The Apple iPhone 14 Pro is currently the best iPhone that Apple has ever produced. The new bionic chip, new display design, new user interface, and new high-resolution camera make the phone entirely new. But except for the display, it nevertheless maintains the same exterior appearance as its predecessor.
On the other hand, the iPhone 14 Pro confirms that Apple doesn’t have anything new to offer. The iPhone sales will only increase with gimmicks like the Glyph Interface that we saw in Nothing Phone 1. And you guessed it right. I’m referring to the “Dynamic Island”, Apple’s newest invention.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max was officially announced on September 07, 2022 along with iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.
There’s not a whole lot of new pieces in this new phone (iPhone 14 Pro), but there’s technically more in this one than the baseline iPhone 14.
Marques Brownlee (YouTube)
Let’s talk about Apple iPhone 14 Pro Review Simplified right now.
Table of Contents
What’s new in Apple iPhone 14 Pro?
The iPhone 14 Pro’s key selling point is the pill-shaped cutout on the top of the display, which Apple refers to as Dynamic Island. Apple has undoubtedly come up with some clever ways to keep users interested in this pill-shaped cutout.
The new camera has a considerably thicker bump on the back. And finally, Apple improved the primary camera of the iPhone 14 Pro from 12 MP to 48 MP. And yes,
Apple is indeed too late to compete with high-resolution smartphone cameras.
But it’s about damn time.
It doesn’t appear to have seen many improvements from the outside, aside from the camera bump and the Dynamic Island. The majority of what Apple introduced was on the inside, through software. Speaking of iPhone’s software, the new iOS 16 was released alongside the Apple iPhone 14 Pro.
The Cinematic Mode, also known as “Portrait Mode for Video,” which introduced last year, now supports 4K video recording. The new Action Mode in the camera app stabilizes the video footage, making it simple to record video even while holding the device with one hand. It produces surprisingly excellent stable video.
The big brother, Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max doesn’t differ much from iPhone 14 Pro as last year. Except for the battery and screen size, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is identical to the iPhone 14 Pro but taller.
The European Union has clearly stated that it is mandatory for all manufacturers to use USB-C in their devices. And by 2024, the rule will be in effect. However, Apple continues to use the Lightning port in its latest iPhone 14 series. I’m still unsure if it was foolish of them to stand by their port without abiding by the laws. Or perhaps Apple is being clever since they can sell a dongle separately when the rule takes effect.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- High Resolution photographs
- Dynamic Island give a new look
- Redefined user interfaces
- Able to send Emergency SOS via Satellite
Cons
- USB-C port not included
- Minimal Upgrade compared to last year
- No SIM tray in the US model; eSIM only.
- iOS 16 has lot of bugs
Design
Apple iPhone 14 Pro comes in 4 colors and they are Deep Purple, Silver, Gold, and Space Black. Deep Purple’s color has generated some controversy. At first glance, it doesn’t appear to be purple at all, yet in certain lighting conditions, it does. Yet the Deep Purple color seems to be a favorite among iPhone users.
The pill-shaped cutout on the top of the display, also known as Dynamic Island, and the massive camera bump on the back are the two clearly visible design changes in the Apple iPhone 14 Pro.
As its predecessor, Apple iPhone 14 Pro will stand out from the table when you keep it on the table face up. However, users these days are used to put a case on every phone, so this issue will be quickly resolved.
As mandated by the European Union, all devices must use the USB-C port starting in 2024. Their analysis implies that having different cords for different devices creates a significant amount of electronic waste. Additionally, they assert that if every manufacturer uses one universal port, it would be able to tremendously minimize e-waste.
So, as they mandated the usage of USB-C on devices, every manufacturer agreed to it except Apple. Apart from other manufacturers, Apple is the only company that retains a completely different port. Apple is the only company that still uses the Lightning port, which is completely unique.
So, similar to the iPhone 13 Pro, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro has a Lightning Port instead of a USB-C port. When every other manufacturer uses USB-C in their devices, Apple sits back and be like, “Nope, we’re good.”
Not sure if Apple is acting boldly or if this is a typical Apple strategy. Because when the regulation is followed, Apple could easily provide a new adapter to the market that can convert the lightning port to USB-C. Similar to how they did when they removed the headphone jack. First, create a Problem, then sell a Solution. *COUGH* “Innovation”.
Someday, the iPhone will feature a USB-C port, but not today.
Lance Ulanoff (Tech Radar)
Both the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have an IP68 rating, meaning they can survive being drowned in water up to 6 meters deep for 30 minutes. The general appearance and even the feel of the Apple iPhone 14 Pro are comparable to those of its predecessor.
This time around Apple made a drastic idea to get rid of the SIM card tray. But wait, this modification only takes effect in US models because some of the network partners around the world still don’t support eSIM.
Display
The Super Retina XDR OLED display of the iPhone 14 Pro is the brightest screen on the market. The Apples’ iPhone 14 Pro screen can reach a staggering brightness of 2000 nits max. Therefore, the screen is clearly visible even in bright sunlight. Display sizes for the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max are 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, respectively.
This year’s iPhone skipped the notch in favor of the pill-shaped cutout on top. The Dynamic Island, Apple brand-new innovation floats millimeters away from the top corner of the display. It is quite fascinating to watch because it does some seamless animations with the apps you are currently using.
This year’s Apple iPhone 14 Pro includes Always on Display, which is considerably different from other mobile devices.
Dynamic Island
Dynamic Island is none other than another notch but a fancy one and an interesting one. To be clear, Apple’s inclusion of the Dynamic Island on top instead of a notch does not provide more space in the UI. Because it uses the same amount of space as its predecessor. Apple’s fascinating innovation on the pill-shaped cutout practically serves as a status bar or a mini dashboard wrapped around it.
It sits on top of the screen over the programs, just like the Messenger chat notification bubble. Without having to open the app, it allows you to quickly check the timer, the song that is now playing, and other things. All you have to do to preview is long press on top of a bubble.
For example, if you open Dynamic Island supported any Music app (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.), the waveform will be displayed on top after you exit the music app. And when you long press on that waveform, it will show a quick preview of what’s playing and other action buttons which is similar to the lock screen media preview. Also, simply tapping on it will launch the app.
Yes, it does look good and has some cool features. Yet, I still prefer Notch over Dynamic Island. For example, when I’m watching a video, the Notch cut is preferable over the Dynamic Island. Since it doesn’t go around it to display a small portion of the view. In summary, it is preferable to watch nothing than a little portion of the screen. And it is completely up to me and absolutely personal.
Dynamic Island is something that will undoubtedly be copied by other competitor mobile phones.
It supports Maps, Calls, Delivery apps, Ride sharing apps, and other services in addition to music apps. It is up to developers to build fascinating stuff around the Dynamic Island.
I have discovered a Reddit client app called “Apollo” that is exclusively available on iOS and includes a sweet animation surrounding the Dynamic Island. Tamagotchi, a well-known cartoon cat character from the 1990s, roams around the Dynamic Island and engages in many activities. See the app’s original tweet, which is posted below.
We can expect more exciting things to happen around the Dynamic Island in the future. And It is up to the iOS developers to do so.
Always on Display
Apple has finally decided to catch up with Android phones by including Always on Display in the iPhone 14 Pro. However, Apple iPhone 14 Pro’s Always on Display varies from those of other manufacturers.
In Android, the Always on Display shows information and notifications on a black background with white writing. Apple, on the other hand, has a different perspective. They basically mimic the lock screen in lesser brightness with colors. They also lower the refresh rate of the display to 1Hz.
So, all of the notifications, the time, and the widgets are visible. And the screen is pretty appealing to look at when it is vibrant and on Always Display.
However, some users complain that it is surprisingly bright and that it feels like the screen is turned on. And when it’s dark, it happens more often. Lowering the brightness of the Always on Display is not an option on the iPhone 14 Pro. Just a switch to turn it on or off.
We believe that Apple will address the problem and offer some customization to users.
Also, it is obvious that the Apple iPhone 14 Pro’s Always on Display is really a dimmed version of its lock screen.
Cameras
The iPhone 14 Pro has three cameras on the rear and a 12 MP sensor for the front camera. The main camera has a 48 MP sensor, while the other cameras have a 12 MP sensor.
The telephoto lens in the back camera module has an aperture of f2.8 and a 3x optical zoom, while the ultra-wide lens has an aperture of f2.2 and a 120-degree field of view. The wide lens in the rear camera module has an aperture of f1.8.
A 3D LiDAR scanner that can detect depth is also integrated into the back cameras. The front camera has an aperture of f1.9 and also has a 3D ToF scanner for Face ID.
The iPhone 14 Pro’s camera array design hasn’t changed much from the outside. However, this year is particularly special for the Apple iPhone 14 Pro because it received a major camera boost. A 48 MP sensor is now included in the primary camera. That is 65% bigger than the iPhone 13 Pro from the last year.
This massive resolution bump comes to the iPhone after many years, and it has been 12 MP since the September 2015 release of the iPhone 6s.
Even without using portrait mode, the larger sensor offers excellent low-light photos and a natural depth of field.
The main benefit in this situation is that a 48 MP sensor can now capture RAW photos in full resolution. With increased editing and cropping capabilities, you get fantastic image quality. The only drawback is that when taking raw photographs, you now have to deal with files that are typically 100 megabytes in size.
The new Photonic Engine, a computational photography engine included in iPhone 14 models, can effectively manage images captured in low light. To enhance low-light shot detailing, it combines with Apple’s Deep Fusion technology.
The innovative mechanism built into the flashlight of the Apple iPhone 14 Pro made headlines this year. Because the phone flash is so harsh while snapping photos, the majority of us have given up on the idea. The flash that comes out of the phone makes the object bright and white. Because the flashlight is so bright, the images are overexposed.
Apple, on the other hand, had a fix for that, and the iPhone 14 Pro now comes with it. Depending on how close an object is to the lens, each of the 9 LEDs in this Adaptive Flashlight will individually alter its brightness. So no more bright, overexposed pictures. The flash will adapt to your environment by changing how much light it needs to maintain. What a cool thing!
Phones have been able to detect how far away your subject is for years now. I’m actually kind of shocked that it’s taken this long for this feature (Adaptive Flashlight) to exist. But, it’s a very good one.
Mrwhosetheboss (Youtube)
Photo
Despite having a 48MP camera out of the box, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro cannot take 48MP photographs in regular photo mode. Because the iPhone will compress and save the 48MP image as a 12MP image after taking it. To capture a true 48MP shot, you may need to enable RAW photo mode, which creates images with an average file size of 100 megabytes.
For the untrained eye, the photos on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro appear to be nearly identical. Apple, on the other hand, has made several changes to its cameras and software. So while the modifications are visible, it’s doubtful that an average user would even notice them due to how minor they are.
Since Apple didn’t do much in the camera department, the typical iPhone image issues still stay the same. For example, in daylight, objects get often overly sharpened, creating an unnatural look. Don’t get me wrong though; the images are excellent and the colors are true to last year’s standards. But with this year’s big sensor, we expected Apple to fix some of the problems they had.
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The telephoto camera made no improvements this year, so it is exactly the same as it was the last year. The telephoto camera’s 3x optical zoom capabilities allows users to capture high-quality zoomed pictures similar to those from the iPhone 13 Pro. However, in a world where the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra offers 100x Space Zoom, I wish Apple had a zoom level similar to 10x optical zoom.
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The primary camera on the iPhone 14 Pro produces generally excellent images. It provides images with great detailing, minimal noise, and well-balanced contrast. Even without the portrait option, the bigger sensor provides a nice shallow depth of field. But with this wide lens, you’ll be worried when taking closeup objects because of the low minimum focus distance.
You can now take high-resolution RAW photos directly from the Apple iPhone 14 Pro thanks to the new 48MP sensor. These are some of the best RAW images I’ve ever seen from a smartphone.
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RAW photos are always good on paper because they do not apply the majority of the software’s tweaking. This high resolution image produces beautiful crisper appearing photos that can be cropped down to whatever size you need while still looking good.
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The iPhone 14 Pro takes the widest-looking photographs with the least amount of noise. Delivers crisp, color-consistent images with a 120-degree field of view, but sometimes struggles to snap photos of trees or other plants. Photos are sometimes overly sharpened, which is common for an ultra-wide lens camera.
The ultra-wide lens, which excels in low-light photography, is used in the Apple iPhone 14 Pro’s macro mode. And it develops close-up photographs greatly.
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Lens capable of taking close-up photos at a 40mm distance. When taking macro photos, the focus is excellent, resulting in photographs that are sharp and incredibly detailed. Colors and the bokeh effect make the photograph more appealing.
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The Apple iPhone 14 Pro’s night mode hasn’t changed all that much from last year because it’s practically identical. However, the iPhone can now take low-light images fairly well thanks to a new big sensor. A night mode with a good exposure will provide brighter photographs. delivers beautiful detailed images but occasionally has trouble with shadows.
The iPhone 14 Pro produces brighter outdoor selfies with sharper details and better lighting. The software does a good job of cleaning the image and the noise level is fairly low.
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Surprisingly, the auto-focus in selfies is effective and maintains the subject’s sharp focus at all times. It’s amazing that they maintained the white balance and color consistency among all cameras. Sometimes in indoor photos the exposure is too high, turning the image a little bit red.
Video
The iPhone is capable of recording videos in 1080p at 25, 30, 60, 120, and 240 frames per second as well as 4K at 24, 25, 30, and 60 frames per second. At up to 4K 60 fps, it can record HDR films in Dolby Vision format. And thanks to the iPhone’s processing power, you can easily edit your video on the same device.
When it comes to video recording, the iPhone has always been in charge, and no phone has yet to match its quality.
I find it interesting that Apple still doesn’t offer an 8K video recording option. They might have because 30 MP is the minimal requirement for recording 8K video. And the iPhone 14 Pro has 48MP, but Apple did not add it.
The Apple iPhone 14 Pro now supports 4K in Cinematic Mode at 30 frames per second. It was only able to record in 1080p at 30 frames per second when it was first released with the iPhone 13 Pro. You can now watch 4K footage from Cinematic Mode on a high-resolution screen since it is so good.
Apple has unveiled a brand-new video mode, called action mode. It is a video stabilization mode capable of doing extreme stabilization when shooting a video. As a result, it doesn’t even appear to be moving.
But in order to fix those shaky videos, Action Mode also severely cropped off the footage. Because of the crop, 4K video cannot be recorded and the maximum quality that you can record is 2.8K. But on the plus side, the video footage is effectively stabilized and appears to have been recorded using a gimbal.
You can choose between H.265 HEVC and H.264 as your preferred video encoder on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro.
Similar to the previous model, this one also uses 192 kbps bit-rate for its video audio recording.
Performance
The A16 Bionic Chip is Apple’s most recent chip for iPhones, and it is included with the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. This 4-nm processor has a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU. A more advanced 16-core Neural Engine is also included. It is an improvement over last year’s A15 Bionic chip.
The performance of displays can now be handled well by the new Display Engine. The Apple way of Always on Display is born as a result of this Display Engine. When previewing the Always on Display, it is able to lower its refresh rate to 1Hz. It also decreases phone battery usage by identifying the screen’s continuing activity and behavior.
GeekBench Score: Single Core
Higher is better
GeekBench Score: Multi Core
Higher is better
Even while the A16 Bionic processor can perform better than the A15 Bionic chip, you can tell from the benchmark results that it is only a slight improvement over the model from the last year. And, at the Apple Event, they did not compare its performance to the A15 Bionic. They instead compared it to the A13 Bionic, which was released a few of years ago. Because they were aware the entire time that it was quite identical to last year’s but slightly improved.
But don’t get me wrong, in real life Apple chip is way faster than other devices and delivers you a rock-solid performance. And the animations are buttery smooth. It is easily able to hold all-day battery life. As a result, Apple’s A16 Bionic chip is far more powerful than the average user will ever need.
With 6GB of RAM out of the box, the iPhone 14 Pro runs on iOS 16. There are many storage options accessible with it, including 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, and we believe that it would be sufficient for moving to two middle options other than the 1TB option.
Out of the box, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro is 5G ready. Also, it only supports eSIM and does not ship with a SIM tray in the US.
Battery Life and Charging
Excellent battery performance allows it to run continuously throughout the day. Apple also claims that it is able up to 23 hours of video playback.
However, as compared to its predecessor, the battery consumption is low. Some users think it is due to an iOS 16 problem. And the users who claim to have, had this problem even on iPhone 13 Pro after updating to iOS 16. There are other reports that it has to do with haptic vibration, also known as haptic feedback. Nonetheless, we hope Apple addresses these issues as soon as possible and releases bug fixes if there was a software bug.
The Always on Display feature on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro this year is just a dimmed version of the lock screen. How much juice the Always on Display has consumed is not shown in the iPhone’s battery usage settings. However, it does have a greater impact on battery life than I expected when used with and without Always on Display.
Always on Display is intelligent enough to know when to turn on and off. It detects and shuts off its screen if it is in a pocket. And if you walk away from your iPhone while it is paired to an Apple Watch, the phone recognizes it and shuts off the display. But mostly when it sits on your desk and stays on all day. For someone obsessed with Android Always on Display, this could be a huge red flag for him.
As usual, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro does not come with a power adapter. According to Apple’s advertising, if you purchase their 20W charger, you will be able to charge the iPhone 14 Pro up to 50% in 30 minutes.
Operating System
Apple released iOS 16 alongside the iPhone 14 models. Although it doesn’t include any ground-breaking features, iOS 16 does have considerable improvements to the OS interfaces. It also shares similarities with iOS 15 and iOS 14.
iOS 16 and the iPhone 14 were both released on June 6, 2022. The new iOS 16 included a small number of features and the most notable of them are the lock screen and the Dynamic Island experience. The iPhone 14 Pro also added new additional features like Crash Detection and Emergency SOS Message.
With the new iOS 16, you are now able put a customizable lock screen on your iPhone. It allows you to modify elements, widgets and colors, and more. Apple believes users will be able to create millions of different combinations.
Apple has finally introduced the Always on Display to the iPhone, but it’s also quite disappointing. Because it appears that when the Always on Screen kicks in, the lock screen remains visible but is slightly dimmed. Which they did in a very Apple-like manner to showcase how unique their Always on Display is.
The UI experience has seen some adjustments due to Dynamic Island. Dynamic Island is a fantastic feature that is quite unique. It uses smooth animations surrounding the pill-shaped cutout and some features there to allow you to use the apps without having to switch to it. Developers are able to adapt their version to work on the dynamic island. Spotify, WhatsApp, and Soundcloud are already on board, and they all function right away.
There are some bugs in the new iOS 16 and it is quite painful to witness. Check out some of the tweets I discovered below.
Other Features
Apple unveiled two new security measures in the iPhone 14 Pro that had never been seen on a mobile device. The iPhone 14 can now send Emergency SOS texts over satellite. Not only that but the Apple iPhone 14’s ability to recognize your car has now been involved in an accident. It is known as crash detection.
Although we don’t regularly use these safety features, it is still a good thing to have something like this.
Emergency SOS via Satellite
The brand-new emergency SOS mechanism on the iPhone 14 allows you to send emergency messages via satellite when you’re not in range. This implies that even without a WiFi or cellular service, you will be able to send a message through satellite to request the assistance you require.
In order to notify emergency services of your emergency, you should be outside with a clear view of the sky.
Crash Detection
The new iPhone crash detection technology can identify serious crashes and alert emergency services to get you the assistance you need.
The iPhone will prompt you for a response when it notices that you were in a serious accident. It will automatically alert the emergency services after a 20-second delay.
Known Problems
- In comparison to the iPhone 13 Pro from previous year, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro’s battery life is shorter. And the iPhone 14 Pro features a larger battery capacity than last year’s model. According to rumors, the iPhone’s haptic vibration, often known as haptic feedback, is to blame.
- Always on Display is extremely bright at night. In other words, it’s more like you leave the screen on all the time but with a low brightness.
- Due to the fact that Always on Display is essentially a dimmed-down version of its lock screen, it uses more battery than it should. And turning it off will save roughly 10% of your battery life.
- When plugged into a charger, the iPhone 14 Pro restarts randomly. It happens when it is plugged into a MagSafe or Lightning charger.
- The screen freezes when attempting to transfer data from an iPhone 14 Pro to iCloud or another iPhone.
- The new 48 MP camera on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro appears to have issues with social media apps. It produces unsteady shots when trying to take pictures or videos. In response, Apple claims to have located the problem and will provide a fix for it.
- Some iPhone 14 models are unable to receive FaceTime calls or iMessages. And Apple also provided a fix along with a software update.
- The iPhone 14 Pro keeps jumping between Focus Mode. You experience it after attempting to manually switch the Focus Mode four times.
TL;DR
Great overall experience with the iPhone 14 Pro, which has a slightly updated front design.
The primary feature of the phone, Dynamic Island, is what allows Apple to do away with the notch. Plus, Apple added some fascinating features around Dynamic Island.
The iPhone 14 Pro comes with 6 GB of RAM and storage options ranging from 128 GB to 1 TB. It is also integrated with the A16 Bionic chip, which has not seen a significant improvement over the previous year but is still faster than most regular users require in daily life.
The new iPhone 14 Pro has a 48 MP camera that takes high-resolution photos but compresses them to 12 MP while shooting in standard mode. To unlock its full potential, you must use RAW mode.
If you currently own an iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 12 Pro, purchasing an iPhone 14 Pro is not a wise decision because it does not provide any revolutionary upgrades. However, it will be worthwhile to wait for the following release.
With Action Mode, you may record running videos without shaky footage.
Despite having a lower battery than its predecessor, the iPhone 14 Pro still offers a reliable full day of use.
iPhone 14 Pro made headlines for the bugs that appeared with the release of iOS 16. iMessages not receiving or delivering, social media doesn’t support cameras properly, and phone restarts when charging are some of them.
The Apple approach of Always on Display was finally introduced, but many users are unhappy since it drains the battery faster than it should.
Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via Satellite are two of the extra features that Apple launched alongside the iPhone 14 models.
Source: Apple, Tech Radar, GSM Arena, Tom’s Guide, Pocket-lint, CNET, Phone Arena, Mrwhosetheboss (Youtube), Marques Brownlee (YouTube)
