We are ready to get new iPhones and are not sure which model. We've narrowed it down to the 14 Pro Max and 14 Pro. We keep our phones till they start to act up-I have an 8+ and my wife an 8. Mine is acting up, so....

It will likely be my last phone and, about all I do is make calls, receive texts, play solitaire and....well, that's about it. Once in a while I many look at something on the 'Net.

My wife does all of those things, plus takes a LOT of photos with hers.

I know we could save money (quite a bit of money) by dumping Verizon and buying another brand of phone, but she insists on Verizon and iPhones. She travels a lot, and believes Verizon has the most reliable coverage. She rarely insists on anything, so I am willing to concede this point as to brand and company.

Here's my question: Any of you have experience with the iPhone 14 line, and, if so, do you have an opinion on which is the best of the bunch?

Bob

This message has been edited. Last edited by: straightshooter1,

Any max iPhone is BIG. I have a 13 Pro and it is plenty big enough and still fits in a front pocket. I recommend going and handling them to compare them. The wife has a max and it seems more like a small tablet to me.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
Any max iPhone is BIG. I have a 13 Pro and it is plenty big enough and still fits in a front pocket. I recommend going and handling them to compare them. The wife has a max and it seems more like a small tablet to me.

Agree with this ^

I just received an iphone 14 pro. It is a reasonable size for me (fits in most pockets easily).
Great for pictures, and I use it for most of my work emails, banking etc. No problems so far, battery lasts all day with lots of use, several days with little use.

Go with the iPhone 14 pro. It's a good size, easy to carry and feature full with a great camera. A few buck more that the plain 14, but since you say you will keep it forever that little bit of extra cost amortized over how long you plan to keep it is miniscule. G5, fast processor, lots of storage even on the base model. What's not to like.

My comment is on the size only as I have no experience with the 14, only up to 11. I have my personal 11 Pro and my work phone is an 11 Max Pro

As Gearhounds said, the Max is big. I have large hands and it’s tough for me when I’m trying to hold it with one hand, or even two hands and have to reach with my thumb across or up the screen. I also have some pockets (particularly carpenter jeans) that are just right for my Pro but too small or close to it for the Max.

I’d say I never put down the Pro and grabbed my Max thinking “I need a bigger screen”.

Are there any performance features that are any different between the 14 Pro and Max? I don’t believe there was on the 11s, just screen size.

Might be worth checking out the iphone SE 2022. It still has a home button like you’re used to. Learning to “swipe” to do everything I used a home button for previously was a PITA for me. It’s a bit smaller (same size as your current phones, though) but pretty capable for your purposes. The only potential downside is reading on the normal size screen. It’s also a lot less $$$, if that makes any difference to you.

If you narrowed it down to just those two.

Think of it like TVs. One has a 6.1 screen and one is 6.7 diagonally.

6 hours longer battery time on the max 23vs29 hours.

The internals are the same.

Max out her storage of memory for pics.

Go lighter on your memory you will not use it as much.

I find you fill it up with apps over time and need more than the minimum for future upgrades.

^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks

I agree, the pro is a good size. One bit of advice. If you call Verizon to find the best deal on a two phone package, record the conversation and make notes of the salesperson, date and time.
You know the calls are recorded, but if you ever question them, they will never find the recording. I rewrote the last part eliminating accusations and swearing….

It's been mentioned here that T-Mobile has a great deal on two phones for those aged 55 and older. Once you decide which phone, you might check them out.

Another vote for the Max. Fits my pocket and helps some with my aging eyes.
My last one was a 12 and I got the standard memory. Most anything now is in the cloud anyway so there haven't been any memory issues for my usage at all.

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on an iPhone 14 regular, the smaller size.

I don't like big cell phones.

Oh, and speaking as a guy who traveled all over the contiguous US and Alaska and Hawaii on business, if you want your best chance of getting a cell, go with Verizon. We used to have contests in some of the more obscure places I went and the contest was to see who could get a cell and who couldn't. I never lost in 20+ years and I had Verizon. Almost nobody else did. I've had a lot of people use my phone because they couldn't get a cell and needed to make a business call.

Thanks Arfmel, I'll look at it but SHE is pretty certain I will end up with a 14 of some flavor.

Flash, that's the same thing she's found in her travels-she's gone nearly everywhere in the 48 States plus Alaska and Verizon always comes through. The company we had back in the late 80s or early 90s (don't recall the name) did not do so well for her.

The size-hadn't thought about that. I'm not the least bit concerned about appearing to be a stylish dresser and, in fact, I wear Wrangler cargo jeans every day except Sundays to Church. They have a great pocket at the top of each cargo pocket for cell phones-gotta make sure the one we choose fits in there.

Lots of good info and I thank you all. Anything else I failed to consider?

Bob

^^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah there is. Be sure you get the color SHE likes.

Hey! Who do you think runs this household?

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter1:
It will likely be my last phone and, about all I do is make calls, receive texts, play solitaire and....well, that's about it. Once in a while I many look at something on the 'Net.

An iPhone 13 or an iPhone 14 would meet your needs just fine. They use the same processor.

My wife and I have iPhone 13’s for personal phones. I couldn’t see spending the extra $100 on the 14. My wife is issues a Samsung A53 for work and I use a Samsung S22 Ultra for work.

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter1:

My wife does all of those things, plus takes a LOT of photos with hers.

For your wife you may want to look at the iPhone 14 Pro with 256 GB storage. It has better cameras than the iPhone 14.

Depending on your data usage, going with Total by Verizon may save you some money n cellular service. It’s a flanker brand owned by Verizon. So it is using Verizon’s network.

You could also look at Visible by Verizon, but I’d recommend staying away from them. Service is great until you have a problem. Then you discover that their customer service is non-existent. (I say this as someone who has been a customer for over three years.)

I am fully assimilated but keep a phone 2 to 4 years so I just hand them my Visa and ask them to fetch me the most expensive one they have. Have a 13 Pro Max now.

We went from 6s and 6plus to the 13 pro maxes loaded out and are extremely happy with everything about them but the cost. The 14 wasn't out when we bought ours.
We also keep them till they can’t. Had threes before the sixes.

Might want to keep in mind that Apple will be changing iPhone connectors in about one or two years:

“Apple to put USB-C connectors in iPhones to comply with EU rules. Firm says it has no choice but to switch from proprietary Lightning port to the USB standard in EU.”

Says iPhone 15 is the one that might first show up with the new connector. 14 might then become the last of the current style although I suspect Lightning cables will remain available for years to come.