduced power consumption for nearby interactions.”

For those that don’t know what Ultra Wideband is all about, be sure to check out our UWB guide. In brief, UWB is a short-range wireless communication standard that is frequently used by devices like the Apple AirTag. It could also reportedly be used for communications with the Vision Pro in the future.

Apple hasn’t changed its iPhone design much in recent years, but the iPhone 15 family could see at least a few notable changes to the formula. First, it appears that frosted glass might be coming to all models of the iPhone 15, whereas it was previously reserved for the Pro tier last year.

Display sizes are also set to see some changes, at least for the base model. The iPhone 15 reportedly will feature a 6.2-inch display with slightly smaller bezels than the 6.1-inch display from last year. All other phones are expected to have largely the same screen size and footprint, though Apple may be embracing curves again.

According to leaker ShrimpApplePro, the front of the phone will likely remain flat, but the rear could be curved around its edges. This would be similar to the iPhone 5C from back in 2013. Why would Apple do this? For one, they already did something similar to the bottom case of the MacBook family. Apple tends to introduce uniform design elements across many of its products. It’s less clear if this design change will affect all iPhone 15 models or just select variants like the Pro family.

In addition to changing up the back by adding frosted glass and a curved design, Apple may also be making a few changes specific to the iPhone 15 Pro family. This includes an expanded camera module on the rear, a slightly thicker body, and the switch to a titanium frame. The latter of these might only come to the most expensive iPhone variant.

Two other iPhone 15 design changes are significant enough to warrant their own talking points. The mute slider might be going the way of the dinosaur in select iPhone models, replaced by a new action button. All iPhone 15 models are reportedly making the move to a USB-C port.

The iPhone 15 may get a new customizable action button

The mute switch has been an iconic iPhone feature since 2007, but the iPhone Pro family might be ditching it altogether. The iPhone 15 Pro family will instead offer a customizable Action button.

It’s unclear exactly how customizable this function would be. If we had to take a guess, we’d say it’s certainly possible it could be customized to still act as a mute button of sorts. This would appease those who love the mute button while giving others a new way to customize their phone experience.

We’ve known for a while now that Apple would have to ditch its lightning connector in favor of USB-C eventually, thanks to a change in EU law. The mandate doesn’t actually start until 2024, but Apple is rumored to be making the change ahead of schedule with the iPhone 15 family. This is further corroborated by leaked images of the phone, which features a USB-C port.

There’s still a bunch of unknowns here. It’s possible we could see USB-C on only a few models, like the Pro level. It’s possible that Apple could make the USB-C move in select regions like the EU only while keeping its legacy port longer for regions like the United States.

The move to USB-C might be a pain for existing Apple users as it would require investing in adapters or all new accessories. However, long term, it will be a good thing. USB-C is already the standard for all other phones on the market, and the vast majority of tablets. This means future Apple accessories could play better with multiple platforms, instead of only working for iPhone users. It also means that many Android accessories may work with the iPhone going forward.

The move to USB-C could also see a jump over to Thunderbolt 3, which could offer speeds up to 40 gigabits per second. That’s a big jump from the 480 megabits per second on Apple’s lightning port. Of course, Apple might hold off introducing this speed increase to its base models, sticking to USB 2.0 speeds for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.

Dynamic Island may be coming to all iPhone 15 models

Dynamic Island was first introduced in the iPhone 14 Pro family, but a new rumor indicates the newer pill-shaped hole and Dynamic Island software will come to all iPhone 15 variants.

Don’t know what Dynamic Island is? In short, the camera notch is now surrounded by info like calls, music, notifications, and more. You can learn more about it in our Dynamic Island guide.

The iPhone Pro Max moniker might be going away in favor of the name iPhone 15 Ultra. This rumor is a little less clear, but it would line up with Apple’s Ultra branding for the Watch Ultra. It also would give Apple the opportunity to price the Ultra higher without as many direct comparisons to the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s price tag.

Regardless of whether it comes with the Pro Max or Ultra moniker, the highest-end iPhone is expected to have a few improvements. We already mentioned the titanium frame, but the Max’s screen is also getting an upgrade to 2,500 nits of brightness. Unfortunately, it might be sticking to its less-than-impressive 60Hz refresh rate.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max successor is also set to see a significant camera upgrade.

Apple is always working to improve its camera chops but the changes might be a little less dramatic for most iPhone 15 models. It’s very possible only the Pro models will see notable upgrades.

While the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will likely stick to the same dual-camera setup from last year, the iPhone Pro family is expected to see some serious upgrades. According to rumors, the iPhone 15 Pro family will feature the latest and greatest Sony imaging sensor, which can take in more light and features double the saturation signal level in each pixel.

According to a leak from MacRumors, Sony will also provide an improved LiDAR sensor for the iPhone 15 Pro models.

The last upgrade is exclusively for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, or Ultra, depending on which name Apple sticks to. Apple’s most expensive iPhone will reportedly add a periscope lens with either a 5x or 10x optical zoom. That’s a big jump forward from the 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The iPhone 14 is still plenty powerful in 2023. If you really need a phone now, you likely won’t regret buying it. Still, if you can hold on to your phone for a few more months, it might be worth the wait. There are two main reasons you’d want to wait:

• iPhone 14 discounts. Even if you aren’t impressed by the iPhone 15 family so far, the arrival of a new model means that pricing will go down, and you’ll get a better deal. While Apple phones never drop to the same degree as their Android rivals, the best time to buy an older iPhone is typically right around the launch window for the next one.
• The iPhone 15 family is set to offer big upgrades. The iPhone 15 family has improved designs, is moving to USB-C, and has upgraded the RAM and SoC. If you want to keep up with the latest innovations, you’ll want to consider a newer model.

Should you just get an iPhone 14 now? Honestly, it really depends on how much you want those upgrades or if you’re willing to wait for potential discounts on the older models. The iPhone 15 is rumored to see some major price increases, especially on the Pro end of things. We’ve heard at least one report claiming a price increase of up to $200.

Here are the reasons you should get the iPhone 14 instead of waiting:

• You need a phone now. If your phone is barely holding on or completely busted, waiting even 3 more months might not be something you can afford to do.
• The price increases turn you off. If Apple is really raising its prices significantly, we might not see great discounts on the iPhone 14 line after all. Apple might keep things where they are in order to take advantage of those who can’t afford to spend even more on a flagship. This could also lead to shortages of older models if and when they go on sale. Buying now might be the safest bet.
• You’re not ready to let go of the lightning port. The move to USB-C is mostly a good thing, but if you’ve invested a ton in accessories, you might not be ready to let go just yet. An iPhone 14 will easily last you several years, giving you a bit more time to make the transition.

If you aren’t interested in waiting, you can pick up a member of the iPhone 14 family through the widgets below.