It just arrived, now it’s in front of me, my new iPhone 14 Pro. And at first glance it is just that: another iPhone that doesn’t even look very different from the iPhone 13 Pro, 12 Pro or 11 Pro. At first glance, not much has changed, not even with the new iOS 16, which would also run on the iPhone 12 Pro. The always-on display is nice. But it doesn’t cause an aha effect at first.
The anticipation? Quite low in the beginning, but increasing in the last few days. He knew what I would get. There is no obvious new killer features. Dynamic Island, the now animated notch, even brighter photos at night, an action mode for videos – it will definitely be great to try out. But no innovations that I was really looking forward to.
The 1,500 euros that I eventually paid for free myself quickly add up. I will try to explain below why I did what I did. The iPhone 14 Pro starts with 128 GB for a suggested retail price of 1,299 euros. But when you have that much money in your hand, you want to keep it for a little longer and after a while you don’t get annoyed that apps and photos no longer fit. So I went for the 256GB variant.
1,500 euros for the iPhone 14 Pro: the bill – please?
If I had bought the necessary accessories from Apple, it would have been over 100 euros more. But here I have put the red pencil to work. Ridiculous actually, I know. That’s like buying a $50,000 electric car and then driving to the self-service box for the first wash. Foam once, rinse aid and warm wash for three times 0.50 euros, instead of treating yourself to the 11.90 euros for the car wash. The car was so expensive that from now on every penny had to be turned over three times. Nonsense of course, but that’s just how people are.
The accessories themselves are necessary, because a case with bulletproof glass should ensure that the thing really lasts a few years and that the resale value remains high. Then I have to load it. But Apple is still not adding a charging connector – according to the website, on the own Achieving climate goals (nice fun). I bought both elsewhere for a total of about 55 euros. So total costs:
- iPhone 14 Pro with 256 GB: 1,429 euros
- Magsafe-enabled transparent case: 20 euros
- Screen saver, camera security: 10 euros
- Magsafe charger (third party): 25 euros
I had another charger. All together for about 1,485 euros. So we rounded it up slightly: a smartphone of 1,500 euros.
An iPhone has never been cheap
I won’t complain about the price here. It’s a lot of money, yes. But nobody forced me either, so what’s the point! Plus, it’s true: an iPhone has never really been cheap.
It’s been five years since Apple launched the iPhone X, the first iPhone to cost more than $1,000 in its basic configuration. A paradigm shift. In the end it was even 1,149 euros, so yes far over 1,000 euros. But Apple promised at the time: pay more and you get more out of it. A promise that was kept.
Sure, you could pay less in 2017 for the iPhone 8 released at the same time, but it wouldn’t be best been iPhone.
And if you consider that everything used to be so much cheaper: five years earlier, in 2012, the iPhone 5, which was then new, would cost at least 679 euros. Back then it started with 16 GB – which was enough in many cases. The more carefree variant with 32 GB already had to pay 789 euros. ZDnet noted at the time:that prices had increased by 50 euros compared to the previous iPhone 4S. At that time there was hardly anyone who thought it was not expensive and: actually much too much for a smartphone.
iPhone 14 Pro: Many other flagships hardly cheaper
But it is also true: adjusted for purchasing power, 789 euros for the iPhone 5 would be 900 euros at the time. And my new iPhone 14 Pro is more than 50 percent more expensive in comparison. The cost of the components has not increased significantly compared to 2012. So why this price development? The inflation? Demand? The market situation?
Let’s take a look at the prices of the competition: Sony’s current flagship is not significantly cheaper. Recommended retail price is the price for the 256 GB variant of the Xperia 1 IV at 1,249 euros. Samsung is currently asking 1,449 euros in its own store for the Galaxy S22 Ultra with 256 GB (the street price is about 100 euros less).
Even the Chinese, which were once much cheaper, are increasingly open to their top models: street price for the Oppo Find X5 Pro at the time of this article: 1,150 to 1,200 euros. The Xiaomi 12S is not yet on the market in Germany, but according to the company’s pricing policy, it would also cost 1,200 euros or more. Prices of more than 1,000 euros for the best smartphone in both cases have long been an industry-wide trend.
500 euros more expensive – why are we going for the iPhone 14 Pro?
That it Absolute Motorola is currently showing that it is significantly cheaper. The carrier’s Edge 30 Ultra is the current price-breaker among Android flagships, with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, a 144 Hertz display, 125-watt fast charging mode (why can’t you Apple?), 200-megapixel camera, 8K video, WiFi 6E, 12 GB RAM – with 256 GB memory and included fast charger (yes, yes!) for only 899 euros. They’ve taken me so far that I think it’s cheap…
So the question of all questions: why do I and many others have us the not reached? And instead spend over 500 euros more for an iPhone 14 Pro?
The short answer: because we know what we’re getting. The long answer: we will have it for years, Apple will keep us updated for at least 5 years (Motorola too? Probably not…), it has the most powerful processor in the industry, it doesn’t get outdated as fast as regular Android devices do, the camera will be very good, as always, iOS is still the best mobile OS for many (including me), working with a Mac is better (and I work with a MacBook M1).
Hoping for the hidden killer feature
What I and many others appreciate about an iPhone: these little features that result from the interaction of hardware and software, which are usually mentioned only marginally or not at all in a presentation and later turn out to be something no one wants to miss anymore. AirDrop was like that, iMessage was like that, Live Photos was like that, Live Text has the potential to be like that too. What will it be in the iPhone 14 Pro? We’re excited to find out.
And then there’s something else, let’s say, psychological. If something hurts us at first and then we gradually see its value, we love it all the more, defend it the more vigorously, never wanting to give it up again. That’s how I felt at the time with my Samsung Galaxy S10, which I actually only bought because Samsung did not provide us with a test device at the time. At first I thought, “What am I supposed to do with this?” And when I later sold it: “Damn, the Thing I will miss!” In that sense, we like to suffer, at least in the beginning.
points of criticism? Not even that much
As for the price, my mood is the same as others I’ve heard on the forums: no one is enthusiastic, but many do it anyway because they want to stay with Apple and are generally satisfied, just like the competition not significantly cheaper and because they no longer expect prices to fall again in the future. Motto: Ob now Spending a lot of money on an iPhone or next year makes no difference – now you just get it sooner.
However, Apple still faces criticism from me—or perhaps because of it. It may sound challenging, along the lines of: If I buy it? had to (Of course you didn’t have to), but then please all to vote. And in my opinion it is disappointing that every manufacturer is now installing a fast charging mode in their devices that also deserves the name. Everyone except Apple.
But if that’s my only criticism besides price — and that’s all I see at the moment — then Apple would have done a really good job. So, and now I’ll take a look and look for the hidden killer feature. My review follows. The first steps with the thing are already in a good mood. I have a good feeling about it. I think the iPhone 14 Pro and I get along very well.