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iPhone 14 Pro Reviews: Dynamic Island Shows Promise, 48-Megapixel ProRAW Photos Impress

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iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores this Friday, September 16, and ahead of time, the first reviews of the devices have now been shared by select media publications and YouTube channels.

The-Verge-iPhone-14-Pro.jpg
Image Credit: The Verge​

Key new features of the iPhone 14 Pro models include an always-on display with a new Dynamic Island, upgraded cameras with a 48-megapixel main lens, car crash detection and satellite connectivity for emergencies, the A16 Bionic chip for faster performance, and new Deep Purple and Space Black color options. Emergency SOS via Satellite is not launching until November, so the feature was not available for review yet.

The only differences between the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max relate to their respective 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch display sizes, battery life, and the weight of the devices, as the Pro and Pro Max once again have identical camera systems this year.

We've rounded up both written and video reviews of the iPhone 14 Pro models below, complete with a feature-by-feature breakdown.

Dynamic Island

Exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro models, the Dynamic Island replaces the traditional notch found on all iPhone 13 models. Aided by software, the cutout morphs into different shapes and sizes for things such as incoming phone calls, alerts, notifications, Face ID authentication, timers, turn-by-turn navigation, Live Activities, and more.

While the Dynamic Island is certainly more useful than the notch on previous iPhones, The Verge's Nilay Patel said the feature's potential is not fully realized yet, as it currently only supports third-party apps that use the Now Playing or CallKit APIs.

"Right now, the Dynamic Island feels like one of those things that need a year of refinement and developer attention before we really know how important it is," said Patel.

Always-On Display

TheStreet's Jacob Krol said the iPhone 14 Pro's new always-on display did not have a noticeable impact on battery life during his testing:
And from my testing so far, using the always-on display doesn't negatively impact the battery life or overall runtime of the 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max. I've still been able to get a full day of moderate use on the 14 Pro, with the larger in size -- and likely in battery capacity -- 14 Pro Max lasting for a day and half with the same use. Apple specifically called out some enhancements within the new A16 Bionic which has cores designed to be efficient operators of the display.
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48-Megapixel Camera

Input's Raymond Wong put the iPhone's new 48-megapixel main lens to the test and was impressed with the 48-megapixel ProRAW photos, but he said he could barely notice a difference for pixel-binned 12-megapixel photos in daylight.
I've tested more than my share of Android phones with high-megapixel camera sensors and they've always underwhelmed in some way. Apple’s ProRAW DNG was a bit disappointing for the iPhone 13 Pro and 12 Pro; there's barely more detail to get from a 12-megapixel RAW compared to a 12-megapixel JPEG. Not so with 48-megapixel ProRAW files; these images are massive (often clocking in between 70-80MB) and the amount of detail you can get is borderline nuts for a phone.
Click to expand...
Wong's review includes numerous photos shot on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Deep Purple and Space Black Colors

Wong also shared his thoughts on the new Deep Purple and Space Black color options:
My iPhone 14 Pro review unit is Space Black. I love it. The glass back and the stainless steel frame are noticeably darker than the gray Graphite iPhone 13 Pro; like a mix between the black and Jet Black iPhone 7. My iPhone 14 Pro Max review unit is Deep Purple; it's a dark purple that sometimes looks gray or black. Both look sleek in person; both are still fingerprint magnets. You can also get them in silver and gold.
Click to expand...
A16 Bionic Chip

Wong shared Geekbench 5 results for the iPhone 14 Pro models, revealing up to a 16% increase in multi-core performance compared to the 13 Pro:

- iPhone 12 Pro: (A14 Bionic): 1,586 single-core / 3,937 multi-core
- iPhone 13 Pro: (A15 Bionic): 1,725 / 4,722
- iPhone 14 Pro: (A16 Bionic): 1,875 / 5,495

Battery Life

The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said iPhone 14 Pro models did not get significantly longer battery life than iPhone 13 Pro models:
As far as battery life goes, none of the iPhone 14 or 14 Pro models I tried lasted significantly longer than their predecessors. The story might be different with the step-up model, the iPhone 14 Plus. Apple says it has "our longest battery life ever"—I'll test that claim when it arrives.
Click to expand...
More Reviews

- WIRED's Julian Chokkattu
- TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino
- Pocket-lint's Britta O'Boyle
- CNBC's Sofia Pitt
- TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff
- MobileSyrup's Patrick O'Rourke

Videos












Article Link: iPhone 14 Pro Reviews: Dynamic Island Shows Promise, 48-Megapixel ProRAW Photos Impress
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/iphone-14-pro/
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"but he said he could barely notice a difference for pixel-binned 12-megapixel photos in daylight."

It just make me wonder if Apple could use coding trick (Interpolation) in order to capture 4* layers of 12MP images into one 48MP image?
 
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The iPhone 14 Pro with 128GB doesn’t offer the ProRaw 4K* video recording, and reviewers need to call out Apple on this. So technically, the real feature complete iPhone 14 Pro starts at $1,099. And you buy it in some other non-freedom country to get the physical SIM+eSIM features
 
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MacRumors said:
I've tested more than my share of Android phones with high-megapixel camera sensors and they've always underwhelmed in some way. Apple’s ProRAW DNG was a bit disappointing for the iPhone 13 Pro and 12 Pro; there's barely more detail to get from a 12-megapixel RAW compared to a 12-megapixel JPEG. Not so with 48-megapixel ProRAW files; these images are massive (often clocking in between 70-80MB) and the amount of detail you can get is borderline nuts for a phone.
Click to expand...
I don't think the reviewer understands the purpose of shooting in raw format. It's not to get more sharpness or detail, it's to have more data giving better editing control overall to do things like lift shadows, dial back highlights, correct white balance, and choose your level of noise reduction or sharpening in ways you can't with JPEGs. A 12 megapixel ProRAW from an iPhone 12 or 13 will look similar in terms of details as a regular JPEG/HEIC, you simply have more editing control if you import it into apps like Lightroom.
 
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Pretty much expected with camera. Can’t tell any difference between this and 13 pro hardly. In some cases the pics are worse. Aod I’ll turn off. Island looks half baked and probably could use another year.

Biggest update for me is screen brightness. But is that worth an upgrade? Probably so. Only costs me a couple hundred after trade in. But coming from a 12 pro max so there is the promotion screen as well.
 
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Very happy with my jet black choice after this lol

Coming from a 12 pro max, the battery bump is going to be felt for sure, my phone is currently on 89% battery health already and I feel it as a healthcare worker after 12 hours and coming home with about 20% remaining

In terms of speed, I don't play phone games, so processing speed hasn't really been felt on my end for at least the last couple of years

The island is the real selling point and evolution for me and I'm glad it worked out and will only get better, also living in Florida makes the 2000 nits a fantastic feature

I don't have a ton of use for an AOD since I use my apple watch every day and my phone sits in my pocket, but it's nice for the widgets I guess and for when you have your phone out and sitting on the table or something
 
MacRumors said:


iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores this Friday, September 16, and ahead of time, the first reviews of the devices have now been shared by select media publications and YouTube channels.

The-Verge-iPhone-14-Pro.jpg

Image Credit: The Verge​

Key new features of the iPhone 14 Pro models include an always-on display with a new Dynamic Island, upgraded cameras with a 48-megapixel main lens, car crash detection and satellite connectivity for emergencies, the A16 Bionic chip for faster performance, and new Deep Purple and Space Black color options. Emergency SOS via Satellite is not launching until November, so the feature was not available for review yet.

The only differences between the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max relate to their respective 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch display sizes, battery life, and the weight of the devices, as the Pro and Pro Max once again have identical camera systems this year.

We've rounded up both written and video reviews of the iPhone 14 Pro models below, complete with a feature-by-feature breakdown.

Dynamic Island

Exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro models, the Dynamic Island replaces the traditional notch found on all iPhone 13 models. Aided by software, the cutout morphs into different shapes and sizes for things such as incoming phone calls, alerts, notifications, Face ID authentication, timers, turn-by-turn navigation, Live Activities, and more.

While the Dynamic Island is certainly more useful than the notch on previous iPhones, The Verge's Nilay Patel said the feature's potential is not fully realized yet, as no third-party apps support the Dynamic Island at launch. Third-party apps will be able to support the Dynamic Island once the Live Activities feature rolls out later this year.

"Right now, the Dynamic Island feels like one of those things that need a year of refinement and developer attention before we really know how important it is," said Patel.

Always-On Display

TheStreet's Jacob Krol said the iPhone 14 Pro's new always-on display did not have a noticeable impact on battery life during his testing:48-Megapixel Camera

Input's Raymond Wong put the iPhone's new 48-megapixel main lens to the test and was impressed with the 48-megapixel ProRAW photos, but he said he could barely notice a difference for pixel-binned 12-megapixel photos in daylight.Wong's review includes numerous photos shot on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Deep Purple and Space Black Colors

Wong also shared his thoughts on the new Deep Purple and Space Black color options:A16 Bionic Chip

Wong shared Geekbench 5 results for the iPhone 14 Pro models, revealing up to a 16% increase in multi-core performance compared to the 13 Pro:

- iPhone 12 Pro: (A14 Bionic): 1,586 single-core / 3,937 multi-core
- iPhone 13 Pro: (A15 Bionic): 1,725 / 4,722
- iPhone 14 Pro: (A16 Bionic): 1,875 / 5,495

Battery Life

The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said iPhone 14 Pro models did not get significantly longer battery life than iPhone 13 Pro models:More Reviews

- WIRED's Julian Chokkattu
- TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino
- Pocket-lint's Britta O'Boyle
- CNBC's Sofia Pitt
- TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff

Videos











Article Link: iPhone 14 Pro Reviews: Dynamic Island Shows Promise, 48-Megapixel ProRAW Photos Impress
Click to expand...

I don’t consider ANY of these reviews to be worth even reading, let alone relying on for helping me make any decisions. Rather than rush this post to the front page, you probably should have found some more nuanced reviews that actually have a bit more substance. The truly sad thing is that most of the public will probably be relying on these terrible sources for “technology reviews” just like you relied on them to push out this front page post as quickly as possible. 🤦🏻‍♂️
 
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