This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.
Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 Plus as the newest member of the iPhone 14 family. The announcement came Wednesday during the Cupertino company’s annual September event, when it typically launches new models of the iPhone and Apple Watch. The iPhone 14 Plus fills the spot in Apple’s phone lineup previously held by the iPhone 13 Mini. The iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899 (£949, AU$1,579).
After a quick in-person greeting from Apple CEO Tim Cook in the Steve Jobs Theater, the event film rolled, opening on a starry field before zooming in on Earth and then Apple Park. Things got off to a quick start with reveals for the new Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra. We also saw a new AirPods Pro, which includes spatial audio tuned by your iPhone’s True Depth camera system. Plus, iOS 16 is set to arrive Sept. 12.
There are now Pro and non-Pro versions of an iPhone with a 6.7-inch screen. Up to now, if you wanted to buy an Apple phone with the largest display, you had to buy the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which was also Apple’s most expensive phone.
The iPhone 14 Plus not only gets a large display but also a bigger battery than the regular iPhone 14.
The 14 Plus uses the same A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max. The main camera has a larger 12-megapixel sensor with a faster lens f1.5 aperture wide angle lens. The front-facing camera also gets an upgrade with a faster f1.9 lens. Apple says it also improved low-light photo processing with a new technique called Photonic Engine.
Apple introduced a new video stabilization tool called Action mode. The iPhone 14 Plus also supports a new service called Emergency SOS via Satellite. If you don’t have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, Apple essentially enables emergency connections to satellites. The iPhone 14 Plus uses a mix of a special satellite frequencies, an algorithm that shrinks a regular text message to make it 3x smaller. iPhone 14 Plus comes with free two years of Emergency SOS via Satellite for free.
The 14 Plus also gets a new Car Crash Detection tool that uses a combination of processing and hardware to identify when you’ve been in a car accident.
A big-screen iPhone that’s less expensive than the Pro Max could prove to be a big hit. For years, we’ve seen phones with bigger screens become more popular.
The reveal of the iPhone 14 Plus comes on the heels of Galaxy Z Fold 4 launch. Samsung’s foldable phone has a 7.6-inch screen that folds in half to roughly the size of a phone. However, with a starting price of $1,800, it’s one of the most expensive phones you can buy.
Read more: Best Phones for 2022