iPHONE 14 PLUS (YELLOW): A GREAT PHONE WITH A NOT-SO-GREAT PRICE

It has been almost half a year since the release of the iPhone 14 Plus, and since Apple is refreshing the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus with a new yellow color (fave.co/ 3nELeU3), and we didn't test and review the iPhone 14 Plus upon release, this felt like a good time to check in on it.

- JASON CROSS

In general, what applies to the iPhone 14 (fave.co/3zrn0z3) applies to the 14 Plus. It's the same phone, only larger. The larger battery makes it last longer, but it is otherwise just a choice about what phone and display size is best for you.

This is a good phone and a decent upgrade (especially if you're coming from a model at least two or three years old), but it's sort of hard to recommend. Starting at $900/£949, it's only $100/£150 short of the regular-size iPhone 14 Pro. The Pro models always offer more, but this year the gap is wider than ever as the Pro models have a newer processor in the A16, a brighter display with an always-on feature, Dynamic Island (fave.co/3C2kO1V), telephoto camera, and 48MP main camera.

Apple's pricing and product differentiation strategy puts the iPhone 14 Plus in a tough spot, where it is far too expensive to be the "affordable big phone" choice and too limited relative to the iPhone 14 Pro to justify its high price.

IT SURE IS YELLOW 

The new yellow color is not for everyone. My wife saw my test phone on my desk and said, "You got a yellow iPhone case?"

"No, it's a yellow iPhone. I'm testing it," I said.

"It's awful. Why did they make this?" she replied, turning it over in her hands.