The iPhone 14 Pro is the second major redesign of Apple’s top-tier smartphone in the last two years. While the overall form may be fairly similar, several things have changed, like as the new always-on screen, pill-shaped notch for the Face ID camera, and a new set of back cameras.
This iPhone Pro update seems excitingly packed, which is surprising given that the iPhone 13 Pro from the previous year had already shown to be a significant advance. Of course, there are new internals as well.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Review
Design and Features of the iPhone 14 Pro
The notch was reduced in size with the 2017 iPhone redesign, and the iPhone 14 Pro replaces it with the Dynamic Island, an even more diminutive pill-shaped punch out. Despite the absurd marketing titles, the real camera hole is much wider than the one designed for selfie cameras on most Android cameras. This may be because the depth-detecting face ID camera is housed in the same area.
The new notch is known as the Dynamic Island since its size changes on a regular basis. When Face ID is turned on, a square that displays a green check mark when your face is recognised increases. This component also functions as a kind of faux taskbar for keeping track of up to two activities.
For instance, if you’re streaming music or video and swipe away from it, the pill-shaped hole will enlarge into a longer one that displays an animated waveform and a symbol for your media. Additionally, if you set a timer while media is playing, the Dynamic Island is divided into two sections: a pill for the media, and a smaller circle for the countdown. To quickly return to any work, tap either area of the Dynamic Island.
Additionally, some app creators are coming up with creative ways to leverage the Dynamic Island for games and other interactive applications. For instance, in the video game Hit The Island, the pill-shaped hole is transformed into a paddle for ping-pong.
The 6.1-inch screen on the iPhone 14 Pro has undergone quite a few improvements in addition to the Dynamic Island. It is now an always-on display, for starters. It’s interesting to note that Apple’s version essentially dims the lock screen rather than converting it into a placeholder in black and white as most Android phones do. Long-term battery consumption is increased, but a muted display allows you to always view your notifications. When you turn over to your phone, you can easily notice the new row of widgets that arrived with the iOS 16 update, which includes the weather, battery life, and your fitness rings.
The iPhone 14 Pro features one less space for a physical sim, which is a minor physical modification. All of this year’s new iPhones have converted to digital eSIMs, which is a little inconvenient if you want to travel and quickly purchase a local SIM to switch networks. This implies that you will need to make a few more preparations and acquire a foreign eSIM before your travel.
Every new iPhone will also include emergency satellite communications so you can contact 911 when cell coverage isn’t available as a sort of consolation prize. This service will debut in the next months.
iPhone 14 Pro: Performance and Gaming
The new A16 Bionic chip, which is exclusive to the new iPhone Pro versions this year, makes the iPhone 14 Pro very quick. Apps open swiftly, moving between apps is immediate, and iOS 16 generally operates smoothly – especially while you observe the Dynamic Island continuously expanding and contracting.
Nevertheless, there isn’t much of a performance difference between the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro. Even the Geekbench 5 results (displayed below) don’t demonstrate a significant change. The more effective 4-nanometer technology, which helps to increase battery life, is actually what sets the A16 Bionic apart, but we’ll cover this in more detail later.
1,889 (Single), 5,120 for the iPhone 14 Pro (Multi)
1,747 (Single), 4,531 for the iPhone 13 Pro (Multi)
With all this power, the iPhone 14 Pro is excellent for gaming. Shovel Knight Dig and Fantasian, two recent Apple Arcade titles, run flawlessly on this phone. More impressively, you can play independent games like Gris+ and Goat Simulator+ that were previously exclusively accessible on console and PC. The iPhone 14 Pro has incredible graphic capability.
Camera on the iPhone 14 Pro
Since the iPhone 6s originally debuted a 12MP camera seven years ago, the 48MP primary camera on the iPhone 14 Pro represents the largest resolution increase. The main deal is a considerably larger sensor that enables it to generate more bokeh and absorb more light for low-light shooting. The resolution bump is great.
To be clear, the new sensor may have a total resolution of 48MP, but it primarily still produces 12MP images. In order to improve colour purity and low-light performance, the sensor uses pixel-binning, which merges every four pixels into one bigger pixel. This is something that practically all Android phones with high-resolution cameras already do, so this phone is by no means the first to accomplish it.
Images from the iPhone 14 Pro
Because you can also utilise the primary sensor as a 2x camera, Apple’s solution is a little unusual (or was until the Google Pixel 7 Pro was launched a week later). The iPhone 14 Pro only uses 12MP in the middle of its primary 48MP sensor while shooting as a 2x camera. In essence, it’s a digital crop that produces amazingly clear pictures, albeit low light conditions do degrade image quality.
You must capture photographs in Apple’s ProRaw format if you want to capture images with a true 48MP resolution. I wouldn’t advise shooting anything in this format because it results in enormous file sizes and offers you little ability to edit and recover information.
The visual quality of Apple’s newest smartphone is noticeably better than that of the previous iPhone 13 Pro. The bigger sensor on the iPhone 14 Pro produces images with higher detail and a little bit more background blur.
What’s more remarkable is how Apple’s new Photonic Engine has enhanced the image quality of every other camera, the majority of which are carryovers from the previous model year. Overall, the telephoto and ultrawide cameras’ photos have better dynamic range.
Additionally, if you don’t want shaky footage, there is a new Action Mode for videos that adds a lot of stabilisation, lessening the need for a gimbal. If you record any walking-related movies, it adds some much-needed smoothness, putting it on pace with the GoPro 11 Black I’ve also been testing. Even yet, there is still a significant amount of bobbing as you move. Action Mode videos can only be captured in bright sunlight and have a resolution of 2.8K. They also require a lot of light to shoot.
Battery Life on the iPhone 14 Pro
In comparison to the iPhone 13 Pro’s 3,095mAh battery, the iPhone 14 Pro’s 3,200mAh battery has a very minor capacity advantage. Despite the bigger battery, I often obtained the same 30–20% battery life as I did with the previous iPhone 13 Pro at the end of heavy usage days.
Even if it may not seem like an improvement, it is still noteworthy when you take into account the additional power consumption caused by the always-on display. The updated A16 Bionic processor’s efficiency improvements are the sole factor in the battery life remaining essentially same.
The battery life of the phone is significantly increased when the always-on display is turned off; I was finishing days with 40% battery life. However, this eliminates a significant portion of utility in addition to the flagship feature of the most recent iPhone.
According to Apple, the wired 20W fast charger can recharge a device’s battery life by 28% in 15 minutes and by 57% in 30 minutes. MagSafe charging is quick but less effective, extending battery life by 15% after 15 minutes and 30% after 30.
Verdict
The addition of features like the always-on display and a better quality camera in the iPhone 14 Pro seems like a home run update. Although the eSIM modification will annoy some, the Dynamic Island adjustment to the UI is a pleasant one. Most significantly, the iPhone 14 Pro offers many more features than its predecessor without raising its (already expensive) cost.
