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Marques Brownlee - iPhone 14 Review: Repackaging 101!

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Author: Marques Brownlee
Categories: Technology Creativity & Design
Tags: technology, creativity
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 08:09 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Marques Brownlee suggests that the base iPhone 14 is a near-identical repackaging of the iPhone 13 with only a few small changes, so most people upgrading from an iPhone 13 should consider keeping their current phone or buying the cheaper iPhone 13, with the one extra year of software updates as maybe the only reason he'd pick the 14 over the 13. The video frames this as part of Apple's broader "repackaging" strategy, where the same body is reused with new internals to cut risk and cost while saving real innovation for Pro models.

Key Points

  • The iPhone 14 uses the same body, design, cases, camera layout, display brightness, 60 Hz refresh rate, storage, battery size, charging speeds, and Lightning port as the iPhone 13, and it runs the same A15 Bionic chip.
  • The full list of what is technically new: Crash Detection, satellite connectivity, a slightly higher display resolution with thinner bezels, eSIM-only in the US, a new blue color, an improved thermal design, a glass back that is a separate piece for easier repair, a new 12 MP primary camera, and a new 12 MP selfie camera with autofocus.
  • Camera differences versus the iPhone 13 are very slight. In daytime, the photos are nearly identical; differences show up mainly in edge cases such as low light, where the iPhone 14 is sometimes faster to produce a Night mode exposure, and in subtle color temperature shifts.
  • Apple's repackaging pattern also appears in the iPhone SE line and the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro, which reuses the M1 MacBook Pro body. The reasons are reduced risk, lower development cost, lower prices, and insulation from supply chain challenges.
  • The iPhone 13 is still sold by Apple at $699 and is often cheaper elsewhere, which Brownlee suggests may be a fine upgrade choice for many people.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: No step-by-step setup or preparation instructions are given. The actionable guidance is: if you already own an iPhone 13, consider keeping it or buying it discounted instead of the iPhone 14; choose the iPhone 14 over the 13 mainly for the extra year of software updates; and decide based on how much you value the new colors, camera tweaks, satellite connectivity, or Crash Detection. If you prefer a clear case, note that many users use cases, which may affect how much a new color matters.
  • Crash Detection uses new sensors plus GPS and microphone data to detect a car crash and notify emergency services automatically without user action.
  • Satellite connectivity lets the iPhone 14 contact emergency dispatch via satellite when there is no cell service, coming to the US and Canada in November.
  • eSIM-only in the US means there is no physical SIM tray. Brownlee reports that transferring service from a physical SIM took about two minutes.
  • Action Mode, a video stabilization feature available on the iPhone 14 but not the iPhone 13, works well for stabilization but produces noisy, grainy footage and sometimes displays a "More light required" prompt, even in his well-lit studio.
  • The new selfie camera still struggles with accurately reproducing darker skin tones, a limitation Brownlee also noted in his iPhone 14 Pro review.

Bottom Line

The iPhone 14 is mostly an iPhone 13 with incremental changes, so its value depends on whether the extra software support and minor new features justify the price over a discounted iPhone 13.