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

[msackey]

My hunch tells me that the dynamic island might end up with the same fate as the touch bar where it looks cool in demos but doesn't get enough 3rd party adoption to make it useful enough. But we'll see I guess.

I had wondered about the same thing!

I have a MacBook Pro with touchbar and I love the touchbar even though I actually don't use it much because most of the time the laptop is docked with lid closed. My external keyboard doesn't have touchbar (I don't think there are any external keyboard that has touchbar).

Nevertheless, it's a cool feature and it could have been put to more creative use, perhaps especially if a touchbar were included in external Apple keyboards.

There so much enthusiasm about Dynamic Island (myself included!) I wonder if we should call it Fantasy Island instead. LOL.

 

[izzle22]

Not that big of a deal to You, but bigger deal to some. I like my cat video looks like movie taken with 20k video cameras and be able to switch focus.

I get ya. It's just that the 14pro has more upgrades from my 12pro that I'm interested in then going to the 13pro.

 

[cygy2k]

Dynamic Island is here to stay for a while for several reasons.

1 – Apple sells exponentially more iPhones than MacBook Pros.
2 – Apple has been known to experiment with their laptop line, not so much with their iPhones.
3 – It has utility across the entire UI without replacing something many already liked (function keys).
4 – It’s relatively easy to implement on the App side.
5 – The number of Apps that had an actual utility for the touchbar were almost all Productivity related, whereas DI can be used by any kind of App.
6 – One doesn’t have to raise their hands from the keyboard to use this – they’re already floating all around the screen.

Sure, it will only live in it’s current form as long as there is a need for a pill/cutout of some sort, but even afterwards the concept is pretty universal. Another bonus is it’s all software driven so they can improve and adapt in an Agile manner (aka iteratively).

 

[Apple_Glen_UK]

Apologies if this has been asked/answered elsewhere on here already, but is there any suggestion yet that the Smart HDR feature can be toggled on/off, which couldn't be done on the 13 Pro and Pro Max?

I know lots of people weren't happy with the 'oil painting' effects.

 

[MN7119]

Why would you NOT, unless you like to give US carrier all the money. For example, Verizon charges same $10/day but only gives 500MB limit. If you want to do any actual work or watching video you will blow through that in no time. Think of a family of 3 or 4 people. Versus getting a local sim for $15-$20 for 7-14 days, or $30 for a month, and have unlimited data for a month.

ATT gives you the same plan you have here. Just used in Italy for 3 weeks. $100 and used Waze non stop, watched YouTube and did everything else I do here. It is called convenience and I am happy to pay for that. Try going to a TIM store in Italy. Bring your passport, get in line, go through a sales pitch with a person that can barely speak English, wait for activation, etc…. With ATT you turn your phone on and you are good to go.

 

[msackey]

She had a near death experience this year with a blood clot. Seems like she's recovering decently. Not sure if she'll do a review?

Yikes! Didn't know that; looked it up. Hope she is fully recovered.

It's really boggling my mind that Apple is able to parlay the island as a positive, for me it will still be a big black blob (or 2 blobs I suppose) where I should have usable screen.

I think either that (i.e., Dynamic Island or notch) or a thicker bezel. Under the screen cameras do not produce good results.

 

[MN7119]

It might be a convenient option, but it's definitely not cheap. You can buy a SIM card pretty much anywhere here in Brazil, get 15gb of data for 30 days for about $6 and spend $94 elsewhere. I travel a lot and never had any issues getting a local SIM.

I remember last time I went to a store in Brazil trying to buy a SIM card. They want your CPF. Well, foreign people don’t have one. You have to go through a process of filling forms, etc… Such a pain. If it was just buy, plug and play I understand but that is not the case. And you have to physically go to a store when in the country. I like turning my phone after landing and be good to go. It is called convenience and that is priceless for me.

 

[Mousse]

"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?

Hardly a good way to judge two cameras. It's like judging two cars based on how well they perform at 60 mph. Gotta test them in difficult situations to seperate the men from the boys. How good are the shots in mixed lighting or low light or action shots.

Edit: I read his full part of his camera review. Lots of technical errors...

As a result, these larger sensors let in more light, which creates brighter images with greater detail when the lighting is poor.

Welcome to Florida? Oh Lawd, no.🤦‍♂️ Larger aperature lets in more light. Larger sensors absorbs more light.
And the sample pictures are tiny.😑 There is no detail to see if the image quality is as advertized. Down sampled 10x, the only difference is color and contrast, which are both easily munipulated in post processing. In short, his review told me squat about the quality of the cameras except that they're good enough for posting on websites.

 

[revs]

I’ve got to say i’m a bit disappointed that the camera isn’t noticeably better. With larger lenses and the new sensor you’d expect it to be something you didn’t have to go and pixel peep for.

A big upgrade from my XR, so that’s fine.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

My hunch tells me that the dynamic island might end up with the same fate as the touch bar where it looks cool in demos but doesn't get enough 3rd party adoption to make it useful enough. But we'll see I guess.

3D Touch all over again

 

[revs]

My hunch tells me that the dynamic island might end up with the same fate as the touch bar where it looks cool in demos but doesn't get enough 3rd party adoption to make it useful enough. But we'll see I guess.

I’ve seen developers comment on how easy the API is in 16.1b

An easy API bodes well for adoption.

 

[Naraxus]

He’s a Google shill now because apple wouldn’t hire him, he works for YouTube.

He was such a brown nosing shill for apple it was worse than iJustine.

Don't worry. Rene still pimps for Apple. Just browse his Youtube page

 

[pugxiwawa]

ATT gives you the same plan you have here. Just used in Italy for 3 weeks. $100 and used Waze non stop, watched YouTube and did everything else I do here. It is called convenience and I am happy to pay for that. Try going to a TIM store in Italy. Bring your passport, get in line, go through a sales pitch with a person that can barely speak English, wait for activation, etc…. With ATT you turn your phone on and you are good to go.

So you are 1) on ATT and 2) ok with spending $100 just on data roaming, vs getting $15-$30 SIM card. What if you need to x4 for a family? Funny you like to think everyone is ok with spending that much just on data as you.

 

[0lf]

Pretty much expected with camera. Can’t tell any difference between this and 13 pro hardly. In some cases the pics are worse.

Except not really. Most wont be able to see any difference

Most of these reviewers are either almost saying or even saying how underwhelmed they are with this upgrade. The camera improvements are almost imperceptible compared to the 13 Pro.

After watching all the reviews today, the hype for this phone died down real quick. The camera improvements are barely there compared to my 13 Pro.

I don’t get these comments.

What does Apple announce during keynote :

1. jpeg default at 12Mp, and the 48Mp sensor is mainly used to add a high quality 2x
2. 48Mp proRAW with massive detail improvement
3. Significant low light improvement

What we get from the reviews: point 1 and 2 are actually verified. Low light improvement are not in line witn Apple claim, but quite in line with what is known from hw specs (equivalent aperture)

The first point is actually very important and a significant upgrade as it really improve framing freedom with less severe quality drop between zoom preset. The phone will now behave like a camera with a continuous zoom instead of a camera with discrete focal length. And everyone used to even a compact camera with a zoom can take advantage of it.

Point 2 is also a dramatic upgrade for photogtaphers, and should be appreciated by people who already post process their photo from their dedicated camera.

So as a matter of fact, the reviews that care to detail camera results confirm a significant camera upgrade, but not in every shooting conditions.

 

[david0128]

So you are 1) on ATT and 2) ok with spending $100 just on data roaming, vs getting $15-$30 SIM card. What if you need to x4 for a family? Funny you like to think everyone is ok with spending that much just on data as you.

It needn’t be that expensive to have the convenience of roaming with your main carrier sim. My UK Vodafone plan is about £10 a month more than the regular unlimited 5G plan and allows 26GB of roaming per month in 83 countries with no daily fees. This issue is that the US carriers get away with higher roaming pricing just because they can.

 

[Kal El]

I believe non-US models DO have a physical SIM

They do but the reviews are all US I believe?

 

[ppj845]

My guess is that they originally designed the cut out to be a pill plus a dot, and later on they decided to use UI to hide it so made it a long pill because it’s too late to change the hardware design. Kind of a patch work. Next year hopefully they’ll hardware design the whole thing into one large pill and reduce the size

 

[Kierkegaarden]

My hunch tells me that the dynamic island might end up with the same fate as the touch bar where it looks cool in demos but doesn't get enough 3rd party adoption to make it useful enough. But we'll see I guess.

Completely different application and markets — the Touch Bar was part of the laptop keyboard, and the Dynamic Island is part of the iPhone touch screen. The DI doesn’t need third party adoption to be useful, but I anticipate this will happen quickly.

 

[kirk.vino]

Completely different application and markets — the Touch Bar was part of the laptop keyboard, and the Dynamic Island is part of the iPhone touch screen. The DI doesn’t need third party adoption to be useful, but I anticipate this is happen quickly.

Ok, but what about the 3D Touch? Do you even remember it has ever existed?

 

[Premium1]

On a side note, the new Verge is simply horrible.

Agree. Those color choices are brutal on the eyes.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm will be happy to know that a 12mp sensor will produce the same sharpness, clarity, and lack of pixilation as a 48 mp camera. WTF are you talking about?

WTF Bradman was talking about is what actual photographers know that you obviously do not. Exactly what he said: "It's not to get more sharpness or detail, it's to have more data giving better editing control..."

The visual differences between well-shot 12 MP JPEGs as normally viewed and well-shot 45 MP JPEGs as normally viewed are indeed minimal until one starts pixel-peeping or editing. I shot commercial pix all day long with a 12 MP Nikon D2x; later upgraded to 20 MP then 46 MP Nikons. The main value of 45 MP is more image data with which to edit or do other computational photographic magic (which Apple does pretty much with every pic).

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Ok, but what about the 3D Touch? Do you even remember it has ever existed?

Yes I remember 3D Touch, but what does that have to do with the Touch Bar on a Mac vs the Dynamic Island on an iPhone?

 

[Allen_Wentz]

A thousand times this. My 13 Pro was unpleasant to handle outside its case. I'm convinced the Pro phones in particular are designed specifically to look good in product photos.

Interesting opinion. I, OTOH, have not used cases since the iPhones got so durable. And i do not notice what you suggest. To me the iPhone is just a really good tool.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Someone mentioned that Joanna Stern went to an actual island to do a review?

I read that and spit out my coffee from laughter. Silliness abounds with some reviewers

Agreed most internet reviews are silly. However, if one is doing it to generate revenue, why not do it in a vacation (or workout) venue so one can write off the trip? Duh.

The venue makes a revue stand out, and Stern is a pro at least.

 

[himynameisryan]

Why did they make the box on the pros white?
it looked way cleaner before smh