Apple iPhone 14 Pro review: new ideas in a familiar package

Apple’s newest high smartphone mannequin, the iPhone 14 Professional, options upgraded cameras, a brand new always-on show and a few funky animations round a brand new smaller, floating notch design. It additionally includes a substantial worth rise because of foreign money shifts.

Weak foreign money charges in opposition to the greenback imply the brand new telephone is £150 (A$400) costlier than its predecessor, coming in at £1,099 (A$1,749) regardless of costing the identical $999 within the US.

The 14 Professional has the identical 6.1in OLED show and premium stainless-steel and glass design as earlier fashions, however the massive notch at high of the display screen containing the cameras for Face ID has been changed by a 31% smaller pill-shaped design Apple calls the “dynamic island”.

The capsule is animated, increasing and contracting to accommodate system alerts and ongoing notifications, comparable to charging standing, album artwork and somewhat waveform when taking part in music or a countdown timer. Tapping and holding the notch reveals extra of the notification, comparable to music playback controls, and only a faucet opens the app.

The iPhone 14 Pro showing various dynamic island configurations while playing music and setting a timer.
As much as two issues will be proven without delay so should you’re taking part in Spotify and have a timer going they each seem on the high. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

It's surprisingly helpful for at-a-glance data, with one minor annoyance. The three/4/5G indicator is hidden when the notch expands, making it troublesome to inform if you’re in a knowledge black gap.

The capsule acts as a focus for different animations such because the Face ID brand showing when authenticating purchases. The entire expertise feels enjoyable and alive, which is the broad theme of the iOS 16 software program operating on the 14 Professional and all different iPhones as previous because the iPhone 8.

The opposite vital improvement is the power to have the display screen at all times on, even when in standby. Android gadgets have had always-on shows for years, however Apple’s strategy is barely totally different. It shows a dimmed model of the lock display screen, together with notifications and widgets in full color relatively than a easy clock or related.

The always-on display of the iPhone 14 Pro.
It may be exhausting to inform if telephone is on or off as a result of the always-on display screen – as pictured – stays in full color and may attain brightness ranges much like laptops. It shuts off when in a pocket or bag and at night time, or will be turned off utterly to protect battery. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The 6.1in show is the easiest available on the market. Wealthy, crisp, easy and extremely vibrant, hitting 2,000nits of peak brightness – a normal measure of display screen brightness – beating the earlier report holder, the Samsung S22 Extremely. The brighter the show can get, the simpler it's to see in direct daylight, and also you actually received’t have a difficulty seeing this display screen in any situation.

Specs

  • Display screen: 6.1in Tremendous Retina XDR with ProMotion (120Hz OLED) (460ppi)

  • Processor: Apple A16 Bionic

  • RAM: 6GB

  • Storage: 128, 256, 512GB or 1TB

  • Working system: iOS 16

  • Digicam: 48MP predominant, 12MP UW and 12MP 3x zoom; 12MP front-facing

  • Connectivity: 5G, wifi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, Lightning, extremely wideband and GNSS (dual-band)

  • Water resistance: IP68 (6 metres for 30 minutes)

  • Dimensions: 147.5 x 71.5 x 7.85mm

  • Weight: 206g

Battery life and charging

The Lightning port of the iPhone 14 Pro.
The telephone absolutely prices in about 94 minutes, hitting 80% in 49 minutes utilizing a 20W or better USB-C energy adaptor (not included). It additionally helps 15W wi-fi charging. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The 14 Professional has Apple’s newest A16 Bionic chip, making it the quickest iPhone accessible by about 10% over the earlier A15 chips. It's simply able to dealing with every part you may wish to do with a smartphone and can keep quick for years to come back.

The battery life is strong however extra variable than different iPhones. Leaving the 14 Professional flat on a desk for many of the day, the battery lasts about 39 hours with 5.5 hours of energetic use. Preserve the telephone in a pocket, which shuts the show off, and it lasts about 45 hours between prices.

Within the US the iPhone 14 line ships and not using a sim card tray, relying solely on eSim, a purely digital model of the sim. Within the UK, it is going to proceed to have a sim tray. Emergency satellite tv for pc SOS is rolling out in November, however solely to telephones offered within the US or Canada.

Sustainability

The back of the iPhone 14 Pro showing the camera array.
The digicam lump on the again of the iPhone 14 Professional is barely bigger and the telephone is 2g heavier than its predecessor. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Apple doesn't present an anticipated lifespan for the battery, but it surely ought to final in extra of 500 full-charge cycles with not less than 80% of its authentic capability and will be changed for £105. Out-of-warranty display screen repairs price £349. The specialist web site iFixit gave the 14 Professional six out of 10 for repairability.

It accommodates recycled gold, plastic, uncommon earth components, tin and tungsten. The corporate breaks down the telephone’s environmental affect in its report. Apple presents trade-in and free recycling schemes, together with for non-Apple merchandise.

iOS 16

The 14 Professional ships with iOS 16, which is a extra playful model of Apple’s software program and has a revamped lock display screen amongst many different new options. You may count on not less than 5 years of software program and safety updates and probably as many as seven.

New for the iPhone 14 line is car-crash detection, which senses the excessive affect power of a site visitors collision and routinely calls the emergency providers if you don't reply inside 20 seconds.

Digicam

The iPhone 14 Pro camera app.
Allow ProRAW within the digicam app settings for the choice to shoot full 48MP pictures. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The 14 Professional has one the most important under-the-hood adjustments to an iPhone digicam system in years. A brand new processing system boosts lowlight efficiency throughout all cameras back and front two- to three-fold, which helps significantly when taking pictures indoors in dim, synthetic gentle.

The principle digicam’s sensor is 65% bigger than the one on final 12 months’s 13 Professional and is greater decision at 48 megapixels, up from 12 final 12 months. By default it shoots 12MP photographs combining 4 pixels on the sensor into one pixel within the closing picture, which boosts gentle sensitivity and helps take away artefacts. Samsung and others have been utilizing the approach, generally known as pixel binning, for years.

The digicam may shoot full 48MP photographs in ProRaw mode and produce a 2x zoom by taking pictures solely on the centre of the picture sensor, which is helpful however struggles somewhat in decrease gentle circumstances.

The 3x telephoto and ultrawide cameras stay 12MP, however the latter has a sharper lens that produces crisper macro pictures. The selfie digicam has been upgraded with higher low-light efficiency and auto-focus for the primary time, which makes closeup selfies a bit sharper. Portrait mode can now blur the foreground in addition to the background of a picture, which is extra lifelike, however nonetheless struggles with hair and different high quality components greater than rivals.

Videography remains to be class-leading with a powerful new motion mode that stabilises footage like an motion cam, but it surely requires vibrant gentle to work successfully.

General, the primary 48MP digicam is actually extra succesful in middling to poor gentle and somewhat crisper on high quality element, however in any other case is similar to the 13 Professional, as are the opposite cameras. That also means the 14 Professional has among the finest cameras accessible, however it's not a night-and-day improve.

Value

The iPhone 14 Professional prices from £1,099 ($999/A$1,749) with 128GB of storage.

For comparability, the iPhone 14 prices £849, the iPhone 14 Professional Max prices £1,199, the Samsung Galaxy S22+ prices £949, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 prices £999 and the Google Pixel 6 Professional prices £849.

Verdict

At first look it will be straightforward to dismiss the iPhone 14 Professional as simply the identical as earlier fashions. However look beneath the floor and you discover Apple exploring new – for it not less than – concepts, or new for it not less than.

The animated interface makes the telephone really feel extra reactive and alive. The pill-shaped dynamic island grows and expands in a fluid vogue, bringing collectively system alerts and on-going duties with the potential to rework how the telephone works. The always-on show with the redesigned lock display screen from iOS 16 feels related with its reside notifications and widgets.

However each options want builders to purchase into Apple’s concepts and to replace their apps to make them actually sing. For now the notch is a helpful place for Spotify, timers and different bits to reside.

Even when I wouldn’t name it a large improve on the already wonderful 13 Professional, embracing a higher-resolution sensor for the cameras is a brand new strategy for Apple, too, with good outcomes, significantly in difficult gentle circumstances.

On high you get every part that's good about an iPhone: sturdy battery life, very quick efficiency that lasts years, lengthy software program help, a really gorgeous display screen, Face ID, recycled supplies and a big ecosystem.

It's only a disgrace in regards to the worth rise outdoors the US – £1,099 is an terrible lot to spend, significantly in a value of residing disaster. A brand new battery in your previous telephone could be a greater purchase this 12 months.

Execs: novel dynamic island notch with Face ID, nice cameras, 3x optical zoom, very lengthy battery life, nice efficiency, sensible 120Hz display screen, 5G, lengthy software program help.

Cons: not a serious improve, no USB-C, want your individual charger, heavy, very costly, not innovative in contrast with folding-screen gadgets.

The back of the iPhone 14 Pro viewed from the top down.
The brand new deep purple color has a shiny metallic band and darkish purple matt again that may look blue in some lights. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

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