Is your team still measuring stockpiles with a 4-year-old iPhone? Are you wondering if it’s worth upgrading now that your contract is up? In this article, we give you five reasons to consider upgrading to the iPhone 14 lineup to improve your stockpile measurement experience. (And we’re not even including the fact that the iPhone 15 is dropping in a few weeks, which makes it a great time to get a deal on every phone Apple currently has on the market – including the iPhone 14.)
Skip The Wait, Get Your Measurement On Device
With the latest version of the SR Measure app on the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, you get on-device measurements. You’ll be able to process the data on your iPhone and get a measurement at the job site without uploading to the cloud. Below are two major benefits of getting on-device measurements. (These are, without a doubt, the top two reasons to upgrade.)
- Leave the site with 100% measurement success rate
Never measure a stockpile again just to find out hours later that you made a mistake. With on-device processing, you know within minutes if you correctly measured the stockpile. - Get the measurement data you need to make operational decisions
Do you want to check production rates or know how much is in a stockpile before making a sale? On-device processing gives you the answers in the moment, not hours later.
Supersized Base Model
Apple unveiled more large screen options for the iPhone 14 when it was released in 2022. The 6.7″ model was made available for both the 14 Plus and 14 Pro Max models, while the basic model comes in at an impressive 6.1″. (On earlier iPhones, an upgrade to the Pro model was the only way to get the bigger screen. And while the base model is the same size as the standard iPhone 13, both have a smaller notch so there is more available screen surface.) Aside from having 21% more screen to better see the stockpiles you’re measuring, the larger iPhones also have a larger battery that translates into six more hours of uptime. The drawback to the big-screen Plus and Pro Max models is that they can be more cumbersome to hold and operate with one hand.
Less Shake = Better Video
The iPhone 13 and 14 have greatly improved cameras over previous models. However, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are considered the best mobile phone cameras on the market.
The base iPhone 14 still has an impressive feature that helps reduce blurry video: Sensor Shift Optical Image Stabilization. This feature mechanically shifts the camera sensor with your movement, which reduces motion blur in the video. What does that mean for you? The image quality will improve if you have to walk over uneven terrain.
The iPhone 14 and 14 Pro also have larger sensors which help capture details in low-light situations. While this is a great enhancement, any iPhone from the XS lineup and newer already does great in low light for stockpile measurement.
Location, Location, Location
The iPhone 14 Pro comes with “precision dual-frequency GPS,” which means you get faster and more accurate location data than other models. The new phone leverages L1 and L5 signals (explained really well in this ZDNET article) which also means that if you live in a remote area, you may get a more reliable signal.
The Pro Turns Up the Light!
The iPhone 14 Pro’s screen is the brightest in Apple’s phone line. The maximum outdoor brightness has increased to 2000 nits which makes it easier to see the screen on sunny days. To put that number in perspective, the screen is now 66% brighter outdoors than the previous generation iPhone. You may even be able to measure a stockpile in the Texas sun without having to hold your hand over the screen to shade it.
Our Buying Recommendation:
In the original version of this article, we came out strongly in favor of the iPhone 14, and we’re still big fans. (The SR Measure app can be installed on the iPhone 12 or higher, which means any of these newer models can be used to accurately measure your stockpiles.)
However, the latest iPhone models are much faster and more powerful, and they offer dramatically better cameras. Regardless of your usage needs, we recommend buying the iPhone 14 or 14 Pro if you have an iPhone 8 or older. Not only will you have fewer issues measuring stockpiles when the sun is low in the sky, you’ll have a better phone for all your productivity needs – and your not-so-productive needs, like social apps, gaming, and all the other fun stuff you rely on your phone to do.