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It's time to retire your iPhone 14 Pro.
Photo: Apple/Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

For a four-year-old device, the iPhone 14 Pro has aged well. But the iPhone 18 Pro offers some compelling everyday improvements that make it a worthwhile upgrade. 

If you use an iPhone 14 Pro, it may just be time to upgrade. Here’s our iPhone 18 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro comparison to help you decide.

The iPhone 14 Pro marked the debut of the Dynamic Island, an Always-On display and a 48MP main camera. Four generations later, these features are still relevant, though Apple has improved them to deliver an even better experience.

Apart from all the hardware improvements, the iPhone 18 Pro gets Apple Intelligence and Siri AI access. That’s something the iPhone 14 Pro entirely misses out on. And that’s a big deal, especially now that Siri AI is actually usable.

Table of contents

• • Design: Bigger, with new controls
  • Display: More space and better visibility outdoors
  • Chipset: A faster chip with better cooling
  • Cameras: A much more flexible system

• Connectivity: USB-C replaces Lightning
• Battery life: A major gain
• Price: A higher starting price with more storage
• Conclusion: Should you upgrade?

Design: Bigger, with new controls New rear design and more attractive color options.
Photo: Apple

• iPhone 18 Pro: Aluminum unibody; Ceramic Shield 2 front and Ceramic Shield back; 150 × 71.9 × 8.75mm; 211 grams; Action button and Camera Control
• iPhone 14 Pro: Stainless steel design with a Ceramic Shield front and textured matte glass back; 147.5 × 71.5 × 7.85mm; 206 grams; Ring/Silent switch

The iPhone 18 Pro features a more modern design compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, highlighted by a smaller Dynamic Island and Apple’s new color slate.

It also features a customizable Action button, replacing the old Ring/Silent switch. Plus, there’s Camera Control and a redesigned rear camera island.

However, the iPhone 18 Pro is taller, thicker and 5 grams heavier than the iPhone 14 Pro, despite moving from stainless steel to aluminum. Its larger 6.3-inch display accounts for some of that added size.

The change is more noticeable with the Max models: The iPhone 18 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display and weighs 249 grams, compared with the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch display and 240-gram weight. 

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is the heaviest iPhone ever. So, if you already find your Pro Max bulky, try the newer model in person before upgrading.

Display: More space and better visibility outdoors The iPhone 18 Pro’s Dynamic Island can handle three Live Activities at once.
Image: Apple

• iPhone 18 Pro: 6.3-inch OLED; ProMotion up to 120Hz; Always-On display; up to 3,000 nits peak outdoor brightness; anti-reflective coating
• iPhone 14 Pro: 6.1-inch OLED; ProMotion up to 120Hz; Always-On display; up to 2,000 nits peak outdoor brightness

The iPhone 18 Pro packs a 0.2-inch larger display than the iPhone 14 Pro. That means you should see a little more content on the screen in most apps.

Plus, its display can reach a peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits. More importantly, an anti-reflective coating on the iPhone 18 Pro’s display helps reduce glare in bright sunlight. This makes a bigger difference than you might think, especially when using the phone outdoors.

The iPhone 18 Pro’s smaller Dynamic Island enables displaying up to three Live Activities at once, compared with two on the iPhone 14 Pro.

The Pro Max models get the same 0.2-inch increase: The iPhone 18 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display, up from 6.7 inches on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. It also gets the higher outdoor brightness and anti-reflective coating, so the benefits are similar on a larger screen.

Chipset: A faster chip with better cooling Apple’s A20 Pro chip is a monster.
Photo: Apple

• iPhone 18 Pro: A20 Pro with a six-core CPU, seven-core GPU, dual 16-core Neural Engine, hardware-accelerated ray tracing and a redesigned vapor chamber
• iPhone 14 Pro: A16 Bionic with a six-core CPU, five-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine

Every year, Apple raises the benchmark for mobile CPU performance with its A-series chips. The A20 Pro is no different, delivering unrivaled performance. Its 6-core CPU comprises two super cores and four efficiency cores, delivering a massive leap in performance and efficiency.

The 7-core GPU is no slouch either, with each core featuring a Neural Accelerator to speed up AI workloads.

More importantly, Apple uses TSMC’s 2-nanometer process to fabricate the A20 Pro. Plus, it uses a packaging technique that enables better heat dissipation.

Coupled with the largest vapor chamber ever in an iPhone, the iPhone 18 Pro delivers better sustained performance as well.

While the iPhone 14 Pro’s A16 Bionic chip is still capable, it’s clearly showing its age now. It can’t run any of iOS’ AI features, leading to a major usability gap. So, even if you are happy with your iPhone 14 Pro’s performance, it may be time to upgrade to gain access to Apple Intelligence.

Cameras: A much more flexible system An all-round upgrade.
Photo: Apple

• iPhone 18 Pro: 48MP main camera with variable aperture; 48MP ultrawide; 48MP 4x telephoto with 12MP “optical-quality” output at 8x; 18MP f/1.9 Center Stage front camera
• iPhone 14 Pro: 48MP main camera with fixed ƒ/1.78 aperture; 12MP ultrawide; 12MP 3x telephoto; 12MP front camera

The iPhone 14 Pro can still take excellent photos. Its 48MP main camera, dedicated 3x telephoto and macro mode provide plenty of flexibility and range.

But the iPhone 18 Pro offers more flexibility across every camera. Its main camera can vary its aperture, while the higher-resolution ultrawide captures more detail in wide shots and macro photos.

The zoom camera also gets a notable upgrade. It’s a larger 4x telephoto lens, up from the iPhone 14 Pro’s 3x. It can also capture “optical-quality 12MP shots at 8x zoom.

Similarly, the front camera gets a major usability upgrade. The 18MP square-shaped sensor enables you to switch between portrait and landscape framing while holding the phone upright. This means you won’t have to adjust your grip when taking wide group selfies.

There’s also Center Stage. So, the front camera will automatically keep you in the shot as you move. Or it can adjust the framing to fit more people. The feature extends to video calls, too.

There are noticeable improvements to video recording. You can capture 4K Dolby Vision videos at up to 120 fps on the main camera, ProRes RAW support, and Cinematic mode at 4K 60.

Connectivity: USB-C replaces Lightning

• iPhone 18 Pro: USB-C with USB 3 speeds up to 10Gbps; Wi-Fi 7; Bluetooth 6; Thread; second-generation Ultra Wideband; Apple N1 wireless chip and C2 cellular modem
• iPhone 14 Pro: Lightning; Wi-Fi 6; Bluetooth 5.3; first-generation Ultra Wideband

Another big usability upgrade you will notice after upgrading to the iPhone 18 Pro from the iPhone 14 Pro: USB-C. That means you can use the same cable to charge your Mac, iPad and other accessories.

For pro users, the USB 3 support will make transferring large files in the background more practical. The wireless experience will improve too, with the iPhone 18 Pro supporting the latest Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread and Ultra Wideband standards. 

Battery life: A major gain

• iPhone 18 Pro: Up to 36 hours of video playback; up to 50% charge in around 15 minutes with a compatible 60W-or-higher USB-C adapter that supports Adjustable Voltage Supply; MagSafe and Qi2 charging up to 25W
• iPhone 14 Pro: Up to 23 hours of video playback; up to 50% charge in around 30 minutes with a 20W-or-higher adapter; MagSafe charging up to 15W

Apple rates the iPhone 18 Pro for 13 more hours of video playback than the iPhone 14 Pro. That’s a battery life boost you will easily notice, especially if your iPhone 14 Pro’s battery is fading.

The iPhone 18 Pro also charges faster, pulling up to 60W of power. The wireless charging experience is upgraded with stronger MagSafe magnets and support for up to 25W of power.

Price: A higher starting price with more storage iPhone 18 Pro costs more but delivers more.
Photo: Apple

• iPhone 18 Pro: Starts at $1,199 with 256GB of storage
• iPhone 14 Pro: Launched at $999 with 128GB of storage

The iPhone 18 Pro starts $200 above the iPhone 14 Pro’s original price. On the bright side, the base model comes with twice as much storage.

Four years is a long time in the tech world. And it won’t be fair to compare the iPhone 14 Pro’s launch price to the iPhone 18 Pro now. Make sure to consider the trade-in value of your old iPhone to make a fair comparison.

Conclusion: Should you upgrade?

If you can, the iPhone 18 Pro is a worthwhile upgrade over the iPhone 14 Pro. You get a better display, a faster chip, a more capable camera system and longer battery life. Even if that’s not enough, there’s Apple Intelligence and Siri AI to consider, too.

They make a real impact in daily use now, and things will only get better as Apple further develops Apple Intelligence.

If you only use your iPhone 14 Pro for calling and texting, stick with it for another year. But in that case, you may want to consider a battery replacement for a better experience.