iPhone 14 Pro - is it worth it?

Submitted by alpha-centori t3_z8xny7 in iphone

I currently have the iPhone 12 Pro and dropped it and broke the back glass portion. Now I'm trying to figure out if I should just fix it ($105) or upgrade (vaguely $200 after taxes) to the 14 Pro. I enjoy new things, but wouldn't consider myself very tech-y. I feel like I'd just be upgrading for the sake of upgrading. I've heard about the camera being extended far out and causing a wobble, which I'm not a fan of. But I also feel like I should upgrade while I have the opportunity to get the full $1000 trade in for my current phone. Thoughts? Anyone upgrade and wish they hadn't?

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DirectSession t1_iydu7kq wrote

Honestly the new changes aren’t really worth the upgrade, not unless you’re really into using your iPhone for photography… however, saving that $1,000 might be enough to get most to upgrade

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a_bigdonger t1_iydw8a8 wrote

I think you're better off getting the 13 Pro, to be honest. Look for sales or second-hand listings and you'll save a lot going that route. I paid £1209 here in the UK for the iPhone 14 Pro and the 13 Pros are selling for £650-700 (used with warranty) here now.

The only benefit I've found is the 48 MP camera and the AoD. The photos that aren't ProRAW looked the same as the ones on my iPhone 13 PM.

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20MinuteAdventure69 t1_iyeojxy wrote

$105 to fix the broken 12 or $200 for the upgrade? Unless $95 is a lot for you I think it’s a pretty easy choice

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Hot-Gabe4004 t1_iye5dbn wrote

Honestly I found out that upgrading your iPhone every year is not very satisfying. I think you will appreciate your new phone after around 3 years of use. There’s usually enough advancements and features to feel it was justified.

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alpha-centori OP t1_iyeb5ba wrote

That was my original plan, to wait until my current phone started dying :( But now that I need to replace/fix it and the cost difference between repair and upgrade is $100, it kind of feels like I should upgrade

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Hot-Gabe4004 t1_iyegrty wrote

Take the upgrade 100$ for new phone worth it you don’t know if the repair is gonna go smoothly I would pay 100 more for brand new phone.

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airysunshine t1_iyebo46 wrote

I went from the 11 pro to the 14 pro, and while there was nothing wrong with my 11 pro and it’s a great phone, I really do love the 14 pro. I have the Otterbox symmetry case and honestly the camera wobble isn’t something I usually notice.

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alpha-centori OP t1_iyecm07 wrote

Oh, that's good to know! I've used Speck cases in the past and have been trying to eyeball the photos for all the cases trying to figure out what would negate the wobble and what wouldn't (spoiler alert: I did not get very far using this method)

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curepure t1_iyed3y1 wrote

$1000 trade in? yes! i also upgraded from iPhone 12 pro to iPhone 14 Pro and the improvement in battery life and the screen refresh rate is significant.

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Whiplash104 t1_iydv7zm wrote

It kind of depends if you're interested in the iPhone 15 or 16 which will likely have USB-C as well if that's something that you remotely care about. $100-$200 isn't bad and IMO the 14 isn't a huge upgrade from the 12 Pro except the battery life is better and so it the thermal management. 14 Pro runs really cool while I recall the 12 Pro got pretty hot, especially using 5GUW on Verizon.

Apple will supposedly use the Qualcomm Modem on the 15, looking to use their own in-house designed one on the 16 and later. This suggests to me that thew 15 might be my last upgrade for a few years with the assumption that adopting their first gen modem might not be the best idea? Then again there's no reason you can't buy a 15 after the 16 and 17 come out in the future out (assuming you can find one.)

The 14 Pro is great, no argument there. Just that $1000 trade in means a 3 year carrier commitment for you so you have to work that in to the plan.

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alpha-centori OP t1_iyeaun6 wrote

USB-C will be cool, I'm sure, but having a lightning port over USB-C doesn't seem to affect my life much as is, so I'm not dying for that update like some of my friends are. The better battery life and thermal management is a pro for sure!

I'm with T-Mobile and I did look into it, the way I'd be upgrading would technically be a 2 year carrier commitment. My phone plan (not the phone cost itself) is the last thing my parents help me out with, so I'm fine with that. And as long as the phone is 50% paid off (12 months in), I'm able to upgrade to another model should I wish.

If I hadn't broken my current phone, I wouldn't be upgrading at all until the phone completely died and I couldn't replace it. But all things being said, it sounds like I might as well just do it now? From what you're saying, it sounds like the 16 might not be the best purchase right off the bat, so I'd be wanting my 2020 phone to last to 2025. Are we trusting Apple to not slowly kill off their devices to push people towards upgrading yet? Either way, at that point, I wouldn't be able to get the most possible towards an upgrade (usually that tier is reserved for phones 3 years old or newer). Versus if I upgrade now to the 14, I could upgrade again at the 17 or whatever they call it I can still get the full amount possible both times and avoid the 16 model

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Whiplash104 t1_iyeeaco wrote

Assuming you get $1000 trade in for this broken phone, that's a good deal versus $100-$200 out of pocket for repair on a phone that probably is going to also need a new battery in the next year.

The trade in will cost you $100 in taxes and probably an activation fee, but you'll get a new phone.

The trade in credit will be given to you over 24 months. If you upgrade after 50% is paid off, you lose 12 of those trade-in credits so you'll only be getting $500 for this phone. That being said, it's still fine to do as long as you're planning for it. Basically trading int he $14 Pro in 1 year you'll effectively get 50% trade in value toward the 15 and start payments again.

As for avoiding the 2024 model (16?), that's my pure speculation. With the iPhone XS they switched to an Intel modem and people apparently had issues with that so I just avoided that model. Of course people have had problems with the 14 Pro too (apparently should be fixed by now) so maybe it's just every iPhone but my brother has an XS, complains a lot, and I think that model just isn't good. Apple's modem could be great but Qualcomm has been doing this for a long time, has a good track record, and Apple is apparently having problems with their modem which is why they won't be putting it in the 2023 (15?) model as they had initially planned. They're going with Qualcomm again. I don't really know, but I'm reluctant to be the one of the first with a phone with an apple modem. Then again maybe Apple has some super great feature that you'll want.

I'd probably upgrade to the 14 Pro if I were you. I can see it difficult to spend money fixing an old phone when the same out of pocket will get you the new one.

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MacAdminInTraning t1_iydvvjs wrote

No. Unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket there is no reason once so every to upgrade phones more than every 4 years or so. If you do have $1500 burning a hole in your pocket find something to invest in.

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