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Apple iPhone 14 Audio test

September 26, 2022
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OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

We put the Apple iPhone 14 through our rigorous DXOMARK Audio test suite to measure its performance both at recording sound using its built-in microphones, and at playing audio back through its speakers.

Overview


Key audio specifications include:

  • Two speakers, (One top front firing, one side bottom firing)
  • No Jack audio output
  • Dolby Atmos technology
  • Spatial Audio playback

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.


Apple iPhone 14
141
audio
144
Playback
Timbre
141

158

Dynamics
138

149

Spatial
148

162

Volume
144

162

Artifacts
91

157

135
Recording
Timbre
130

147

Dynamics
124

146

Spatial
107

159

Volume
126

170

Artifacts
137

145

Background
146

166

AUDIO
Position in Global Ranking
17th
1. Black Shark 5 Pro
161
2. Asus ROG Phone 6
155
3. Asus ROG Phone 5
151
4. Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
149
4. Black Shark 4S Pro
149
4. Black Shark 4 Pro
149
4. Honor Magic3 Pro+
149
8. Asus ROG Phone 7
148
9. Xiaomi Mi 10 S
147
10. Huawei Mate 50 Pro
144
10. Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
144
12. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
143
13. Apple iPhone 15 Pro
142
13. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
142
13. Apple iPhone 14 Pro
142
13. Google Pixel 8 Pro
142
17. Apple iPhone 15 Plus
141
17. Apple iPhone 15
141
17. Apple iPhone 14 Plus
141
17. Apple iPhone 14
141
17. Huawei P60 Pro
141
22. Apple iPhone 12
140
22. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
140
22. Google Pixel 8
140
22. Xiaomi 13 Ultra
140
22. Xiaomi 13 Pro
140
27. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
139
27. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
139
27. Apple iPhone 12 mini
139
27. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (Snapdragon)
139
31. Apple iPhone 13
138
31. Asus ROG Phone 3
138
31. Google Pixel 6 Pro
138
31. Honor Magic5 Pro
138
35. Apple iPhone 13 mini
137
35. Google Pixel 7 Pro
137
35. Google Pixel 6
137
35. Honor Magic Vs
137
35. Honor Magic4 Pro
137
35. Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus (Snapdragon)
137
41. Google Pixel 6a
135
41. OnePlus Open
135
41. Oppo Find N2
135
44. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
134
44. Xiaomi 13
134
46. Google Pixel Fold
133
46. Huawei Mate 20 X
133
46. Lenovo Legion Y90
133
46. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
133
46. Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)
133
46. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
133
46. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
133
46. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
133
46. Vivo X90 Pro
133
55. Google Pixel 7a
132
55. Vivo X Fold
132
55. Vivo X90 Pro+
132
58. Apple iPhone XS Max
131
58. Asus Zenfone 10
131
58. Oppo Find X2 Pro
131
58. Oppo Find N2 Flip
131
62. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
130
62. Xiaomi Mix Fold 3
130
64. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
129
64. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
129
64. Xiaomi 12S Ultra
129
64. Xiaomi 12 Pro
129
68. OnePlus 11
128
68. Oppo Find X6 Pro
128
68. Oppo Find X5 Pro
128
68. POCO F4 GT
128
68. Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
128
68. Xiaomi Redmi K50 Gaming
128
68. Xiaomi 13T
128
68. Xiaomi 11T Pro
128
76. Oppo Find X6
127
76. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
127
76. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
127
76. Xiaomi 12T Pro
127
80. Apple iPhone 11
126
80. Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
126
80. OnePlus 10T 5G
126
80. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
126
80. Samsung Galaxy A34 5G
126
80. Xiaomi 12T
126
80. Xiaomi 11T
126
87. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
125
87. Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
125
87. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
125
90. Lenovo Legion Phone 2 Pro
124
91. Google Pixel 7
123
91. Oppo Reno8 Pro 5G
123
93. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
122
93. Apple iPhone SE (2020)
122
93. Xiaomi 13T Pro
122
93. Xiaomi 12
122
97. OnePlus 9 Pro
121
97. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
121
97. Sony Xperia 1 IV
121
97. Xiaomi Mix Fold 2
121
101. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
120
101. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
120
101. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
120
104. Asus ROG Phone 2
119
104. Huawei P50 Pro
119
104. OnePlus 9
119
104. OnePlus 8
119
104. POCO F5 Pro
119
104. Xiaomi Redmi K40 Gaming
119
104. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
119
111. Realme GT Neo 3
118
111. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
118
111. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
118
111. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
118
111. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
118
111. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
118
117. Asus Zenfone 8
117
117. Google Pixel 4
117
117. OnePlus 10 Pro
117
117. OnePlus 8 Pro
117
117. Vivo iQOO 9 Pro
117
122. Motorola Edge 40 Pro
116
122. Motorola Edge+
116
122. Realme GT Neo 2 5G
116
122. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
116
122. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
116
122. Xiaomi Redmi K40 Pro+
116
122. Xiaomi Mi 11
116
129. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
115
129. OnePlus Nord 2T 5G
115
129. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
115
129. Xiaomi Mi 11i
115
133. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
114
133. Vivo iQOO 7 Legend
114
135. Google Pixel 5
113
135. LG V60 ThinQ 5G
113
135. OnePlus 7 Pro
113
135. Samsung Galaxy S20+
113
135. Samsung Galaxy S10+
113
135. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (Exynos)
113
135. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ (Exynos)
113
135. Sony Xperia 1 III
113
143. Nubia RedMagic 6 Pro
112
143. Nubia Red Magic 5S
112
143. Realme GT 5G
112
143. Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G
112
147. Oppo A78 5G
111
147. Sony Xperia 5 IV
111
149. Oppo Find X3 Pro
110
150. Honor 70
109
150. Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
109
150. Oppo Find X5
109
150. POCO X3 NFC
109
150. Realme GT 2 Pro
109
150. Vivo X70 Pro+
109
150. ZTE Axon 30 Ultra
109
157. Huawei Mate 30 Pro
108
157. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
108
157. Oppo Find X3 Neo
108
157. Realme X2 Pro
108
161. Sony Xperia 5 V
107
162. Honor 90
106
162. Nothing Phone(1)
106
162. Oppo Reno8 Lite 5G
106
162. Oppo A77 5G
106
166. Lenovo Legion Phone Pro
105
166. Nothing Phone (2)
105
166. Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
105
166. Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
105
170. Honor V30 Pro
104
170. Oppo Reno8 5G
104
170. Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G
104
173. Black Shark 3 Pro
103
173. Nubia RedMagic 8 Pro
103
173. Oppo Find X5 Lite
103
173. Sony Xperia 1 II
103
177. Huawei P40 Pro
102
177. Motorola Edge 20 Pro
102
177. Oppo Reno6 5G
102
180. Motorola Razr
101
181. Honor Magic5 Lite 5G
97
181. Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition
97
183. Black Shark 2 Pro
96
183. Honor 20 Pro
96
183. Oppo Find X3 Lite
96
183. Vivo X51 5G
96
187. LG G8 ThinQ
95
187. Sony Xperia 10 IV
95
189. Nubia Red Magic 3S
94
190. Fairphone 4
93
190. Sony Xperia 1
93
190. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
93
193. Fairphone 5
92
194. Vivo X60 Pro+
91
195. Nokia 7.2
87
196. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
86
AUDIO
Position in Premium Ranking
5th
1. Black Shark 5 Pro
161
2. Asus ROG Phone 5
151
3. Black Shark 4S Pro
149
3. Black Shark 4 Pro
149
5. Apple iPhone 15
141
5. Apple iPhone 14
141
7. Apple iPhone 12
140
7. Google Pixel 8
140
9. Apple iPhone 12 mini
139
10. Apple iPhone 13
138
11. Apple iPhone 13 mini
137
12. Xiaomi 13
134
13. Lenovo Legion Y90
133
13. Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)
133
15. Asus Zenfone 10
131
16. OnePlus 11
128
16. Xiaomi 13T
128
16. Xiaomi 11T Pro
128
19. Xiaomi 12T Pro
127
20. Apple iPhone 11
126
20. OnePlus 10T 5G
126
22. Lenovo Legion Phone 2 Pro
124
23. Oppo Reno8 Pro 5G
123
24. Xiaomi 13T Pro
122
24. Xiaomi 12
122
26. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
120
26. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
120
28. OnePlus 9
119
28. OnePlus 8
119
30. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
118
30. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
118
30. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
118
33. Asus Zenfone 8
117
33. Google Pixel 4
117
33. Vivo iQOO 9 Pro
117
36. Xiaomi Mi 11
116
37. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
115
37. Xiaomi Mi 11i
115
39. Google Pixel 5
113
39. LG V60 ThinQ 5G
113
39. OnePlus 7 Pro
113
42. Nubia RedMagic 6 Pro
112
43. Realme GT 2 Pro
109
43. ZTE Axon 30 Ultra
109
45. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
108
45. Oppo Find X3 Neo
108
47. Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
105
48. Honor V30 Pro
104
48. Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G
104
50. Nubia RedMagic 8 Pro
103
51. Motorola Edge 20 Pro
102
52. Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition
97
53. Vivo X51 5G
96
54. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
93
55. Fairphone 5
92
56. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
86

Playback

Pros

  • Good performance in all attributes, with great consistency across them
  • Great timbre performance overall, enriched by a deep low-end extension
  • Great dynamics performance overall
  • Very good spatial performance

Cons

  • Distortion and compression at maximum volume and when watching movies
  • Stereo is still inverted in music app, as in all iPhones

Recording

Pros

  • Good timbre performance overall
  • Good performance when recording loud content such as  concerts
  • Good dynamics performance
  • Good handling of artifacts overall. Wind noise reduction needs some fine-tuning but it works decently

Cons

  • Midrange rendition is too dependent on the use case, and can sound either canny or nasal depending on the app and use case
  • SNR could be greater, as main vocal content is often a bit masked by the ambient noise
  • Poor audio zoom performance


The differences between the iPhone models when it comes to audio playback and recording have usually been minimal. The same holds true now with the release of the iPhone 14 series.

The iPhone 14, which contains the A15 Bionic chipset, shares many of the hardware specs as the 14 Pro Max, which operates on the latest A16 Bionic chip.

Our testers found that in Playback, the iPhone 14’s timbre has a richer midrange than the 14 Pro Max, but the 14’s high-end extension doesn’t reach that of the 14 Pro Max. Dynamics-wise, the other minor difference between the two models is that the iPhone 14’s sound is less impactful than the 14 Pro Max.

In Recording, the testers noticed very slight timbre variations between the models. The iPhone 14’s loudness was also slightly better than that of the 14 Pro Max.
Wind noise reduction on the iPhone 14 was slightly better managed than on the more advanced model.
The audio zoom isn’t a strong point on both models.

Given the similarities between the models and that the iPhone 14’s overall score came in just a point below the 14 Pro Max’s score, well within our margin of error, we direct you to the full test results of the iPhone 14 Pro Max for all the details of the iPhone 14’s audio performance.

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