Survey Shows iPhone 14 to be Most Disappointing iPhone in 11 Years

Despite its soaring popularity, the iPhone 14 has emerged as the most disappointing iPhone in 11 years according to a recent survey.

A survey conducted by PerfectRec studied 669,000 user-generated reviews, to find that consumer ratings declined vastly for the iPhone 14 as compared to its predecessor for the first time ever since 2012. Researchers claim to have studied 13 years worth of data, where each year showed better ratings for a new phone as compared to the year before, except in the case of the latest iPhone.

Reviews and Ratings Drop for iPhone 14

After studying 13 years of user-generated reviews right from the iPhone 4 that had launched in 2010 to the iPhone 14 that launched in 2022, researchers found a gradual increase in the number of 5-star reviews for all models, except the latest one.

Previous to this, only the iPhone 5 had seen a small dip.

Coming to the recent phones, researchers found that the iPhone 13 had garnered 80 percent 5-star ratings, but when it came to its successor, the iPhone 14, the 5-star ratings dropped to 72 percent.

This trend wasn't only spotted for the base model, but also for the higher models. The iPhone Pro saw a sharp decline in 5-star reviews, and had 76% of them, while its predecessors, the iPhone 13 Pro had 84%.

According to the publication, the 5-star ratings usually gradually grew due to software and hardware upgrades in each phone, and the iPhones kept getting better with each generation. Another factor it takes into account is how consumers have continued to give favourable reviews over a long period of time.

Why Did Ratings Drop for iPhone 14?

The reasoning offered by PerfectRec for the dip in ratings for the iPhone 14 hinges on the company not offering major changes when it comes to hardware, features and designs. It implies that the latest iPhone 14 didn't see major upgrades from Apple, leading to users rating it lower than usual.

Another factor it highlights is the re-use of an older chip (A15) on a flagship model, the phone not featuring a high refresh rate, and the absence of Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14, that may have also led to lower ratings for the latest iPhone in the market. These features, however, were present in the higher models in the lineup.