Apple held its “Far Out” media event earlier today, where it unveiled numerous new products, including the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, featuring two sizes — 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches. Both models include the A15 Bionic chip with a 5-core GPU, a new camera system featuring new Main and front TrueDepth cameras, an Ultra Wide camera for unique perspectives, and the Photonic Engine — an enhanced image pipeline.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus both introduce new safety capabilities, including Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via satellite, a first for smartphones.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be available in five colors, including midnight, blue, starlight, purple, and (PRODUCT)RED1 finishes. Pre-orders begin Friday, September 9, and availability for iPhone 14 begins Friday, September 16, with availability for iPhone 14 Plus beginning on Friday, October 7.
Both models offer an updated internal design for better thermal performance, a Super Retina XDR display with OLED technology supporting 1200 nits of peak HDR brightness, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and Dolby Vision.
Both new iPhones feature the durable Ceramic Shield front cover, which Apple says is tougher than any other smartphone glass, and are protected from common spills and accidents with water and dust resistance.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus boast a new 12MP Main camera featuring a larger sensor and larger pixels, a new front TrueDepth camera, the Ultra Wide camera to capture more of a scene, and Photonic Engine for much improved low-light performance.
Photonic Engine integrates hardware and software to improve mid- to low-light performance for photos across all cameras: up to 2x on the Ultra Wide camera, 2x on the TrueDepth camera, and 2.5x on the new Main camera.
Dual-camera system upgrades and features include:
All iPhone 14 handsets offer new safety capabilities that can provide emergency assistance. A new dual-core accelerometer is capable of detecting G-force measurements of up to 256Gs and a new high dynamic range gyroscope allows Crash Detection to detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when a user is unconscious or unable to reach their iPhone.
The iPhone 14 barometer can now detect cabin pressure changes, the GPS offers additional input for speed changes, and the microphone can recognize loud noises such as those made by severe car crashes. Advanced Apple-designed motion algorithms trained with over a million hours of real-world driving and crash record data provide improved accuracy.
Crash Detection on the iPhone also works in conjunction with the Apple Watch, leveraging both devices to get a user help. When a severe crash is detected, the emergency services call interface will appear on Apple Watch, as it is most likely to be in closer proximity to the user, while the call is placed through iPhone if it is in range for the best possible connection.
All of the iPhone 14 lineup also debuts Emergency SOS via satellite, which connects directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. When using Emergency SOS via satellite, the iPhone front-loads a few vital questions to assess the user’s situation and shows them where to point their phone to connect to a satellite.
The initial questionnaire and follow-up messages are then relayed to centers staffed by Apple-trained specialists who can call for help on the user’s behalf. iPhone 14 users can also manually share their location over satellite with Find My when there is no cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Emergency SOS via satellite will be available to users in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be free for two years.
