iPhone 14 Pro detail in hand review

Introduction

A better display. superior cameras. an enhanced chip. The new iPhone is this. A phone that is frequently imitated despite being criticised for being outdated in several areas. a divisive object that influences trends in multiple ways. The iPhone 14 Pro is at least as contentious as any prominent iPhone that came before it.

The iPhone 14 Pro adheres to Apple’s recipe to the letter; it offers a Super Retina XDR OLED that is even brighter, has an Always On option, and has a smaller pill-shaped cutout. Apple has once again made strength out of weakness. The infamous notch, once an eyesore, is now the Dynamic Island, a distinctive feature that other brands are thinking about emulating.

Other enhancements are made through updated sensors, lenses, and ISP across all cameras. Furthermore, as was to be predicted, Apple’s A16 Bionic chipset outperforms the A15 in terms of speed and energy efficiency.

Starting from the screen, It is still a 6.1-inch OLED, but it features a smaller pill-shaped cutout, a newer, more energy-efficient panel that enables Always On, brightness levels of up to 2,000 nits, and other improvements. The cutout, which actually consists of two tiny cutouts—one round and one pill-shaped—is undoubtedly the most recognisable element of the iPhone 14 Pro series. Apple calls this Dynamic Island, a function that incorporates a variety of beautiful animations for notifications.

Then the cameras appear. With a 48MP sensor, second-generation sensor-shift stabilisation, and a 2x lossless zoom option, the main rear camera is still a triple-setup with a LiDAR scanner. An updated, larger sensor and better lens were added to the 12MP ultrawide camera. The front camera, which has an improved lens, autofocus, and even optical stabilisation, is another improvement.

A new 9-LED flash and an improved image processing programme dubbed Photonic Engine are now available.
The Apple A16 Bionic chipset still has a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU design, but it offers an even faster processor and graphics. It now has a better memory bandwidth and does support LPDDR5 RAM. Of course, there is a new ISP and DSP as well.

The Emergency SOS by satellite feature, which enables you to contact emergency services from anywhere in the world without a SIM card or network connection, is another brand-new addition as part of the updated hardware. And the new iPhones now have crash detection and can automatically send for aid if they identify you were in a crash owing to a number of new sensors.

Since this is the first iPhone series to be released in the US without a SIM slot, the trial period for the SIM slot retirement has officially started, at least in Apple’s eyes. Prepare yourself for a future without SIM cards for smartphones in a few years if it is successful, as it was with the nano-SIM.

The design, which is identical to that of the iPhone 12 and 13 series and is just as durable thanks to Ceramic Shields and enhanced IP68 ingress protection, hasn’t altered. Also unaltered are the battery and charging capacity.

What is therefore lacking from the new iPhone 14 Pro? a trustworthy file organiser! Just kidding, this won’t take place. We now have the best iPhone ever because it appears that Apple has addressed many of the shortcomings from previous iterations. Until the arrival of the iPhone 15 with USB-C, that is.

Unboxing of iPhone 14 Pro

The iPhone and a USB-C to Lighting connection are both within the tiny paper packaging. We were unhappy that Apple did not exclude the Lightning port from this year’s iPhones as it has done with its other products. We assume the next one will be tasked with it.

In addition to the cable, you will also receive one Apple logo sticker and a SIM ejection tool for models with a SIM slot. Apple has removed the plastic packaging from the boxes, but the plastic sticker is still present.

Design

Is that all they changed for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, with the notch becoming a pill and a new purple color option? The answer is, in a sense, yes. That, however, is also missing the point.

For starters, depending on how you look at it, from at least the 12, the 11, or possibly even the X, the iPhone industrial design has been undergoing iterative evolution for a number of years. We’re saying that major turbulence hasn’t been Apple’s strong suit recently, and that you’d been mistaken to anticipate one. Then there is the fact that there isn’t much to change about the design or construction of the iPhone.

We moved from the notch to the pill by fixing what actually needs addressing. Since the iPhone X’s release, Apple’s Face ID display cutout has been a frequent target for derision, and reviewers who make their living by writing reviews have repeatedly blasted it. Even while the sales figures don’t seem to suggest it’s a deal-breaker, we’ve been told that common people share these sentiments.

The year the notch will vanish, the technical development that will take its place (cough, under-display fingerprint readers, cough), and any other unconnected event that might have something to do with it are all subjects of continuing rumor. In actuality, this is the sixth generation of iPhones that include Face ID, and nothing like that has occurred yet. However, changes have been made.

We will categorize this year’s development specifically under the adjustments’ category. For the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, the ever-shrinking Face ID components have been crammed even closer together; according to Apple, the True Depth camera system—which combines Face ID and the front-facing camera—is 31% smaller than before. Additionally, they have separated from the “mainland” boundary and transformed into “a dynamic island,” leaving a narrow strait of pixels above it.

It’s a creative idea to turn a fault into a feature that even makes sense. The “dynamic” aspect really comes from the iOS implementation of what is a pretty static cutout in the panel. It reads like the second-worst alternative in the first place to cover up a physical flaw that isn’t strictly necessary to be there with a software repair, but we’ll take tiny steps.

Although we frequently refer to the cutout as a single object, there are actually two cutouts: one houses the selfie camera, and the other houses the Face ID components. Between the two display holes are functional pixels, however they are only occasionally illuminated to serve as mic or camera indicators.

And while iOS will attempt to portray the two cutouts as a single island, you’ll be able to see through its trickery under the proper lighting. There are several shades of darkness visible there, and some internet users have attempted to make a big deal out of it, but we believe you’ll only see it once and then go on.

Another thing to note is that while the pill is smaller in terms of the area that is directly occupied, it tends to make more of the screen less useful because it sits deeper down into the display. The ‘effective’ horns on the two sides of the cutout are, in fact, taller than they were with the notch of yesteryear, and the strip above it can’t actually serve any purpose. Then there is the issue of extremely widescreen video content.

For the sake of authentication, let’s simply say in passing that Face ID continues to function as quickly and precisely as it has for the last few years. Also, built-in is the capability to configure a disguised look.

In the software portion of our review, we’ll go into greater depth about what the pill provides for the user experience.

However, the functioning of the dynamic island software has a strong hardware component. It comes from the fact that the island region is actionable, which means that you will touch the area around your selfie camera and Face ID components as well as the glass just above them, eventually adding smudges and grime. In our society, that’s less of a problem since we’ve acquired an almost obsessive practice of cleaning cameras before taking images, island or no island. However, it could take you a few bad selfies to get there. In.

Then there is the new color; for those who wish to flaunt their new iPhone, a new hue is required each year. Deep Purple is the 2022 hero colorway, and it can be seen on our 14 Pro Max, which is seen above next to Sierra Blue, the unusual choice from the previous year.

Technically speaking, Space Black replaces the Graphite of previous iterations in the “black” form. While you may casually refer to both as just “black,” the iPhone 13 Pro from 2022 is darker despite the fact that we don’t currently have an iPhone 13 Pro in that hue for direct comparisons.

The Gold and Silver choices are still available.

The surfaces of the iPhone 14 Pros, regardless of colorway, have the same finishes that you can touch and see, which set them apart from other iPhones. The iPhone 13 Pro devices in use around the office are still flawless a year later, proving how durable the flat stainless steel frame is. It’s also attractive, but the high-gloss finish means that the instant it comes into touch with flesh, it is coated in smudges; wiping it clean is simple, but maintaining cleanliness is difficult.

Let’s take a brief tour while keeping our attention on the frame even if not much has changed. Because of its positioning and large size, the power button on the right is simple to use with either a left index finger or a right thumb. This holds true for both the Pro and Pro Max.

The volume buttons are located on the other side and are bigger than those on most other phones. Not that you’d expect much less from an iPhone, but all three buttons have a comforting click action.

The mute switch, a standard for managing iPhone alerts, is also located on the left. Additionally, the tray accepts a single nano SIM card, and our European devices feature SIM card slots on this side. The SIM tray is absent from US models, despite the slot area inside being empty. This is to be anticipated, as it would seem odd to have distinct internal designs for various markets.

The Lightning connection may be found on the bottom of iPhones, and it is surrounded by dotted cutouts for the bottom speaker and the main microphone.

You’ll see that for these photos, we made sure to display the frame in its best light, which wasn’t an easy effort. Contrarily, the satin-finished frame of the iPhone 14 virtually repels fingerprints. Being made of metal like other common Android devices, one may claim that it isn’t as high-end.

However, the non-shiny Pro’s back has a serious smudge buildup problem. In contrast, the Pros’ matte frosted finish leaves only the mirror-like Apple logo as a fingerprint magnet. That panel is undoubtedly one of the slicker ones you can get, but that is the standard trade-off.

All things considered, whether you have an iPhone Pro or not, you’re probably going to put a cover on it, so none of this will really matter.

Of course, there is no denying that iPhones are durable in and of themselves. Screen protection for the 14s is provided by Ceramic Shield. According to Apple, the specialised toughened glass, which is made by Corning, is still “tougher than any smartphone glass.” It is unknown to us mortals just how much superior it is than the Gorilla Glass-branded substitute seen on non-iPhones (if at all).

The 14 series receives an IP68 classification, as is typical for Apple’s mobile devices. However, the iPhones increase that to 6m since we prefer the added piece of mind. Your standard IP68 indicates water resistance for up to 30 minutes under 1.5m of water. Nevertheless, the ingress protection gets worse with repeated usage, and intentionally submerging your phone in water is never a smart idea. Salt water is also hazardous for your phone regardless of its IP rating.

You might have noticed from looking at the rear of the iPhone 14 Pro that the camera assembly’s footprint has increased from what was already a sizable island last year. It resembles a caricature of a smartphone camera, especially on the smaller 14 Pro.

But it’s extremely genuine. The three rings now protrude outward a little bit more than before, taking up more space on the rear. The new 48MP unit has dictated the additional height, and the rest have merely been expanded to fit. Nice camera modules do consume significant room. Naturally, dirt and pocket lint will accumulate in the gap between the camera rings, and it’s not like it’s very simple to clean either.

You better not regularly type on your phone when it’s laying on a table if you intend to use your iPhone 14 Pro without a cover. Any amount of zealous key pressing on the right side of the keyboard will cause the feared wobble due to the protruding camera component. Isn’t it time we stopped emphasising that? Does anybody even give a damn? anyone ever?

Both of the new iPhone Pro models feel roughly the same as the ones from the previous year, despite the little variances in their proportions. The iPhone 14 Pro measures 147.5×71.5×7.9mm, little under a mil higher and 0.2mm thicker than the 13 Pro, but neither difference is very noticeable. You might argue that the 14 Pro and the Galaxy S22 have competing small options because they have a similar footprint and thickness.

You’d only be partially right, though, since the iPhone 14 Pro weighs 206g, compared to the Galaxy’s 167g (which is even 5g less than the iPhone 14 non-Pro! ), despite the fact that the two phones are almost the same in size. So while the iPhone 14 Pro is not very light, its 2g weight gain over the 13 Pro won’t be noticeable. However, at more over 200g, you are receiving a little phone with a huge phone’s weight, and that shouldn’t be disregarded.

The iPhone 14 Pro has a weight in the hand that no other phone ever manages to equal, and density does feel expensive. Although we seldom agree on anything in the office, including the iPhone’s perception of high price, you might argue that it is subjective. Which is fortunate since it is really costly.

Display

The display of the 14 Pro is no exception to the fact that iPhones have always had arguably of the greatest screens in the industry. The OLED display, dubbed Super Retina XDR, measures 6.1 inches diagonally (6.12 inches in the small print), has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, a resolution of 1179 by 2556 pixels, and a pixel density of 460 pixels per inch. The Dolby Vision and HDR10 standards are also supported.

The maximum refresh rate is 120Hz, while adaptive behaviour reduces the refresh rate for static material to 10Hz. For the Always-On display function, one of the major new improvements this year, the screen may slow down to 1Hz.

Similar to last year, online pages may scroll smoothly at a refresh rate of 120Hz, but any embedded moving content will be shown at a frame rate of 60fps.

Normally, the iPhone 14 Pro display features Haptic Touch capabilities offered by a powerful Taptic Engine, True Tone changes, Wide Color, and more.

Brightness is the other significant advancement. In normal use, the display should be capable of 1000 nits, with a bump to an unheard-of 2000 nits in bright outside settings and (a little oddly lower) 1600 nits for HDR apps, according to Apple.

Even while we weren’t able to fully hit those numbers during our testing, the iPhone 14 Pro still managed an amazing 1791 nits through our standardised procedure in extremely strong ambient lighting and with adaptive brightness turned on in the settings. That is more over 700nits brighter than the smaller S22 and more than 500nits brighter than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the second-brightest device we have seen.

With the adaptive toggle off and the brightness slider all the way up, we obtained 842nits, which is still incredibly bright but not quite as amazing. While iPhones have often been lazier at releasing all of their nits, the Galaxies only recently began letting you manually go to 800-ish nits. A limit on the manual brightness, however, was definitely necessary starting with the 13 Pros and their newly discovered capacity to reach over 1000nits. It is also much more logical for the 14 Pros, which are much brighter.

At 2 nits, the minimum brightness is astoundingly low.

Color accuracy

The colour accuracy is also commendable; we determined an average dE2000 of 0.7 for our collection of sRGB colour samples. The iPhone, as usual, doesn’t provide a variety of colour settings; instead, it silently manages the process of transitioning between sRGB for everyday usage and Display P3 (Apple’s equivilent of DCI-P3) for wide-gamut situations.

Battery life

The battery capacity of the iPhone 14 Pro is somewhat higher than that of the previous model, up around 3%, from 3,095mAh to 3,200mAh.

Similar to the iPhone 13 Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro received an overall endurance rating of 86 hours. Similar call, video, and standby scores were given, however web browsing performance was somewhat better.

For the first time ever, Apple also permitted Always-on Display this year. It is either always on or always off, theoretically. Of course, there is fine print. After some time has gone, the AOD does sound while the phone is in a pocket, on its face, in a bag, and even when you are not close to the phone. Fair enough.

The AOD was turned off for one identical standby test, and it was turned on for the other. We recorded a 9% battery loss after 16 hours of always being off and a 19% loss after 16 hours of always being on. It should be noted that the AOD’s brightness varies depending on the ambient light. In really dark settings, it can be extremely faint; however, when using the phone in strong sunlight, it is brighter. There is no way to precisely quantify how this will reduce battery life because it is expected to have a variety of effects.

But in terms of overall battery life, the greatest inference we could make after using the iPhone 14 Pro for a week is that utilising AOD consumes an average of 1% of the battery for every hour that the device is in standby.

Charging speed

The iPhone 14 Pro does not include a charger in the packaging, as is customary. We evaluated the speed of charging using Apple’s own 20W adaptor, which is available for purchase separately or is occasionally included with the purchase of an iPhone from a certain carrier.

On the 14 Pro, we measured a full charge from flat in 1:41 hours, which is basically the same time as the previous model. At the halfway point, the charge of 60% is still present. The Galaxy S22 fills completely faster but isn’t noticeably faster for the first 30 minutes (1:03h). As can be predicted, specialised charging methods can be considerably quicker, but USB PowerDelivery-based methods are roughly as quick as an iPhone, though not very quick.

The iPhone 14 Pro charges to 85% capacity in under 60 minutes, therefore the remaining 15% requires an additional 31 minutes because the charging rate dramatically slows down. Every iPhone has experienced it; it’s something Apple does to extend the life of the batteries in iPhones.

Although the iPhone SE (2022) is the most recent iPhone model listed at the WPC (the organisation that oversees wireless charging), the iPhone 14 Pro supports wireless charging up to 7.5W with Qi-compliant charging pads. There are no listings for numbered iPhone models after the 11. Coincidentally, iPhones offer MagSafe wireless charging starting with the 12th generation and includes this 14 Pro model. They can draw up to 15W from the magnetically attached puck, which is available separately for $39/€49 (though you’d still need a strong enough adaptor to power it).

The Optimised Battery Charging option in the settings allows the iPhone to adjust its charging curves to your charging patterns, which are mostly connected to overnight charging and your sleep schedule, in order to reduce the amount of time the battery is at 100%. Up to 80%, it will charge rapidly (well, iPhone-quickly) and won’t complete until shortly before it anticipates you’ll need the phone.

Speakers

Hybrid stereo speakers are included with the iPhone 14 Pro. In order to give a stereo experience, the earpiece joins the dedicated bottom speaker. The phone respects the left-right orientation when held in landscape mode and will change channels accordingly. However, in portrait mode, the right channel is controlled by the earpiece.

Similar as previously, the bottom speaker, which is slightly more powerful, always handles part of the lower-end frequencies for the opposite channel. The opposite speaker will still produce some sound, albeit at a considerably lower level than the “right” one, even if you just feed one of the channels.

Aside from these quirks, the iPhone 14 Pro delivers an exceptional balance and produces a strong, full, rich, and deep sound.

The phone received a Good rating for loudness, only missing the customary Very Good for the majority of current iPhone models. Additionally, the sound quality merits an Excellent rating because it surpasses that of the majority of Android competitors, with particularly rich high notes, deep bass, and excellent voices.

software

Apple’s iOS 16 comes preinstalled on every new iPhone. As usual, it isn’t a game-changing upgrade over iOS 15, but it does, among other things, provide improvements to the lockscreen, notification management, the Messaging app, and the privacy settings. Additionally, several features were postponed in the customary Apple way.

Now let’s examine iOS 16 for the iPhone 14 Pro in more detail. Its user experience is still built on homescreens with widgets and apps, an App Library for your less-used apps, and control and notification centres.

The lockscreen on iOS 16 is the first feature that has been updated, while it still adheres to the same logic: it is integrated with the Notification Center and displays notifications (privacy settings are available), as well as quick access to the flashlight and camera. There is also an Always-on option for the first time ever, however it is only accessible on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. If you choose secure unlock, the lockscreen can be bypassed using Face ID or a PIN.

You can customize your lockscreen by opting for some cool wallpapers and adding a row of widgets (up to four). There can’t be more than one row of widgets. The neat thing is that you can build a couple of different lockscreens and switch them on the go (tap and hold, then swipe). This way, you can easily change the look of the homescreen/notification center on the go depending on your mood, or work.

The alerts now roll up from the bottom of the screen, which is another change. It is more practical to look through them. There are many notification display modes, including stack, list, and count-only.

Additionally, you may match the lockscreen and homescreen themes and quickly switch between them.

Typically, your apps fill the homescreen(s) and widgets. The leftmost screen is the Today page, while the rightmost screen is the App Library.

You can conceal particular home-screens; for example, you might conceal a page of games while at work or a page of work/school applications while on vacation. However, you cannot reject Today and App Library.

The Focus mode in Apple iOS 16 has been updated, and you can now specify a Focus mode for any lockscreen preset you make. Additionally, changing the lockscreen now also affects the Focus mode in addition to all other means of switching between Focuses.

There are several Focus modes, all of which are very customisable, including Work, Personal, Driving, Gaming, and Do Not Disturb. Naturally, you may also develop and automate your own.

The new iOS 16 also introduces Focus filters, which can affect different apps, with a dedicated API available to developers as well. With these filters, apps like messages and mail clients can automatically filter their content as predefined by the user within the Focus mode.

Widgets can be placed on any of the homescreens and the Today page, and they can coexist with app icons. There are three widget sizes supported by iOS – 2×2, 4×2, and 4×4. You can stack widgets of the same size on top of one another, and, optionally, they can rotate automatically.

The App Library is a homescreen window that is always to the right of your homescreen. Upon installation, apps are instantly added to the App Library. Additionally, the sorting is automated; you cannot change the categories or transfer apps across categories. The App Store tags that the developer provided when uploading the apps determine how the apps are sorted.

Satellite connectivity or Emergency handling

The new Emergency SOS via satellite feature is supported by every new iPhone 14 model.

To deliver a message to a satellite without using cumbersome antennas, brand-new unique hardware and specialised software have to be created. This text-only service will mostly be used in emergencies, but it does offer two-way communication, so you will be informed when help is approaching. Your location may also be shared with pals via the Find My app so they can keep an eye on you.

You can create customized messages to describe your predicament, but when time is of the essence, a few of well crafted questions will allow you to quickly send out a thorough SOS. A message can be sent in around 15 seconds from a site with a clear view of the sky, but if there are trees in the way, it can take longer. For consumers in the US and Canada, the satellite service will debut in November, and purchasers of the iPhone 14 receive a complimentary 2-year membership.

All iPhone 14 models have access to crash detection as well, owing to a new accelerometer that can detect up to 256G. The phone will automatically summon emergency services if such an emergency arises. Call After Serious Crash is a setting under the Emergency SOS menu that controls this. There are no further settings; you can just turn it on or off.

Dynamic Island and always-on Display

Always-on Display and Dynamic Island are two iOS 16 features that are only available on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

Firstly, let’s talk about the Always-on Display. It has no settings; you can just turn it on or off. Your lockscreen is kept always-on with the current wallpaper, widgets, and everything else while being dimmed to a certain extent. The AOD does sound even if it is not explicitly indicated when the phone is in a pocket, face down, in a bag, or after a certain amount of time has passed while you are not near the phone.

It should be noted that the AOD’s brightness varies depending on the ambient light; while it may be quite faint in gloomy circumstances, it is brighter while you are using the phone in brilliant sunlight. And this ought to have a variety of effects on battery life.

And in terms of battery life, the greatest inference we could make after using the iPhone 14 Pro for a week is that running AOD consumes an average of 1% of the battery for every hour that the device is in standby.

Apple refers to the new i-shaped cutout as The Island, and the Dynamic Island refers to the animations that the creator created to make it appealing and less offensive.

The Dynamic Island is essentially a pill-shaped notch since Apple has blacked the centre portion for aesthetic reasons. There are just the microphone and camera indications can be seen.

The colour black Three Island modes are available.

Standard form: a dormant island or only a microphone and camera indication.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro indicators review

The active form is a longer, pill-shaped notch containing information for specific events, alerts, and notifications on both the left and right sides.

If you open another app that is compatible and can be minimised here, such as the Timer, this long pill can also split in half to form an i-shaped one.

By tapping and holding on the little animation, a third form that grows into a pop-up balloon can be accessed. However, a tap will launch the corresponding app instead. We believe that these motions should have been reversed or at the very least customizable, but as always, Apple is right.

As a result, the Dynamic Island integrates a variety of features, beginning with the Face ID animation, charging animation, music information (from services like Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and Sound cloud), call information (from services like Phone, WhatsApp, Skype, Instagram, and Google), timers, etc. You receive a cute animation that shortens the island and adds a small icon to the left side if you activate a second programme that requires the Dynamic Island.

Calls, connections to AirPods and Watch, battery and charging, focus adjustments, AirDrop, Face ID, AirPlay, NFC events, SIM alerts, and the on/off of the Silencer are among the available system notifications.

At debut, the Dynamic Island only offers a limited set of features, but Apple plans to expand it with the future Live Activities feature. This will enable the presentation of numerous real-time notifications, including voting results and sports results.

The Dynamic Island is not the disco dance Apple claimed it would be at the event when it makes its debut. We do enjoy that it includes all of the vintage bubbles, such as Phone, Navigation, Music, and Alarms, which typically resided in the left horn. And we have to give it to Apple since it has the ability to turn something as ugly as this cutout into a feature that, by the end of the year, will appear on many Android launchers.

Currently in its early phases, The Dynamic Island need additional effort from the developer community as well as Apple. However, we are confident that it will eventually arrive because Apple now wants everyone to notice the notch rather than dismissing it.

As we can now see, there are two drawbacks: light conditions expose the cameras, sensors, and display part in between, shattering the illusion of the Island. Second, it rests a little lower than the previous notch, which in some ways means it takes up even more screen real estate than the prior notch.

Performance

The new iPhone 14 Pro smartphones are powered by the Apple A16 Bionic chip. With 16 billion transistors, increased from the A15 chip’s 15 billion, it is produced using the TSMC 4nm production node.

There are two performance Everest cores running at 3.46GHz and four efficiency Sawtooth cores operating at 2.02GHz in its standard six-core CPU arrangement. The CPU’s two highly effective cores use 20% less power than those in the A15, and it is said to be 40% faster overall than the competition.

A 50% increase in memory bandwidth is provided by the upgraded 5-core Apple GPU.

The 16-core Neural Engine that the A16 utilises can perform 17 trillion operations per second.

The Qualcomm X65 5G modem is what the A16 uses for cellular communications.

With much more sophisticated computation photography capabilities and up to 4 million operations for each high-resolution shot produced, the ISP has also made some progress.

The Always on Display was made feasible by a new Display Engine, a specific feature that was created by optimising the display’s attributes to save battery life (1Hz refresh rate, brightness, colour settings). Additionally, it enabled greater peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits. Another significant responsibility for the Display Engine is the antialiasing work around the Dynamic Island.

Of course, conventional hardware might have completed any of the aforementioned tasks. However, having the Engine operate separately from the other components, including the GPU, allowed for far better resource allocation and significantly reduced battery use.

Although 6GB of RAM is still used in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, LPDDR5 offers 50% more bandwidth than A15.

As promised, the new processor is more efficient; compared to the A15 chin found within the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 handsets, it delivers 7% more raw power in single-core activities and up to 12% more raw power in multi-core operations. Furthermore, according to Geekbench, it has the greatest performance among mobile CPUs.

The A16 GPU appears to be identical to what the iPhone 13 models have, with Apple promising up to 50% greater memory bandwidth than the A15’s.

The iPhone 14 Pro is positioned above the other iPhones by AnTuTu. Surprisingly, the AnTuTu test is the one that provides a more detailed analysis of the iPhone 14 Pro’s performance across all categories.

The difference between the GPU scores of the iPhone 14 Pro (419,508) and the 13 Pro (337,082) indicates a 25% improvement in overall performance. The same is true for memory; the 14 Pro scored 162,089 points compared to the 13 Pro’s 103,532 points, which is exactly a 50% increase in memory speed. While we’re at it, the CPU score for 14 Pro is 242,087 and for 13 Pro is 218,430. This is a 12% improvement.

The iPhone 14 Pro undoubtedly boasts the finest processor among iPhones and is most likely the quickest in the whole smartphone market.

We had some very dismal stability scores the previous year, so we were expecting for an improvement this time around. Apple has changed to TSMC’s 4nm manufacturing process and made a number of enhancements and modifications to both the hardware and software designs.

The iPhone 14 Pro received scores of 84% for CPU stability and 75% for GPU stability. These are exceptional figures for cellphones using passive cooling techniques. Furthermore, they demonstrate advancement over the iPhone 13 Pro, which scored 77% for CPU and 67% for GPU.

During these stress tests, the iPhone 14 Pro becomes pretty warm, but it never overheated or reached uncomfortable temperatures around the frame or the rear.

Overall, we are pleased with the Apple A16 Bionic’s reliability and performance; it is undoubtedly one of the top smartphone CPUs in 2022.

Camera

The three rear cameras and one front camera on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are similar. The telephoto camera is the only one that hasn’t been improved upon, despite the fact that its logic and functionality seem to be relatively similar to the iPhone 13 Pro duo’s.

The triple-camera layout on the rear of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro max follows a well-known configuration: there is a main camera with a wide-angle lens, a secondary camera with a 3x telephoto lens, and a third camera with an ultrawide-angle lens. The LiDAR scanner is a fixture that helps the cameras with portrait mode and focus in addition to offering 3D scanning capabilities across several apps.

Like previously, there is only one front camera with a 3D ToF scanner for Face ID. This scanner also aids in portrait mode and focussing.

Therefore, the iPhone 14 Pro’s main camera has seen the most changes. It now employs a 48MP 1/1.28″ sensor with a Quad-Bayer colour filter, a first for the iPhone. The camera includes a 24mm f/1.78 lens, second-generation sensor-shift stabilisation, and full focus pixels. The pixel size is 1.22m before binning and 2.44m after binning.

High-res 48MP RAW photography is furthermore accessible in addition to the normal 12MP RAW mode, and the high-res primary sensor allows for a new intermediary zooming step of 2x in the camera app by cutting from the middle and AI-assisted upscaling.

A new 12MP sensor is also available for ultrawide cameras. It’s a 1/2.55 “unit with big 1.4 m pixels and should offer crisper, more detailed photographs while also enhancing macro photography. Now the lens is 14mm and f/2.2. For this camera, dual-pixel PDAF is available.

The telephoto camera is still the same 12MP imager with a 1/3.5″ sensor, therefore there have been no enhancements “77mm f/2.8 OIS lens and sensor with a 3x optical zoom enhancement over the primary camera.

The selfie camera has a brighter f/1.9 23mm lens and enables focusing, however it still utilises a 12MP 1/3.6″ sensor. There is also OIS, which was not mentioned by Apple during the launch but was later made clear by the numerous deconstruction videos. Given that it is a very uncommon equipment for a selfie camera, it begs the question of why Apple didn’t make a huge deal out of it.

Every camera supports video capture in 4K@60fps with expanded dynamic range and cinematic stabilisation. On all cameras and in all shooting modes, Dolby Vision HDR capture is possible. The Cinematic Mode now supports up to 4K HDR recording at 30fps and is compatible with the main, telephoto, and selfie cameras.

New stabilisation choices include Action mode and Enhanced Stabilization, both of which are settings.

A little cropping and more stabilisation are applied to the clip. Electronic stabilisation has always been required for all of Apple’s cameras, and it still is. Should you require it, this additional option appears to be a slight improvement over the default EIS.

Action mode is a popular feature on many Android phones, although it has just recently become available on iPhones—exclusively the 14 Pro series. It stores films at 2K quality, which is 2,816 by 1,584 pixels, then heavily crops them to produce stability akin to that of an action camera. Ultrawide cameras are best utilised at 60 frames per second, however both the primary and telephoto cameras can use it.

The new LED flash must be mentioned last. It now has a 3×3 grid made up of 9 LEDs. They can all be individually fired and modified. It is a true-tone flash with slow sync, but with this new configuration, it can also illuminate wide-angle photographs by firing in a pattern that resembles all 8 LEDs save the central one.

camera app and the features

Since iOS 13 and the iPhone 11, the viewfinder has mostly remained same. However, you can now see beyond the viewfinder since the three cameras’ excellent calibration allows you to see what will be cut off in real-time.

All archival capabilities, including the new Photonic Engine as well as the prior Smart HDR, Night Mode, and Deep Fusion, are included in the Apple image processing.

Only the iPhone 14 Pro pair, powered by the Apple A16 processor, has access to the new Photonic Engine for the iPhone camera. It is even better than Deep Fusion and offers a 2x improvement in medium- to low-light situations.

When lighting conditions are poor but it’s not quite dark, Deep Fusion activates in place of Smart HDR and Night Mode. Before pressing the shutter, after pressing it, and in one long exposure photo, Deep Fusion employs frames. The best frames will be chosen by the neural engine, which will then produce a detailed, crisp, and more realistic-looking HDR image. The machine learning approach used by the neural processor examines the image being captured and applies different processing techniques depending on what is in the frame, such as the sky, greenery, or skin tones. Structure and colour tones, however, are based on ratios discovered by the Apple CPU’s Neural unit.

When a low-light scenario appears, the Night Mode indicator appears automatically, and you can see the suggested seconds next to the icon. Longer exposures are an option, as is completely turning off Night Mode.

There is also a macro mode option. It’s a feature that is only available on the most recent Pro modes and is made possible by the ultrawide’s camera autofocusing capabilities.

As usual, all cameras communicate with one another, so when you move between them, they already have the right exposure and tone mapping settings. Videos and static images both fall under this.

Unless we add the new 2x toggle between 1x and 3x, the camera interface has remained mostly identical. If you are close enough for a macro shot, the toggle displays automatically.

You may access a few options, including flash, night mode, live photos, picture aspects, exposure correction, and filters, by swiping upward between modes. The resolution and frame rate in video mode may both be adjusted from the viewfinder.

All three types of cameras—the primary, telephoto, and selfie—support portrait mode.

All cameras can shoot in RAW, and the primary one can do so in 48MP.

Photographic Styles is a function that automatically changes a picture, one component at a time (applying different corrections to the subject and background, for example). Standard, Rich Contrast, Vibrant, Warm, and Cool are your options. You may adjust each of these options to your preferences and make your favourite the default. It is similar to filters but is more durable.

Cinematic Mode is available and now supports 4K HDR at both 24 and 30 frames per second. Although it uses automated rack focus, the phone also saves a depth map with the video so you may manually adjust the focus point after the fact. These films may be edited using the iMovie and Clips programmes.

Finally, there is Action mode, which can be used with any back camera at any resolution and frame rate. It is designed to be used with the ultra-wide camera at 2K@60fps. It significantly crops the 4K stabilised video to resemble the output from an action camera.

Daylight photos quality

The iPhone 14 Pro’s main camera takes 12MP images, as one might anticipate. They are identical to what we have received in the previous years; the resolved detail is excellent, there is no noise, and the contrast is excellent. As always, the colours are correct.

The photographs have a likeable dynamic range, but not a very broad one, even with Smart HDR turned on. We concur with Apple’s preference for photographs with excellent contrast rather than excessive HDR.

The foliage presentation, which appears phoney and oversharpened, is the one feature that many iPhone cameras have in common. Although the overall rendering is rather nice, it’s not great, and Apple has the tools to make it appear more realistic.

We are aware that a 12MP imager cannot possibly capture the fine detail in grass and trees, and a 48MP imager is likely no different. But come on, we’ve seen what Sony is capable of with its 12MP cameras and how real everything seems, so we did anticipate this long overdue upgrade with the new 48MP sensor. We received the same over-sharpened mess instead.

We genuinely anticipated Apple to finally catch up with some of the best in the class after all these claims of increased processing, machine learning, and the bigger 48MP camera. Unfortunately, the vegetation hasn’t changed much since the iPhone 13, and maybe not even since the iPhone 8.

Apple can provide a 2x lossless zoom by cutting from the centre of the 48MP image thanks to the new 48MP sensor. The 2x zoomed photographs are also excellent; they have lots of information, the sharpening is excellent, and the colours and contrast are identical to the usual output.

The dynamic range is likewise comparable to the 1x photographs; it is respectable but not very broad.

We like Apple’s restraint with the sharpening. The foliage really appears nicer, despite the fact that the per-pixel clarity is a little less than on the usual photos due to the fake 48MP upscaling.

The iPhone 14 Pro has a 48MP RAW picture camera (12MP RAW is available, too). Without any additional editing, the ones you are about to view were produced from such RAWs with a 95% JPEG quality.

The 48MP photos taken by the primary camera are therefore the finest 48MP photos taken by a Quad-Bayer camera. The A16 Bionic chip’s actual potential is now manifest, and the outcomes are absolutely astounding.

The photographs have exceptional clarity and amazing detail. Additionally, there is zero noise in these photos. The pleasing dynamic range, excellent contrast, and true colours are theirs to keep.

Additionally, because to the 48MP images’ amazing attributes, when you decrease them to 12MP, you will still obtain class-leading photos with superb clarity, wonderful crispness, and a very natural appearance. The dynamic range is just correct, the contrast and colours are superb, and there is no noise.

If only Apple had the tools to produce 48MP images, then instantly downscale them to 12MP. Oh, hold on.

The 3x zoomed images taken with the specialised telephoto camera are great; they are clear and detailed with a pleasing portrayal of the subject. The dynamic range is adequate, the contrast is strong, and the colours are true to colour. The level of noise is still quite low. Overall, we have no concerns about those good magnified photographs.

The new ultrawide camera will now be discussed. It has a bigger sensor and an alternative lens. Some of the greatest ultrawide photographs taken with a smartphone to date come from the 12MP samples we took. Sharp edges and expert distortion correction give them detail. Low noise, beautiful colours, good contrast, and a wide dynamic range are all characteristics of this image.

The foliage is occasionally smeared or over-sharpened, and it doesn’t seem wonderful. But given the nature of the camera and UW lens, this is to be expected, and we should also keep in mind that these are some of the broadest UW photos we’ve captured.

We are quite pleased that Apple has maintained its white balance and colour uniformity across all cameras, as this has continually been disregarded.

When you wish to take macro photographs, the dual-pixel focusing feature of the ultrawide camera is helpful. The camera will automatically transition to a macro mode whenever you get too near to a subject, but it will have the same field of vision as the main camera. This implies that scaling up and crop are involved. We prefer to just switch to the UW camera and complete the task on our own because of this.

The photographs taken by the UW camera, which can focus up to 4 cm away, are extremely amazing. The contrast is excellent, the colours are gorgeous, and the topic in focus is clear and precise. The bokeh is excellent, the noise has been expertly reduced, and the portrayal is endearing.

Even if the extreme close-up pictures aren’t quite macro photography, we think Apple has enhanced the UW lens and processing to make the iPhone 14 Pro better at taking close-up pictures. We preferred what we saw here to what we captured with the iPhone 13 Pro/Max.

One of the early adopters of portrait photography on smartphones, Apple has made several improvements over the years, including portrait lighting and effects, Night mode, and most recently, Photographic styles.

In addition to 1x and 3x portraits, this year’s new iPhone Pro generation also supports 2x portraits. For such photographs, the simulated 48mm focal length is ideal, and we anticipate the iPhone to perform admirably in this area.

They do, too. Beginning with the 1x shots The subjects are vividly coloured, extremely detailed, and well-exposed. Meanwhile, the backdrop is skillfully softened, and HDR is used sparingly where it is called for. Although complicated backdrops and poor lighting provide challenges, the depth map is precise and the separation is often excellent.

Excellent shots taken at a 2x zoom! The subjects have exceptional detail and crispness, making them even more beautiful. Colors, contrast, dynamic range, and even the out-of-focus backdrop seem fantastic. Compared to the 1x photos, the separation is handled a little bit better. The default portrait mode on the 2x is what we believe you should use to take portrait photos on the new iPhones.

Additionally, 3x portraits are an excellent option. The subjects themselves are not as crisp as when captured with the primary camera, but they do give the most exact subject separation. Particularly difficult and frequently audibly loud are indoor pictures.

Even so, the 3x outdoor portraits are fantastic, with superb detail, colours, and contrast.

While the sensor size and the field of view of the selfie camera were left same, Apple added OIS and autofocus this year. The camera still has two FoV settings in the viewfinder: the full 12MP mode, which has a 23mm equivalent FoV, and the slightly zoomed-in 7MP crop, which is comparable to a 30mm FoV.

When holding the phone in portrait mode, selfies are cropped to 7MP to create a more compact frame, but when holding it horizontally, the phone automatically switches to the wider 12MP mode, giving you a better view of the scenario. By touching on the arrows next to the shutter button, you may manually move between those two settings as well.

Therefore, the 12MP selfies we captured with the iPhone 14 Pro are excellent since they have a wide dynamic range, a lot of resolved detail, and good clarity. The noise has been well removed, and the contrast is kept strong. Like the other cameras, the colours are still correct.

The topic is consistently in focus thanks to the effective autofocus.

The only thing we didn’t like is how sharpening and micro-contrast enhancement make facial features appear a little too apparent. Though Apple appears to be on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from us in terms of skin smoothing technologies utilised by other brands.

Selfies taken by you in public would look fantastic. The subject separation and the blurred backdrop are some of the best you can see on a selfie today thanks to the structured-light 3D scanner and the camera’s utilisation of a thorough depth map. The quality is comparable to typical selfie pictures.

Similar to previously, the camera cuts a portion of its field of view and displays a zoomed-in photo while taking a 7MP portrait. Unfortunately, taking 12MP 23mm selfies is not a possibility.

Low-light photos

The same as previously, Apple’s Night Mode automatically activates in dimly lit environments and typically selects a 1 second exposure for the primary camera and a 2 second exposure for the secondary cameras. Alternate exposure times or turning off the Night Mode are both options. Until you re-enable it or restart the camera app, it will remain disabled.

The system selected a 1s exposure duration for the most, if not all, of the photographs in the first group we present to you here. The pics are a little bit brighter than reality due to the Night Mode, but the photographs are wonderful overall. There is more than enough resolved detail, and noise levels are maintained to a minimum. The colour saturation is also deserving of appreciation.

The shadows have received some lightening, but nothing excessive, and the highlights have been developed beautifully. Having said that, the dynamic range and contrast are both quite strong.

If you purposefully turn off the Night Mode when advised, there won’t be a noticeable change. Standard photographs have somewhat less detail and clarity. The saturation of the colours is lower.

The standard photos are also a little bit darker, and in the darker regions, we can see more noise. In terms of dynamic range, it frequently matches the Night Mode output. Given that Smart HDR and Deep Fusion are still in use, that is to be anticipated.

The 2x zoomed Night Mode shots are fantastic. The contrast and dynamic range are excellent, as is the resolved detail. Low noise and outstanding colour rendition are among features they provide. These have to be the greatest smartphone low-light images we’ve ever seen.

Although you may choose not to use the Night Mode for the 2x photographs, we don’t suggest it. Contrary to popular belief, the images are not subpar. They continue to have low noise levels, accurate colours, and more than adequate detail.

However, these photographs of very intricate sections may be identified as being digitally magnified because they are a little bit darker, have less saturated colours, and occasionally are louder.

When taking Night Mode pictures at night, the phone employs the 3x telephoto lens. These also worked out well. The photographs have outstanding natural clarity and detail, and the noise is remarkably low for a telephoto lens, indicating that it has been cleaned fairly skillfully.

The 3x zoomed images have excellent colour fidelity and great contrast.

You frequently choose not to use the telescopic camera if the Night Mode is off. But the 3x digitally zoomed shots from the primary camera are astonishingly good because of the 48MP sensor and the AI-assisted zoom. We may have believed that they were taken with a telephoto lens if it weren’t for the aperture.

Therefore, even without Night Mode, the 3x zoomed photographs are still good with sufficient detail and colour saturation. They are a little bit louder, darker, and have a reduced contrast and dynamic range. However, they are not only acceptable but even outperform many other non-Night mode images taken with other cameras.

The ultrawide camera’s Night Mode produces quality images in low light. It typically selects an exposure time of 2-3s. The photographs have a wide dynamic range, decent exposure and brightness, frequently excellent contrast. Excellent colour saturation can be found.

The noise reduction does eat some of the resolved detail, which is only decent in dim settings.

Overall, the Night Mode UW photographs are decent and respectable, and they are suitable for most occasions.

Photos taken without the Night Mode are darker, noisy, and have a lower saturation. The pictures are still useful because you can clearly see what’s on them; they simply don’t look as good as the ones with Night Mode.

Video recording

All four cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro can capture video at a resolution of up to 4K60. If you want a more cinematic motion appearance, 4K24 is also accessible everywhere. Every video is digitally (on all four cameras) and optically (on all save the ultrawide) stabilised; Apple refers to this as “cinematic video stabilisation.” Thanks to Smart HDR, all modes—including the 4K60—have increased dynamic range. The slow-mo settings have a 1080p and 240fps upper limit.

In order to give even more stabilised footage, there is a new option called “Enhanced stabilisation” that improves on the standard EIS. Apart from the slight crop that was promised, we honestly did not see any difference between the shots we took with and without this new option.

Our Verdict

As the manufacturer absolutely loves to point out, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro is the greatest iPhone Apple has produced to yet. It is the greatest smartphone overall, not just among iPhones, with the finest screen, cameras, performance, speakers, and durability.

The upgraded OLED with better brightness, the smaller cutout with attractive animations, and the always-on option are more than enough improvements over the previous iteration to make it intriguing. The cameras have all been upgraded, but the 48MP sensor and 2x lossless zoom on the main are, of course, the star of the show

The current generation has several intriguing new features, such automated emergency calls and crash detection with worldwide satellite connectivity for emergencies. It’s also important to notice the new, quicker chipset with better stability.

The iPhone 14 Pro appears like the older iPhones, despite having received so many changes; if it weren’t for the new Deep Purple colour and the pill-shaped cutout, you wouldn’t even notice. Even though this design calls itself the hardest in the world, it might not be everyone’s favourite.

And since it’s an iPhone, you decide to bear with the fact that it doesn’t have a top-notch battery life and complete OS access for the foreseeable future.

You will adore the iPhone whether it is expensive or not because it lives up to expectations. The iPhone 14 Pro isn’t much of an improvement over the 13 Pro or even the 12 Pro. Who are we to judge, though? Right, the heart desires what it desires? The new iPhone is that. You should thus probably go grab it.

Pro and Cons