The next iPhone is coming soon and it’s going to be a radically different device if you opt for the high-end iPhone 14 Pro. The top-end model is expected to come with a new pill-shaped punch hole display, better camera and processor upgrade, and that’s almost certain to happen this year. For someone who still uses the iPhone X, the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro will be radically different. Launched in 2017, the $1000 iPhone X was instrumental in expanding the premium smartphone market that is known today. If you are thinking about an upgrade from the iPhone X to the iPhone 14 Pro, you may be wondering: what exactly is the difference between the two models?
Here’s everything you need to know about how the iPhone 14 Pro compares with the iPhone X based on rumours so far.
iPhone X vs iPhone 14 Pro: Design
Debuted five years ago, the iPhone X brought fresh design language to its iPhone. In fact, the iPhone X still looks fresh with the 5.8-inch display reaching from one end, all the way to the other; it covers the entire front, with just a thin and no home button. Newer iPhones still use the basic design template that the iPhone X introduced, including the notch that houses FaceID. The iPhone 12 had introduced a completely flat design along with the edges. Last year’s iPhone 13 didn’t really change the basic design, with the exception of a smaller notch and a different camera arrangement.
The iPhone X was a dose of fresh air when it launched in 2017. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
But the iPhone 14 Pro could be a totally new device from the design point of view. Both iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will ditch the notch this year in favor of a new hole punch and pill-shaped cutout. Apparently, the camera bump on the iPhone 14 Pro will be bigger to accommodate the new camera hardware. Just like the iPhone X, the iPhone 14 Pro will be IP68 rated for water resistance, have no headphone jack, and have wireless charging capabilities. Sorry folks, the iPhone 14 Pro is expected to keep the lightning port like the iPhone X.
iPhone X vs iPhone 14 Pro: Display
The iPhone X featured a 5.8-inch Super Retina display and while the OLED display is super bright and colourful, the panel is nowhere close to what you get on the iPhone Pro models. The iPhone 14 Pro may have a much brighter panel compared to the last year’s model but will continue to have a 120Hz refresh rate and a ProMotion display. Unlike the iPhone Pro models, the iPhone X’s display refreshes at 60 frames per second, or 60Hz.
Just above the display is a bunch of new sensors and a depth-sensing camera. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
iPhone X vs iPhone 14 Pro: Cameras
As is typically the case with new iPhones, cameras usually get upgraded capabilities and the iPhone 14 Pro won’t be any different. The iPhone X when it hit the market was superior to rival Android smartphones in terms of the camera system, with dual rear 12MP cameras — a wide-angle shooter with an f/1.8 aperture and a telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture. Although the iPhone X’s camera isn’t bad, it’s nowhere close to the iPhone Pro camera system, which not only has three lenses ( a main camera, an ultra-wide angle shooter and a telephoto lens) but also superior low light capabilities and a LiDAR sensor. In the case of the iPhone 14 Pro, the high-end smartphone is expected to feature an upgraded 48MP camera sensor, up from 12MP on previous iPhones. Apple may also upgrade front-facing cameras on the iPhone 14 series. Rumours have it that Apple has chosen a supplier for its front-facing camera to make a higher-end lens.
Apple’s higher-end iPhone Pro models have a triple camera system. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)
iPhone X vs iPhone 14 Pro: Processor and battery
The A11 processor in the iPhone X is fast and should be capable enough to run popular games and must-have apps, at least for a year or two. But in comparison to the A16 chip being used in the iPhone 14 Pro, the new processor will surely outperform the A11 in both benchmarks and real-life usage. And it’s hardly surprising. Teardowns revealed that the iPhone X came with 3GB RAM; similar teardowns have revealed 6GB RAM on higher-priced iPhone Pro models.
Storage on base iPhone Pro models has finally moved past 64GB. To put it in perspective, the iPhone 13 Pro starts at 128GB for the base model. The iPhone Pro models can also connect to 5G, something the iPhone X can’t do. When launched, the iPhone 14 Pro will run iOS 16 which will also be supported on the iPhone X but we can’t say if the latter model will get future updates to iOS next year and beyond.
Although Apple doesn’t talk up battery sizes, the iPhone X had a 2,716 mAh battery. That helped the phone to last over a day on a single charge. We don’t know much about the iPhone 14 Pro’s battery life but going by the last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max (the one with a 6.7-inch screen), that phone lasted much longer on our battery test when surfing the web on 4G. Apple added a new MagSafe feature to its new iPhone models that allows you to attach compatible accessories with magnets. The iPhone X, obviously, does not feature the MagSafe feature.
Early renders of the iPhone 14 Pro from Jon Prosser suggest a new design language and a pill-shaped hole-punch display.
iPhone X vs iPhone 14 Pro: Time to upgrade?
It’s been five years since the iPhone X debuted, and in all those years Apple has introduced many new features to the iPhone. If you are thinking to upgrade to a new iPhone, wait for the iPhone 14 Pro to hit the market in September or whenever Apple plans to hold its splashy hardware event later in the year. The iPhone 14 Pro will undoubtedly be superior to the iPhone X in every sense. Will iPhone 14 Pro cost more than the iPhone X? Absolutely. The iPhone Pro models already cost north of $999 but newer iPhones may see a $100 price increase, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. Expect the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro to cost $1099 and $1199, respectively.