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iPhone 14/Plus Would you upgrade your iPhone 14 or lower for Apple Intelligence?
- Thread starter VitoBotta
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Yes, why not! Apple Intelligence is upgrading, and with this, people who are using the iPhone 14 have to upgrade soon. Not only AI, but there are certain other features in the upgraded models of iPhone.
Using Apple Intelligence as the sole reason for upgrading? No. Not yet, at least.
Definitely will upgrade this year to iPhone 17 (likely Air model), though not because of Intelligence but because my iPhone 7 showing its age, not being able to run some apps and suck in multitasking.
I’m one of those folks who went ahead and got the latest iPhone for Apple Intelligence. I wasn’t just doing it for that reason, though. I had an iPhone XR that I knew wouldn’t work with iOS 26, so I figured it was time to upgrade during the holidays.
The 15 Pro is a real treat. It has the action button, Dynamic Island, better cameras, and even faster performance. The XR would have been a bit of a hot potato, even if it wasn’t wireless charging or playing games on public iOS versions.
The 15 Pro is a real treat. It has the action button, Dynamic Island, better cameras, and even faster performance. The XR would have been a bit of a hot potato, even if it wasn’t wireless charging or playing games on public iOS versions.
Yeah, to the OP, I wouldn’t upgrade for Apple Intelligence (it is disabled on my iPhone 16 Plus), but I wouldn’t like to use an iPhone on its final iOS version either, it’s the worst possible hardware-software combo.
I upgrade from an iPhone Xʀ to the 16 Plus, but my Xʀ was running iOS 12. I upgraded for compatibility reasons, as the Xʀ would now be unusable as a main iPhone for me, too unsupported. It lasted a while though, back when iOS 17 was current it was perfectly compatible. When it was six versions behind, a little after the release of iOS 18, that’s when it started to struggle. So, from December 2024 to when I upgraded, back in March 2025. It was three months and it was tolerable. I used my iPad Air 5 on iPadOS 15 to circumvent issues.
How was battery life on the Xʀ on iOS 18 though? I had to update a family member’s iPhone 11 on iOS 14.6 to iOS 18 for compatibility reasons and I was surprised to see it was like-new. I still have the Xʀm but it still runs iOS 12, so I wouldn’t know.
I had a hunch way before WWDC 25 that the iPhone XR wouldn’t make it into iOS 26. I went on a wild iPhone hunt when the 16s came out, and I found a sweet deal on the 15 Pro during Christmas break.
Now, I know it won’t be because of these specific issues:
- Compared to my 15 Pro, the iPhone XR only lasted a few hours on a single charge (disclaimer: I got it second-hand. The previous owner had it since launch day, and when I checked the warranty info, the battery health was 85% when she gave it to me. She upgraded to the iPhone 14 Pro the summer before and gave it to me as she was cleaning out her apartment).
- The battery health max capacity last time I checked before the 15 Pro arrived was 83% on the XR. I gave the XR away once the 15 Pro was set up, so I can’t give the current value, but that’s all I have.
- The heat was always almost all the time when charging or not, even when I was using it regularly. When I don’t wirelessly charge it, the same heat issue sometimes happens.
- Speed was always an issue with regular use. The 15 Pro I don’t have such problems with it at all. It takes a long time for apps to launch, take screenshots, etc.
I might also try to get some more insider information from my friend to see if there’s anything beyond our generalisations that iPhone throttling and withdrawal from automatic or regular iOS updates is a thing.
I upgraded from 14 to 15 Pro for Apple Intelligence because I fell for their Very Smart Siri marketing and my carrier offered a very nice discount after the 16 models came out, making the 15 models ancient overnight. Visual Intelligence is shockingly good (I paired it with the Action Button which is finally useful for something), but apart from that I’m mostly pleased with the case I have on it. If I had known then what I know now, I would have kept my 14.
I also use visual intelligence frequently. I keep it on my lock screen and control center.
What case do you use on your 15 Pro? I have a pressed flowers case on my blue titanium 15 Pro.
This: https://www.ipitaka.com/products/sunset-moonrise-phone-cases?variant=42033055105094 (the blue variant)
It weighs nothing, adds just enough grip, and looks gorgeous in person paired with the blue iPhone.
Pitaka is a highly popular third-party case brand. If Amazon offers it at a lower price than the company, I’ll definitely try it. I have a collection of cases.
You have the same color iPhone as mine.
Do you have any thoughts on your favorite Apple intelligence features in your iPhone 15 Pro? How does it compare to when you used to have your iPhone 14?
I own an iPhone 14 Pro and it works great. Apple Intelligence is nice, but no reason to spend money. The only really useful thing for me so far seems to be Visual Intelligence. But it's more a nice-to-have.
I've gotten very pragmatic about my devices … I do own a lot of Pro and higher-end Apple devices. But I tend to keep them around.
I've gotten very pragmatic about my devices … I do own a lot of Pro and higher-end Apple devices. But I tend to keep them around.
Apple Intelligence is so useless that I would consider downgrading my phone to get rid of it.
Yes. What I just did. Went from a 12 to 16 Plus. Not using AI right now but I will in the near future. Agreed the 16 Plus is not giving me right now a 1000 times better experience than the 12 but there's also not much to be disappointed in.
Nope, but I would need the phone to be able to run Grok, which has been really helpful for me.
the question , for me, comes down to what is the opportunity cost. given the choice of an updated iPhone, or iPad, or Mac laptop what do I sacrifice buying to purchase that device, how do I justify the decision. if its a must for your lifestyle/business go for it, at the moment a new battery for my generation 2 iPhone SE and an battery powered lawnmower sounds like a better investment for me, but individual needs vary
No, it would have to become much more capable for it to be a compelling reason to upgrade. If I upgrade, it will be for other reasons.
Apple Intelligence is pretty negligable right now, and we're also just a few months away from the next iPhone. I'd wait until then to 1) know better what (if any) signficant improvements are coming to Apple Intelligence; 2) see what the iPhone 17 is; and maybe 3) save some money on an iPhone 16 or 15, which will both get cheaper when the 17 comes out.
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Visual Intelligence is the only thing I use. The rest ranges from gimmicky to useless (for me). And it’s not like I use VI a lot either, mostly to see whether it’s capable of something, so… I guess the telephoto lens is nice to have. And Dynamic Island looks cool as a music player. [sound of barrel bottom being scraped]
I upgrade iPhone every 6-7 years. I am sticking to it, unless I lose the phone or is dead. I use Apple intelligence on iPad Pro, don’t really need it on every device.
👍 how bout writing tools and type to Siri? My two other favourite things bout it.
My close friend is just like you. He has an alpine green iPhone 13 Pro Max, and he says the battery is still pretty good, around 84% max capacity. He had it since the colour got introduced back in early 2022.
He’s not planning to upgrade his iPhone until it’s no longer compatible. He already has a M4 iPad Pro, so he uses Apple Intelligence and beta tests iOS 26 on his iPad Pro 13-inch.