Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Well I would love to hear what cripples the phone, he plays some heavier games on it and tons of various apps.
I totally get it but the phenomenon of depreciating software support (which I smartly call "softwear") is the real thing on Apple products, particularly mobiles. I'm on iPhone 12 mini but could have been just as happy on my beloved 4S but this is not possible due to, well, softwear. It is much easier onto hold on to Mac desktops and macbooks than onto mobiles (iPhones and iPads).
 
  • Love
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎
I totally get it but the phenomenon of depreciating software support (which I smartly call "softwear") is the real thing on Apple products, particularly mobiles. I'm on iPhone 12 mini but could have been just as happy on my beloved 4S but this is not possible due to, well, softwear. It is much easier onto hold on to Mac desktops and macbooks than onto mobiles (iPhones and iPads).
I don’t doubt that, but I am genuinely curious what software is currently crippling an iPhone 11 Pro Max to need an upgrade
 


With the launch of the iPhone 15 lineup fast approaching, MacRumors video editor Dan Barbera thought he'd take a look back at his last year (almost) using the iPhone 14 Pro Max before it's time to move on to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.


The iPhone 14 Pro Max introduced the Dynamic Island for the first time, and it's been a feature that Apple doesn't seem to have taken full advantage of yet. It also brought the higher-end 48-megapixel camera sensor and the Always-On display.

Dan goes into depth on how the iPhone 14 Pro Max (used caseless!) has held up over the course of the last 11 months, what battery life is like, and how the latest feature set has worked out for him. The video provides an thoughtful retrospective on a year with Apple's flagship iPhone as we head into iPhone launch season.

We're expecting the iPhone 15 models to come out in September as usual. The standard models won't get much in the way of an upgrade aside from a transition to the Dynamic Island and a USB-C port, but we can expect slimmer bezels, faster chips, and a periscope telephoto lens for the iPhone 15 Pro Max that will replace the 14 Pro Max. More details on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models can be found in our roundups.

Article Link: Video: iPhone 14 Pro Max Thoughts One Year After Launch
Thoughts? My IP14PM is perfect. I will be skipping the 15 this year and may think about getting the 16 when it comes out next year. But for now, based on if the rumors are true, I'll be skipping this years model.
 
Does this review mention living with PWM for an entire year? Sounds like torture.

PWM is display flickering at a fast rate which gives many people headaches and eye-strain.
Yep, my 14 Pro Max was simultaneously the best iPhone I’ve ever owned and ultimately one I could not use for a full year because of pwm, and so I’m on 12 Pro Max, whose display flicker is less stressful on my nervous system.

My 14 Pro Max served me well while I was able to tough it out on the display. I hope the 15 Pro Max builds on all the things I loved about my beautiful purple 14 Pro Max but gives me a friendlier display.
 
I didn’t actually ask a question, I just made a statement. I’ve been intrigued about Dynamic Island, but don’t have a 14, so I can’t form any judgement. It’s just a feature I was really excited to see, and disappointed to hear so many complaints a year later. I guess the same goes for stage manager on iPadOS.
I’m not sure why there are complaints. I quite liked it and now that I’m back on a notched 12 Pro Max it’s one of the things I miss a lot about my 14 Pro Max. I liked how it activated when I used my Uber Eats App and I liked how it worked for incoming calls. I thought it looked nicer than a notch. But I wasn’t expecting it to dramatically change the user experience.

However, I’m also an Android user who once had a pill shaped cutout that did nothing on my Samsung. So I appreciate that the Apple one has some functionality built into it.
 
So it finally looks like Tim is killing the iPhone. The iPhone is slowly but steadily degrading, every updates makes it worse. Apple keeps adding bigger batteries but battery life decreases - the new CPUs seem to drain more and more power while delivering performance nobody needs.

Apple should take a big step back and focus on simplicity and usability again.
 
Does this review mention living with PWM for an entire year? Sounds like torture.

PWM is display flickering at a fast rate which gives many people headaches and eye-strain.
Yea PWM flicker seams to be mentioned a lot, and it also seams to be one of those things that effect different people differently, maybe the person in the video is amongst the non ( or only slightly effected) which is why it wasn't commented on. I have a fealing the OWM issue is one of those things thst might just imoact a small but very vocal minority,if it was really serious i suspect we would wave been hearing about recalls and/or abnormally high retun rates ( maybe even in main stream media). I admiy yo not having followed the pwm issue too much ass I'll be rocking my 12pro fro at least another year and fully expect apple to have sorted the issue by then. I ofc feel bad for those people thst had their new phone experience ruined by this, or any other issue, but sadly nothing is ever perfect, ans someone will allways have issues
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎
Such a fantastic phone in my opinion !
I’ve been a lifelong Android user, until I just switched to the Apple ecosystem this year and decided to go for the iPhone 14 Pro Max as my first iPhone. Been using it for about a month, and I absolutely love it !!

The Dynamic Island is nice, though I haven’t been using it a lot and I barely even notice it’s there. So I really hope Apple adds more to it and make it more useful.
Battery life has been actually great for the most part. Though I do have Always-On Display and Background Refresh turned off and dark mode turned on. Starting from iOS 16.5.1 is when I began noticing faster battery draining. So I think the battery could be more of a software issue.
Cameras are okay, though I think there’s some quite over-sharpening process going on. Some say it has been fixed with iOS 17, so I guess we will wait and see.

But overall, it has been a very solid phone and I do plan on keeping it for some good few years.
 
Last edited:
My only two complaints about the Pro Max are the weight and the lack of zoom on the camera. The only thing that I miss about my old Note 20 is the zoom on it.
I had a Galaxy Note 20 before I went for the 14 Pro Max. I really miss the weight though ! It was so much lighter 😅
But I think I have kinda gotten used to the weight of the 14 Pro Max.
 
So it finally looks like Tim is killing the iPhone. The iPhone is slowly but steadily degrading, every updates makes it worse. Apple keeps adding bigger batteries but battery life decreases - the new CPUs seem to drain more and more power while delivering performance nobody needs.

Apple should take a big step back and focus on simplicity and usability again.
I think the battery draining is more of a software issue regardless of the hardware specs. iOS 16 hasn’t been very stable in general. For me, I began noticing faster battery draining after updating to iOS 16.5.1 and it has gotten even worse with iOS 16.6 . And for some other folks, iOS updates have lead to their maximum battery capacity dropping out of nowhere. It hasn’t dropped for me though, but the battery life is notably getting worse with every iOS update.

I think Apple is currently more focused on the Vision Pro which is why their other software platforms haven’t been very stable. For me, even Ventura hasn’t been very stable compared to Monterey, and I’ve been facing quite a few bugs and some apps randomly crashing with it. I think Apple just needs to focus on software and make it more stable as it always used to be. Hoping to see some improvements in battery life and stability with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.
 
I think the battery draining is more of a software issue regardless of the hardware specs. iOS 16 hasn’t been very stable in general. For me, I began noticing faster battery draining after updating to iOS 16.5.1 and it has gotten even worse with iOS 16.6 . And for some other folks, iOS updates have lead to their maximum battery capacity dropping out of nowhere. It hasn’t dropped for me though, but the battery life is notably getting worse with every iOS update.

I think Apple is currently more focused on the Vision Pro which is why their other software platforms haven’t been very stable. For me, even Ventura hasn’t been very stable compared to Monterey, and I’ve been facing quite a few bugs and some apps randomly crashing with it. I think Apple just needs to focus on software and make it more stable as it always used to be. Hoping to see some improvements in battery life and stability with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.
Yep battery life still great, improved over my 13 ProMax. But yeah after 15.5.1 battery health out of nowhere as you describe dropped to 99 percent and after 16.6 it dropped to 98 percent seems a bit odd but we know the upgrades and betas all seem to tweak and mess with batteries at times. This one is first one I have seen this though. Still great battery life and I am waiting for 16 ProMax so quite happy with my 14 ProMax for another year
 
Two complaints with mine after 1 year. Weight.. too heavy. Battery life, agree 100 percent.

I do like the dynamic island and hope for more improvements.

I’m not a photo editor so the camera doesn’t seem any better than my 12 pro max was.

My out of pocket cost was so low switching from T mobile to AT&T that I have zero regrets except that Att sucks and if T mobile
offers $1k incentives on the 15 I’ll jump.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎
“Dynamic Island” is just marketing spin for a notification UI that could have always existed but was brought forward to account for holes in the middle of a display lol.
Well said.

Dynamic Island is no more than Tim Cook’s pathetic attempt at trying to justify his stupid decision to allow phones to include a notch.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: Tagbert
Well said.

Dynamic Island is no more than Tim Cook’s pathetic attempt at trying to justify his stupid decision to allow phones to include a notch.
The notch is there for the Face ID sensors, but yeah I agree, it looks ugly. At least it’s now smaller and looks slightly better compared to the bigger “chin” one on iPhone X.

I’m just patiently waiting for the day when Apple finally finds a way to implement accurate under-screen Face ID technology and I’ll be very happy :)
 
The notch is there for the Face ID sensors, but yeah I agree, it looks ugly. At least it’s now smaller and looks slightly better compared to the bigger “chin” one on iPhone X.

I’m just patiently waiting for the day when Apple finally finds a way to implement accurate under-screen Face ID technology and I’ll be very happy :)

They most likely have a way of doing it, but that’s for a few years down the line since they need to spread out the few improvements they have to make it so that each new generation gets at least something.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎
They most likely have a way of doing it, but that’s for a few years down the line since they need to spread out the few improvements they have to make it so that each new generation gets at least something.
Yeah, that’s why I think the Dynamic Island is not going away any sooner. It would make no sense for Apple to introduce it and then completely remove it 3 or 4 years later. So I don’t really think those rumors about the Dynamic Island going away on iPhone 17/18 are correct, I have a feeling it will definitely stay way longer than that.. but I guess we will wait and see.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.