Maybe you’re planning on a new iPhone 14 and wondering if you can still use your iPhone 13 case with it. Unfortunately, for most models the answer is a hard “no,” thanks to a bunch of subtle differences.
But you might get away with it on one model. For everyone else, buy a new case or try going without one (go ahead, put that Ceramic Shield to the test).
Why your iPhone 13 case won’t quite fit your iPhone 14 series handset
Apple’s new iPhone 14 series includes two standard models and two pro models. There are two 6.1-inch screens, in iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, and two 6.7-inch screens, in iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Given that those are the same screen sizes of the iPhone 13 series, shouldn’t your old case fit? Well, no. Mostly not. Let’s go over the tiny details that will force you to fork over more money.
You can find detailed tech specs for the iPhone 14 series here.
Standard iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13
This one’s your best chance to maybe get away with the proverbial nice-looking but ill-fitting jacket for your handset.
Cupertino’s new base model iPhone 14 has slightly different dimensions from its predecessor. iPhone 14 is a touch deeper than iPhone 13. It’s less than a millimeter difference in thickness. Height and width match.
However, the exact positioning of buttons and the speakers doesn’t match between last year’s model and this year’s model. So the old case will fit awkwardly at best. Same would go for a wallet case, with the wallet part most likely unaffected.
iPhone 14 Pro models vs iPhone 13 Pro models
For similar reasons as described above, you’re going to need a new case if you have an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max — but even more-so. The 14 Pro is just a hare bigger than the 13 Pro in height and thickness. And the cutouts have shifted a bit.
But the main reason for the mismatch is that the Pro models got a bigger camera assembly than their predecessors for all those great camera upgrades.
iPhone 14 Plus
If you buy an iPhone 14 Plus, you’re buying a new model, so you’ll want a new case. It probably won’t fit in an iPhone 13 Pro Max case because of the difference in camera-bump size and tweaked cutout placement.
Also keep in mind that you won’t be able to mix-and-match iPhone 14 cases. Because of the overall size differences and the camera assembly size differences, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max cases are too different from each other to swap.
