Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The always - on display and particularly the Dynamic Island constitute a big step onwards for how you employ your iPhone , and Apple still leads the pack in operation . The new cameras are great , but Apple ’s photo processing is a little too aggressive .
Price When Reviewed
This economic value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined
The Dynamic Island helps you manage multiple background activities without swapping apps.
Best Pricing Today
Best Prices Today: Apple iPhone 14 Pro
[ September 2024 : The iPhone 14 Pro was discontinued by Apple in September 2023 with the insertion of the iPhone 15 Pro . Now Apple has introduced the iPhone 16 Pro . The newfangled earpiece supports Apple Intelligence and is better in many style , as you may see from ouriPhone 16 Pro recapitulation . ]
The yearly iPhone release , and indeed most smartphone liberation , have gotten kind of boring : The latest model is a small faster , the camera ’s better , maybe there ’s some stand - out widget that will feature in all the ads but wo n’t really improve the way you apply your sound . In world-wide , there ’s not a hatful to talk about .
This class , with the iPhone 14 Pro , I ’m happy to report that thereissomething interesting to talk about . Naturally , the iPhone 14 is a little quicker and yes , the camera is indeed better . But there are two other new feature this year , undivided to the Pro models , that actually change the way you use your iPhone for the in effect : the always - on display and Dynamic Island .
The Dynamic Island helps you manage multiple background activities without swapping apps.
Apple is late to deliver an always - on display , but its execution is first-class and , combined with software feature of iOS 16 , allows you to “ use ” your iPhone without even picking it up far more often than you might think . When you do pick it up , the Dynamic Island ( Apple ’s name for a new interface build around the television camera cutting - out at the top of the display ) is an absolute Book of Revelation . It is Apple ’s port design at its best and indisputable to be copied by it ’s rivals . It ’s such a nifty idea , executed so well , that it may descend to define the iPhone exploiter experience for years to come .
iPhone history
This iPhone has been replaced with a newfangled mannequin . Find connectedness below to our reviews of all iPhone models , include the latest generation.iPhone 16is expected to launch in September 2024 ( seewhen is the best time to purchase a novel iPhone ) , whileiPhone SE ( 4th generation)andiPhone 17are probable to come along in 2025 . Find out aboutApple ’s September event detailsandhow to watch the Apple September event unrecorded current ; or for other Apple products , learn more about all thenew Apple products coming this yearandwhen is the next Apple effect . You might also like ouriPhone purchasing guide , dependable iPhone dealsandcomparison of every iPhone that is available to bribe today .
That delightful Dynamic Island
We like to tangle Apple when it stool bad interfaces mistakes , like the disastrousmacOS Ventura settingsor that wholeiOS 7thing . But when Apple brings its A - secret plan , it can bestow to market interface experiences that set the style for year . The Dynamic Island is perhaps Apple ’s good interface in years .
If you have more than one desktop natural action go at once , the island break . you may see record album artistry for the music you have playing and a little timer icon , all while you browse Twitter or chitchat in Messages .
Foundry
Apple’s always-on display shows your wallpaper, album artwork, notifications, the works.
The Dynamic Island does more than just exhibit unrecorded information about background activity , though . It ’s interactive in simple and intuitive ways , too . pat on any activity up there and you ’ll hop right over to the associate app . Tap and keep back and the island expand to show more information and miniskirt - controls . ( If I had to pick a nit , the farseeing - press and tap fundamental interaction should be repeal . ) Animations for the way the island grow and psychiatrist , changes form , and “ absorbs ” or “ pops out ” apps are fluid and playful .
Dynamic Island takes a sort of necessary evil of innovative smartphone design – miss filmdom space for the front camera and sensors – and wrick it into a extremely desirable interface element . It ’s a sort of “ home radical ” for anything going on with your iPhone other than the current full - screen software . This is one of those rare design inventions thatadds capabilitywhilereducing complexness . The style it ferment is simple , intuitive , and easily discoverable . It coat useful information , but also provides a fashion to do light multitasking without trade back and forth between apps .
It ’s not just a place to display notifications in a new fashion – that would make it attractive , but not more utilitarian . notification are , for lack of a better word form , an app alert logarithm of things that happen – you receive a text , someone rang your buzzer , your tweet got 100 like . consider them now , watch them later . The Dynamic Island is a way to see things for which an “ app event log ” does n’t make good sense , either because they ’re currently on-going or because they ’re brief organization alert that do n’t need to be take in later ( like Face ID authenticating or AirPods connect ) .
The cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro (rear) are quite a bit larger than the iPhone 13 Pro (front).
It already work with plenty of apps , simply because it ties into model like CallKit and the NowPlaying interface . Apps like Overcast , Skype , WhatsApp , and Spotify work from the start , without alteration . This fall when aniOS 16 updateadds alive Activities ( live - updating , metre - restrain notification to track current activity ) , those will bring with the island as well .
The Dynamic Island is such a delicious feature of speech , bestow so much public-service corporation to iPhone while make it even easy to expend , that it very well should be a defining feature of what it think to “ be an iPhone . ” It will be expanded upon in future iOS vent , and copied by Apple ’s competitors . It ’s a home footrace , and deserves all the attention it ’s catch .
Five years ago , when Tim Cook introduced the iPhone X , he said it “ set the course for technology for the next decade . ” It was more expensive than any iPhone before at $ 999 , but redefine the iPhone with an edge - to - sharpness display and Face ID . The very next twelvemonth , when Apple introduced the iPhone XS ( $ 999 ) , it also gave us the iPhone XR ( $ 749 ) , bringing Face ID and an border - to - bound showing to a more affordable toll . I hope that case law is conform to again , and we get the Dynamic Island onall2023 iPhones . As with the core creation of the iPhone X , this should set a engineering science route for years to add up .
In full view it’s hard to see the benefits of the iPhone 14 Pro’s new 48MP camera.
Always-on display, refined
Always - on displays have been a staple of Android phones for year . It would be weird to purchase one thatdidn’thave it today , even on a more affordable model . So Apple is late to the party in construct an iPhone with an always - on display , and in distinctive Apple style , what it deliver is just a fiddling bit more elegant than the industry criterion .
To start , when your lock screen goes into the always - on mode , it keeps your wallpaper ( or album art ) seeable . It ’s very dim , but it ’s clear there , and Apple even rub down the people of colour so they still look fine . The time and appointment and yourlock screen widgetsare of course seeable , as are your notifications . The phone does a good job of adjusting the luminosity of this mode to suit ambient luminousness , include goingverydark when in a dark room so it ’s not blaring visible on your bedside table .
IDG
But zoom in to an equivalent crop and you can see an impressive amount of detail.
Keeping your lock screen art visible is n’t the only refinement Apple has made . As with most Android phones , the filmdom turn whole off when face down on a board or when in a pouch or bag . But it also turns off if you ’re wear a connect Apple Watch and step far enough off , and then turn back on again as you ill-treat nearer , and altogether shuts off when you recruit the Sleep focus musical mode . What ’s more , this mode isnotjust for the lock screen , as Apple has created special “ always - on ” display musical mode for four apps : Apple Maps , Phone , Voice Memos , and Apple TV Remote . When using these apps , the sound does n’t just blind the presentation while observe the the apps fighting , but instead shows a custom simplify and well-situated - to - read port . This is a really skillful touch , and I trust Apple expands on the app list , finally put up a framework for third - party developer to use .
The always - on feature does seem to have a small-scale impact on electric battery liveliness , though it ’s very difficult to measure . A band of it seems to calculate on how vivid your typical ambient light is . In my rest home , I chance that there ’s almost no departure at all in how long my battery lasts with it on or off , but if you spend a lot of time in a bright office or outdoors , your experience may vary . you may always turn it off if need be , but I think most users will find their battery still well live all twenty-four hours even with it enable .
While I ’m babble about the display , I should mention its extremes . It it can deteriorate all the way down to 1Hz ( which it does only in always - on showing mode ) to save battery , and can also get really bright . I did n’t notice that the 1,600 nit of peak HDR brightness was much different than 1,200 nit of the iPhone 13 Pro when watching HDR telecasting , but this new display can crank up all the way to 2,000 nits in bright sunlight , which iswaybrighter than before and stimulate your sieve much well-situated to read in lineal sunlight .
48 million little pixels
Of course the latest iPhone has an upgraded photographic camera … that ’s as sure as death and taxation . The lead of the show this year is a new 48MP main wide - slant camera . It ’s pose a much boastful detector with a different arrangement of U-boat - pixels and an f/1.78 aperture . That ’s not as wide-eyed as the f/1.5 of the iPhone 13 Pro , but the much large size of it means it still captures a caboodle more Christ Within and acquire a more pronounced natural astuteness - of - field effect .
By nonpayment , this camera adds together pixels in 2×2 groups , bring forth a 12MP scene much like earlier iPhones that has improved performance in low lighting . It ’s get second - generation optic image stabilization and 100 percent of the pixels are focus pixels ; in my experience , it chop-chop and accurately locks on to content . Unfortunately , the minimal focus distance is a bit longer , fail from 150 mm ( 5.9 inches ) to 200 mm ( 7.8 inches ) , so it loses focus as things get unaired to the lens and you have to switch to the Ultra - wide of the mark photographic camera .
The wide-eyed television camera , combined with Apple ’s novel computational picture taking algorithms ( which it call in “ Photonic railway locomotive , ” as Apple has to give everything a brand name ) , is indeed an improvement over that on the iPhone 13 Pro , specially in low light . But the divergence is subtle enough in most condition that your modal mortal is n’t going to notice a big difference . Where the camera really shines is when you take full 48MP shots .
you could only do this in ProRAW format , which name every photo around 50 - 80 megabytes . you’re able to capture telling item and dynamic range this way , but it really is going to be best appreciated by the form of professionals and hobbyist who are used to processing RAW epitome to get the upright final shot . If you ’re the compass point - and - shoot character , it ’s overkill .
This big sensing element enables another fun illusion everyone can appreciate , though . By cropping in to the snapper 12 megapixels of the sensing element , you effectively get a 2x ocular telephoto mode with a 48 mm focal length . It ’s great to have this back – when Apple switched from a 2x to a 3x telephoto in last year ’s iPhone 13 Pro , it gave us a much just means of charge actual telephoto shots to enchant distant objects . But there ’s a reason photographer call lense with a 50 mm focal duration “ normal lenses”–they capture an epitome that around come end the part of a somebody ’s theater of operations of view they can center on . It produces image that look natural and , well , normal . The switch to 3x telephotograph was peachy for distant object but recede the “ normal ” soar ( without using digital soar and suffer point ) was a bummer . With iPhone 14 Pro , you get both .
Speaking of telephotograph , the 3x telephoto camera appears to have the same ironware as before . you may gestate approximately the same execution with perhaps slightly better contingent in low light thanks to better persona processing .
You’ll notice the iPhone 14 Pro (bottom) lacking the SIM tray found in the iPhone 13 Pro (top), at least in the U.S.
The Ultra - broad television camera is new ironware , though . It ’s just a touch less all-embracing than that on the iPhone 13 Pro ( 14 millimetre rather than 13 mm ) and has a smaller aperture ( f/2.2 alternatively of f/1.8 ) . But the sensor itself is much larger , so low - sparkle performance is improved and the depth of field in those macro shots is more striking . I determine it produces much better detail and colour in challenging lighting , likely thanks to the increased sensitivity of the new sensor .
The front television camera get an rise as well , with a wider f/1.9 aperture ( from f/2.2 ) along with , for the first time , autofocus . While I ’m sure the autofocus has its uses , it ’s not readily apparent to me . Perhaps those who employ the front camera to shoot lots of videos for TikTok or Instagram will notice a bigger deviation . I have noticed better colour processing with the front photographic camera , with more realistic skin tones and extra detail shadows and in fabrics .
Apple ’s new Photonic Engine computational photography algorithmic program are conjecture to improve literally every photographic camera on the gadget , especially when it come to reducing noice and maintaining detail in low light . While I ’ve noticed improvements , I have n’t see anything that just bowl me over , and it ’s hard to say what ’s the effect of better hardware and what ’s the improved software processing . Those who observe Apple ’s simulacrum processing punches up the colors a footling too much , and hold both noise reducing and figure of speech sharpen that is way too fast-growing ( giving some objects a sort of charge card - corresponding coming into court ) , will not find relief here . UsingPhotographic Stylesmay help a small , but I ’m not alone in think Apple needs to aline the dials and to aim for a more natural , less - intemperately - work on look .
The Dynamic Island feels like the beginning of a newchapter for the iPhone.
One orbit where the iPhone eclipse most other speech sound is in video character , and the iPhone 14 Pro will probably sustain that crown . While there ’s no 8 K recording ( you do n’t necessitate it , hope me ) , there are a few improvements deserving note . Cinematic mode now supports 4 K at up to 30fps , making it more available . A new Action mode drops solving to 2.8k and engages a super - aggressive form of stabilization that can make your stroke unfluctuating even when filmed on the run or out of a car windowpane . It work great and it ’s something almost anyone may necessitate from time to prison term . Here ’s a tip : when you first employ Action musical mode , you ’ll point out the camera app mechanically engages the radical - wide ( 0.5x ) camera , but you’re able to often get better results if you switch to the Wide ( 1x ) television camera .
This speedy ravel in the park with my click Charlotte show just how stable activeness mode can be , with no additional processing .
Good enough performance and battery life
I wish I could say there was something really interesting to say about the A16 Bionic or the execution it delivers , or about the iPhone 14 Pro ’s battery life , but I ca n’t . From what I can tell , the A16 can essentially be thought of as an A15 that is made using TSMC ’s novel 4 nm fabrication outgrowth ( a venial advance to the 5 nm process node Apple has been using for a couple years , and not nearly as impressive as the full - whole step 3 nm procedure coming in a year or so ) . This meliorate business leader use and provide for high-pitched clock speed . Apple ’s paired it with LPDDR5 memory , a jump it already made in the M1 and M2 line of Mac processor , for a 50 per centum boost in storage bandwidth .
The result is , to put it in dim-witted terms , an “ overclocked A15 . ” Top CPU and GPU performance is rough 8 percent better , except perhaps in some very rarefied case where the A15 is severely restrict by memory bandwidth . It ’s hard to measure performance of the Neural Engine , but Apple say it still has 16 cores and deliver about 17 trillion operation per second which is , you guessed it , 8 percent good than the 15.8 trillion it claimed for the A15 .
We try barrage life by setting the showing to a constant 200 nit and running the Geekbench 4 battery test , which loops the bench mark continuously until the battery give out . It lasted an impressive 9 hour and 44 minutes in this test , about half an hour longer than the iPhone 13 Pro . In pattern , that extra running clock time will be used up by the always - on display , and you ’ll be left with a battery that lasts just about as long as the iPhone 13 Pro . That ’s full news , as last twelvemonth ’s Pro iPhone has highly farsighted battery life and almost never needs a charge midday .
Perhaps there are un - advertised melioration in the A16 ’s image sign processor or it has some other magic up its sleeve . I wish I had a more interesting tale to tell than “ it ’s an A15 that run 8 percent faster ” but here we are . It almost feels like Apple was compel to produce a new scrap with a new name to justify the “ Pro ” monicker . A slightly boosted A15 is n’t exactly a job , as Apple observe a commanding lead on every other smartphone chip , but it feels cheap to give it a newfangled name when so little has changed . shout it “ A15 + ” would feel more true .
New sensors and communications features
There are a few other changes to the iPhone lineup that hold mention , though they do n’t really affect my overall impressions of the iPhone 14 Pro just yet .
The first is a antic new orbiter SOS feature , whereby you ’ll be able to connect to a Globalstar satellite in fount of an emergency to charge a textbook to emergency services when you ’re out of cellular or Wi - Fi ambit . If the local emergency services ca n’t get texts , an mediator will call them on your behalf . It ’s probably going to save someone ’s life , or at least a few ground number one wood , but it wo n’t be available until an iOS 16 update is unloosen this fall . It ’s uncommitted on both the regular iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro , and innocent for two long time . After that , Apple has not said what it will cost or whether it will be a part of some other Apple service .
Another change is the aggressive push to eSIM ( a built - in , modifiable software SIM card ) . Past iPhones have back eSIM , but still had a tradition SIM tray for nano - SIM cards . That ’s still true in most of the Earth , but in the U.S. the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro willonlysupport eSIMs – the forcible SIM tray is gone . If you buy young earpiece from a carrier , this will be pretty seamless . If not , you may have to take an extra measure to embrasure over your figure during the setup unconscious process . There ’s some argument over whether eSIMs are practiced or bad for frequent traveler , because it may make it difficult to get a fresh SIM in some countries . This move will likely hurry along adoption and be a good thing in the long run , as eSIM is more strong ( nobody can slip your SIM card ) and it ’s a flock leisurely to quick sign up for and actuate new toter or irregular prepaid service with eSIM .
The iPhone 14 ( standard and Pro ) both useQualcomm ’s Snapdragon X65 modem , which delivers more or less better 5 G performance and uses a little less business leader . They are also the first iPhones to support Bluetooth 5.3 ( early example support Bluetooth 5.0 ) , though Apple does n’t yet appear to be doing anything to take advantage of the raw standard yet .
There are new , more sensitive accelerometers , which currently have no particular habit other than being used to automaticallydetect whether or not you ’re in a car crash . If you are , you ’ll be asked if you are all right and emergency servicing ( and your parking brake contact lens ) will automatically be notify if you do n’t reply . It ’s a slap-up safety feature film , but one I ’m by all odds notgoing to deliberately essay .
The iPhone 14 Pro is the first iPhone to feature threefold - band precision GPS , a feature also found in the newApple Watch Ultra . This isnotavailable in the received iPhone 14 , and should make GPS far more precise in urban area with magniloquent buildings .
The future of iPhone begins here
Most iPhones are good than the year before , because they have faster processors and unspoilt tv camera , and usually take other belittled improvements like a better display . It ’s typically not deserving upgrading from last class ’s simulation , but that ’s fine – the power point is to make a better iPhone every year for mass upgrading from their erstwhile role model .
This year , while using the iPhone 14 Pro , I get a sort of bowel feeling that it ’s the commencement of something , that what I ’m using is n’t just the next quality or performance upgrade but a big transmutation in the prototype of how we use our iPhones .
The Dynamic Island feel like the outset of a new
The always - on display wo n’t smooth until we get Live Activities in an iOS 16 update later this year and then great deal of apps are updated to use them . It ’s fine for what it is now , but the potential to surface always - updated selective information without unlock your iPhone is only partly satisfied by the time , date , and whatchamacallit . For another month or two , it feels like it ’s escape a piece of the puzzler .
The Dynamic Island , on the other helping hand , is a slam - dunk shot already and will only get better after the launch of lively Activities . It ’s one of those rare user interface changes that add capability while reduce complexness . It gives you the position of things your iPhone is doing in the background , like a phone call , playing a podcast , or running a timekeeper . It make you speedy , intuitive access to canonical controls for those things , and one - tap access to the app in interrogation . But it ’s consumption as a office for position “ toasts ” ( like your AirPods connecting or Face ID authenticating ) and live backcloth activities is very clearly defined ; this is n’t just a place to put all your apprisal in a differently - form bubble .
Apple would be wise to bring it to as many iPhones as possible as apace as possible . It will doubtless be expanded upon in succeeding iOS version and copied by Apple ’s competitors . It has the potential to be one of those things that defines the iPhone experience , and could even prove utile on the iPad and Mac . I do n’t believe it ’s deserving spending $ 1,000 or more to upgrade your iPhone just to experience the Dynamic Island , but it ’s a surprisingly huge welfare that , this class , differentiate the Pro even more than the A16 mainframe , always - on exhibit , or 48MP camera .
For more buying advice study ourin - depth guide comparing all the iPhones Apple sells . Also read ouriPhone 14 review . And if you are buy a novel iPhone be sure to buy a case too – seeBest iPhone cases .
