Each year when Apple comes out with a new lineup of iPhone models, it does a pretty terrific job of making the upgrades look essential.
Whether it's a better camera experience, thinner bezels around the display or even an actual design change, these can make it feel like you should be getting a new iPhone every year.
In reality, though, that's a whole lot of money to spend - and there are certainly some years when the differences between iPhone generations are really quite minor.
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Ex-Apple employee Tyler Morgan has blown up on TikTok with his tips and tricks for iPhones and Apple devices, but in late 2023 he posted a slightly different type of video.
In this upload, he succinctly explained why he thought that the iPhone 14 was a pretty major waste of money as an upgrade, and that the iPhone 13 was still the best-value iPhone on the market, in his opinion.
Looking at an Apple Store comparison of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13, he suggested that almost every part of the feature list is identical, including the fact that they both run on the exact same chip.
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Calling the iPhone 14 "the biggest waste of money you could ever spend", he explains that you can get the iPhone 13 for $100 less directly from Apple, but still get the same camera system, basically the same display, an almost identical design, and practically all the same features and apps.
Moving on to the iPhone 14 Pro compared to the 13 Pro, he's similarly dismissive of the new phone, which has two main innovations - the addition of the Dynamic Island around the selfie camera and FaceID sensor, and an always-on display.
Morgan calls the Dynamic Island "so magical" in a sardonic tone, implying that it doesn't do much, and then says it has a "dumbass name" later, so he's clearly not a big fan - but hey, some people really do like that feature.
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Meanwhile, speaking about the always-on display, he sarcastically says that he "didn't know I would need that for my phone", dismissing it as something you should turn off to avoid burn-in on your display.
So, Morgan seems convinced that the 14 Pro was a year when Apple didn't really do a good enough job of differentiating new iPhone features from existing ones - so if you're on the hunt for a new-ish iPhone and you want a bargain, the iPhone 13 might still be your best pick.