Technologies

iPhone 14 and 14 Pro 3 Months Later: Highs and Lows of Apple’s Newest Phones

We ran in-depth tests on the iPhone 14 line’s batteries, cameras and Emergency SOS via Satellite.

In a year packed with numerous phone releases, Apple’s iPhone 14 lineup is curious. There is the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, which represent the pinnacle of the company’s design, software and hardware. The iPhone 14 Pro is notably defined by an oval-shaped screen cut-out for the True Depth camera, which replaces the notch, called the Dynamic Island. But then, there’s the iPhone 14 which seems like a repackaged iPhone 13 Pro without the stainless steel body or the third rear camera for telephoto pictures.

Apple discontinued the iPhone 13 Mini and replaced it with a bigger version of the 14 called the iPhone 14 Plus. Starting at $929, it’s meant to be a slightly «more affordable» way to get a large screen iPhone without crossing that $1,000 line. Taken in total, you have two high-end Pro iPhone models, a big-screen regular iPhone and the standard iPhone 14, which on the surface doesn’t seem like much of an upgrade from the iPhone 13. Apple’s lineup offers exciting new features while also seeming like a curious repeat of what came out last year.

Over the past three months, I used the iPhone 14 as my daily driver and the 14 Pro as my work phone. During that time, I ran in-depth battery tests, took numerous photos, used them to film CNET videos and tried out the new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature. Several of my CNET colleagues have also tested the cameras and compared them to the likes of the Google Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra. Here are my thoughts on the iPhone 14 family since my initial reviews back in September.

The iPhone 14’s battery doesn’t last as long as the iPhone 13

I’ve never met a single person who said, «Wow, I get too much battery life on my phone.» But I have definitely met many who have wanted more. A phone’s battery life lands at an interesting crossroads. You have the physical and chemical limits of modern lithium batteries as well as the clever software and processing optimizations that aim to make those batteries more efficient.

Apple doesn’t disclose the size of the batteries in its phones, but I wish it did because they’re relatively small compared to the batteries in Android phones. This isn’t about shaming Apple, but highlighting how much longevity the company ekes out of that battery through software optimizations and the efficiency of its A-series chips. In fact, last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max lasted longer on a single charge than any other phone we tested.

The same can’t be said for this year. The iPhone 14 series gets good battery life but is definitely a step down from the iPhone 13 family, which gets longer battery life. The difference wasn’t drastic, and I imagine most people aren’t upgrading their phone every year and would never be the wiser.

At CNET, we run a few battery life tests and note how long the phones last in real life. The first test I ran with each phone was an endurance test. For 45 minutes, I played video games (some were online) as well as watched videos, scrolled through social media apps like TikTok and Instagram and made a video call over FaceTime. During that time, the iPhone 14’s battery decreased 10%, the 14 Plus dropped 5%, the 14 Pro lost 8% and the 14 Pro Max went down 7%.

I also fully charged each phone, then played a downloaded video looped in Airplane mode with the screen at 50% brightness. We’ve been running this test at CNET for years, and are in the process of phasing it out since software and chips now optimize for video playback. And most people watch streaming videos.

So why run this test? It allows us to compare Apple’s claims for video playback as well as with the outcome we got with the iPhone 13 series. The results are below.

These times also come up short when compared to the iPhone 13 series. The regular 13 lasted 21 hours and 51 minutes, the 13 Pro went 22 hours and 4 minutes and the 13 Pro Max scored an outstanding 31 hours and 19 minutes. I should also note that the 13 Mini lasted 18 hours and 19 minutes which is almost as long as the regular iPhone 14.

There has been a lot of chatter around the always-on display on the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max and how it’s draining the battery. In our tests, the always-on display didn’t decrease the battery life in any significant way compared to having it off.

I charged both phones to 100% and left them on my desk with the always-on screen enabled. After 6 hours, the 14 Pro dropped 4% and the 14 Pro Max lost 2%. I ran the same scenario again, but this time turned off the always-on display. The results were essentially the same: the 14 Pro dropped 4% and the 14 Pro Max dropped 3%.

A lot of this will depend on your lock screen wallpaper, since the always-on display isn’t a black screen and instead shows a darkened version of your wallpaper photo. Luckily, iOS 16.2 has new always-on display settings that let you turn off the wallpaper and have just a black screen.

Emergency SOS via Satellite helped three people get rescued

Emergency SOS via Satellite and Car Crash Detection (or maybe it should be called «I’m on a roller coaster with an iPhone 14 detection») might be two of the best features on the regular iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. But they are largely invisible tools that most people will hopefully never have to use.

Last month, I got to test out Emergency SOS via Satellite in a demonstration at Apple Park. I was impressed how easy it was to use and connect to a satellite, even in the rain. In fact, since then, the feature helped save a stranded snowmobiler in Alaska and two people whose car went off the side of a mountain.

Features like these are important, and I do think they help the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus stand out. But I don’t know if most people would prioritize them as something they must have on a phone. After a few months, it’s crystal clear that the standard iPhone 14 is aimed at people upgrading from an iPhone 11 or older and not from last year’s iPhone 13.

More Dynamic Island, please

The Dynamic Island works well. but it’s not without quirks. For example, the Dynamic Island sticks out further into the screen than the notch did, which is noticeable when watching some videos. I also wish that more non-Apple apps took advantage of the Dynamic Island.

Also, we haven’t had the full experience with the Dynamic Island that Apple intended. It’s part of a trinity of features that also includes the always-on display and Live Activities, which tracks the progress of certain activities like showing you the live score of a basketball team on your lock screen. The Dynamic Island will truly shine once apps fully adopt Live Activities which should be sooner than later now that iOS 16.2 is out.

There are scratches on my Ceramic Shield

All four models in the iPhone 14 series have Apple’s Ceramic Shield that covers the display. And all four of the phones I tested have scuffs or minor scratches on the front glass. I haven’t coddled the phones, but I haven’t been reckless with them either. After nearly three months, I’m shocked that all of these phones have scratches.

The iPhone 14 Pro’s cameras are excellent

The cameras on the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are good. But the cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro’s and 14 Pro Max’s are great. Does that mean you can’t get quality photos on the 14 and 14 Plus? Absolutely not. But the ones I captured on the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max and their 48-megapixel main camera are consistently great. Unfortunately, you have to shoot ProRaw photos to take full advantage of the iPhone 14 Pro’s full camera resolution, and these images have dramatically larger file sizes. I wish there was a built-in way to save and quickly convert the ProRaw photos into JPEGs.

One surprise for me has been Cinematic mode. It can record in 4K video at 24 frames per second or 30fps, and I’ve actually used it to film several CNET videos. The quality is good, and the overall experience with Cinematic mode is much better than it is on the iPhone 13. (Apple’s previous phone was limited to 1080p resolution at 30fps in that mode.) One trick I use to get more natural looking videos is to drop Cinematic mode’s aperture setting to f/8. I find this gives the background a more realistic out-of-focus look while keeping the subject in focus.

The iPhone 14 is more expensive even if the price didn’t go up

The baseline iPhone 14 is $829, which is the same as the iPhone 12 and 13 when they launched. But there is a difference. In 2020 and 2021, Apple also sold the iPhone 12 Mini and 13 Mini at $729. That essentially means the barrier to entry for a new iPhone is now more expensive, since the Mini isn’t part of the iPhone 14 lineup. To alleviate the price, Apple and US carriers have a ton of trade-in deals. Apple also still sells the iPhone 13 for $729, which can save you some money.

Read: Apple’s Next iPhone Might Not Get a Price Increase. Here’s Why

Then there’s the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, which are Apple’s most expensive models. They have the same starting prices as the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max and as the 2018 iPhone XS and XS Max when they came out. Basically, the prices for Apple’s top-of-the-line models haven’t increased but they are hard to find. Apple scaled back production on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max because of COVID-19 lockdowns in China. Currently, the iPhone 14 Pro is showing shipping times of three-and-a-half weeks.

If you’re trying to get an iPhone 14 Pro as a gift for someone, your best bet is to try carriers and third-party retailers. However, Apple’s retail stores typically get more restock. And I wouldn’t dissuade you from ordering an iPhone 14 Pro. It’s an excellent phone and will still be one in three-and-a-half weeks.

Three months later, I am still impressed with the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro. The cameras are great, Emergency SOS provides more peace of mind, but the ceramic shield isn’t as durable as I expected. And the battery life isn’t as long as last year’s iPhone 13 lineup. But whether you’re upgrading from an older iPhone to an iPhone 14 or just want Apple’s absolute best, the iPhone 14 Pro, you should find something that fits your needs, budget and tastes.

Technologies

CNET Daily Tariff Price Tracker: I’m Watching 11 Key Products for Changes, Here’s What’s Happened

The deadline for the start of Trump’s heaviest tariffs has been delayed until next month, leaving consumers stuck with more uncertainty over prices.

For the last three months, tariffs have been a hot topic, leaving consumers and businesses alike worried: Will they hike prices and by how much? It’s a question more relevant than ever this week, as President Trump punts another major deadline down the road and price-slashing Amazon’s Prime Day sales wind down as the week ends.

Amid those worries, I’ve been tracking prices every day for 11 key products likely to be hit by tariff-induced price increases, and the answer I’ve come to so far is this: Not so much, at least not yet. The winding road of tariff inflation still stretches before us into an uncertain future, so the threat of price hikes continues to cloud the horizon.

To date, I’ve seen two noteworthy price increases, one for the Xbox Series X and the other for a popular budget-friendly 4K TV. Some other products — including Apple’s popular AirPods and printer ink — have gone on sale for brief periods.

CNET Tariff Tracker Index

Above, you can check out a chart with the average price of the 11 products included in this piece over the course of 2025. This will help give you a sense of the overall price changes and fluctuations going on. Further down, you’ll be able to check out charts for each individual product being tracked.

We’ll be updating this article regularly as prices change. It’s all in the name of helping you make sense of things, so be sure to check back every so often. For more, check out CNET’s guide to whether you should wait to make big purchases or buy them now and get expert tips about how to prepare for a recession.

Methodology

We’re checking prices daily and will update the article and the relevant charts right away to reflect any changes. The following charts show a single bullet point for each month, with the most recent one labeled «Now» and showing the current price. For the past months, we’ve gone with what was the most common price for each item in the given month.

In most cases, the price stats used in these graphs were pulled from Amazon using the historical price-tracker tool Keepa. For the iPhones, the prices come from Apple’s official materials and are based on the 128-gigabyte base model of the latest offering of the iPhone 16. For the Xbox Series X, the prices were sourced from Best Buy using the tool PriceTracker. If any of these products happen to be on sale at a given time, we’ll be sure to let you know and explain how those price drops differ from longer-term pricing trends that tariffs can cause.

The 11 products we’re tracking

Mostly what we’re tracking in this article are electronic devices and digital items that CNET covers in depth, like iPhones and affordable 4K TVs — along with a typical bag of coffee, a more humble product that isn’t produced in the US to any significant degree.

The products featured were chosen for a few reasons: Some of them are popular and/or affordable representatives for major consumer tech categories, like smartphones, TVs and game consoles. Others are meant to represent things that consumers might buy more frequently, like printer ink or coffee beans. Some products were chosen over others because they are likely more susceptible to tariffs. Some of these products have been reviewed by CNET or have been featured in some of our best lists.

iPhone 16, 128GB
Duracell AA batteries, 24-pack
Samsung DU7200 65-inch TV
Xbox Series X
Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C case
HP 962 CMY Printer Ink
Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank
Bose TV speaker
Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook, 256GB
Starbucks 28-ounce ground dark roast coffee

Below, we’ll get into more about each individual product, and stick around till the end for a rundown of some other products worth noting.

iPhone 16

The iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand in the US, so this was a clear priority for price tracking. The iPhone has also emerged as a major focal point for conversations about tariffs, given its popularity and its susceptibility to import taxes because of its overseas production, largely in China. Trump has reportedly been fixated on the idea that the iPhone can and should be manufactured in the US, an idea that experts have dismissed as a fantasy. Estimates have also suggested that a US-made iPhone would cost as much as $3,500.

Something to note about this graph: The price listed is the one you’ll see if you buy your phone through a major carrier. If you, say, buy direct from Apple or Best Buy without a carrier involved, you’ll be charged an extra $30, so in some places, you might see the list price of the standard iPhone 16 listed as $830.

Apple’s been taking a few steps to protect its prices in the face of these tariffs, flying in bulk shipments of product before they took effect and planning to move production for the US market from China to India. A new Reuters report found that a staggering 97% of iPhones imported from the latter country, March through May, were bound for the US. This latter move drew the anger of Trump again, threatening the company with a 25% tariff if they didn’t move production to the US, an idea CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly shot down in the past. This came after Trump gave a tariff exemption to electronic devices including smartphones, so the future of that move seems in doubt now.

Duracell AA batteries

A lot of the tech products in your home might boast a rechargeable energy source but individual batteries are still an everyday essential and I can tell you from experience that as soon as you forget about them, you’ll be needing to restock. The Duracell AAs we’re tracking are some of the bestselling batteries on Amazon.

Samsung DU7200 TV

Alongside smartphones, televisions are some of the most popular tech products out there, even if they’re an infrequent purchase. This particular product is a popular entry-level 4K TV and was CNET’s pick for best overall budget TV for 2025. Unlike a lot of tech products that have key supply lines in China, Samsung is a South Korean company, so it might have some measure of tariff resistance.

After spending most of 2025 hovering around $400, this item has now seen some notable upticks on Amazon, most recently sitting around $450. This could potentially be in reaction to Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs against South Korea this week.

Xbox Series X

Video game software and hardware are a market segment expected to be hit hard by the Trump tariffs. Microsoft’s Xbox is the first console brand to see price hikes — the company cited «market conditions» along with the rising cost of development. Most notably, this included an increase in the price of the flagship Xbox Series X, up from $500 to $600. Numerous Xbox accessories also were affected and the company also said that «certain» games will eventually see a price hike from $70 to $80.

Initially, we were tracking the price of the much more popular Nintendo Switch as a representative of the gaming market. Nintendo has not yet hiked the price of its handheld-console hybrid and stressed that the $450 price tag of the upcoming Switch 2 has not yet been inflated because of tariffs. Sony, meanwhile, has so far only increased prices on its PlayStation hardware in markets outside the US.

AirPods Pro 2

The latest iteration of Apple’s wildly popular true-wireless earbuds are here to represent the headphone market. Much to the chagrin of the audiophiles out there, a quick look at sales charts on Amazon shows you just how much the brand dominates all headphone sales. For most of the year, they’ve hovered around $199, but ahead of Prime Day sales this week they are currently on sale for $149.

HP 962 CMY printer ink

This HP printer ink includes cyan, magenta and yellow all in one product and recently saw its price jump from around $72 — where it stayed for most of 2025 — to $80, which is around its highest price over the last five years. We will be keeping tabs to see if this is a long-term change or a brief uptick.

This product replaced Overture PLA Filament for 3D printers in this piece, but we’re still tracking that item.

Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank

Anker’s accessories are perennially popular in the tech space and the company has already announced that some of its products will get more expensive as a direct result of tariffs. This specific product has also been featured in some of CNET’s lists of the best portable chargers.

Bose TV speaker

Soundbars have become important purchases, given the often iffy quality of the speakers built into TVs. While not the biggest or the best offering in the space, the Bose TV Speaker is one of the more affordable soundbar options out there, especially hailing from a brand as popular as Bose. You can currently get this model at a healthy discount for Prime Day, down to $200 from $280.

Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush

They might be a lot more expensive than their traditional counterparts but electric toothbrushes remain a popular choice for consumers because of how well they get the job done. I know my dentist won’t let up on how much I need one. This particular Oral-B offering was CNET’s overall choice for the best electric toothbrush for 2025.

While this product hasn’t seen its price budge one way or another most of the year, there is a $10 coupon listed on Amazon right now.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook

Lenovo is notable among the big laptop manufacturers for being a Chinese company making its products especially susceptible to Trump’s tariffs.

Starbucks Ground Coffee (28-ounce bag)

Coffee is included in this tracker because of its ubiquity —I’m certainly drinking too much of it these days —and because it’s uniquely susceptible to Trump’s tariff agenda. Famously, coffee beans can only be grown within a certain distance from Earth’s equator, a tropical span largely outside the US and known as the «Coffee Belt.»

Hawaii is the only part of the US that can produce coffee beans, with data from USAFacts showing that 11.5 million pounds were harvested there in the 2022-23 season — little more than a drop in the mug, as the US consumed 282 times that amount of coffee during that period. Making matters worse, Hawaiian coffee production has declined in the past few years.

All that to say: Americans get almost all of their coffee from overseas, making it one of the most likely products to see price hikes from tariffs.

Other products

As mentioned, we occasionally swap out products with different ones that undergo notable price shifts. Here are some things no longer featured above, but that we’re still keeping an eye on:

Nintendo Switch: The baseline handheld-console hybrid has held steady around $299 most places — including Amazon — since it released in 2017. Whether that price will be affected by tariffs or the release of the Switch 2 remains to be seen. This product was replaced above with the Xbox Series X.
Overture PLA 3D printer filament: This is a popular choice on Amazon for the material needed to run 3D printers. It has held steady around $15 on Amazon all year. This product was replaced above by the HP 962 printer ink.

Here are some products we also wanted to single out that haven’t been featured with a graph yet:

Razer Blade 18 (2025), 5070 Ti edition: The latest revision of Razer’s largest gaming laptop saw a $300 price bump recently, with the base model featured an RTX 5070 Ti graphics card now priced at $3,500 ahead of launch, compared to the $3,200 price announced in February. While Razer has stayed mum about the reasoning, it did previously suspend direct sales to the US as Trump’s tariff plans were ramping up in April.
Asus ROG Ally X: The premium version of Asus’s Steam Deck competitor handheld gaming PC recently saw a price hike from $799 to $899, coinciding with the announcement of the company’s upcoming Xbox-branded Ally handhelds.

Technologies

Download All of Netflix in One Second? Researchers in Japan Just Broke the Internet Speed Record

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 12 #496

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 12 No. 496.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

If you love attending baseball games in summer, you’ll hit a home run with today’s NYT Strands puzzle. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: In the ballpark.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Play ball!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

TEER, MEER, MEET, TEEM, ROAD, STALL, TALL, BEST, PEAT, LUNH, CULT, BUMP, BILE, PEAL, METE, BULL, STUN, NUTS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: