I have to say that I was on the fence this year on whether to upgrade from my 13 Pro Max to the 14 Pro or Pro Max but after the Apple Event I was straight in there with the pre-order.
Why not upgrade to the 14 or 14 Plus?
Well from my perspective there is not a massive amount that has changed, it is still using this same chip as last year, it still has a notch etc. For me as well it’s not going to be an upgrade on the 13 Pro Max that I already have.
The 14 Pro on the other hand is a different story and here are the reasons why I decided to pre-order straight away.
Dynamic Island:
So this is a bit of a random name for what is replacing the notch but it’s a really interesting new feature that is more than just a new front facing camera. We already knew from the rumours that the notch in the new Pro version was going to be replaced with a new pill shaped cutout but we were not expecting to be able to interact with it.
Essential the Dynamic Island allows you to interact with notifications and activities from the pill cutout. I think this is a really cool innovation that takes that cutout and makes it so much more than just a place to house the front facing camera and face ID. I am looking forward to seeing how this works and how it will make using the phone and how it displays information on calls, music and timers.
Always-on-Display:
So this for me is the feature that I am most looking forward to. It,s not something that bother me until I started to use more Andriod Phones and that’s when I really fell in love with having an Always on Display.
Being able to see key bits of information at a glance is going to be great. I like the fact that your wallpaper will also always be visible albeit dimmed down so you can literally see everything on your lock screen all the time. There is also a cool feature that when you turn your iPhone 14 Pro over it will turn the display off essentially.
I think this is where the widget that you can add with iOS 16 to your lock screen will really come into their own, especially for informative widgets like the weather.
Camera Update:
As with most years, we are getting a camera update and it’s a pretty big one. So we are getting a 48 megapixel camera which is a big bump up although you will need to shoot in ProRaw to get the full 48 megapixels.
On the video side of things, there is a new action mode which steadies the shot you don’t have shaky videos without having to use a gimble. There are some changes to Cinematic Mode and you can film in 4K HDR at 24 fps which is cool, not one that I will use a lot as I don’t film in 4K on my camera nevermind my smartphone but you never know I might just give it a go.
I am using my phone more and more to take photos and short form videos for Instagram and going forward Youtube Shorts so I really looking forward to putting the new camera system to the test over the coming weeks.
New Chip
So unlike the iPhone 14, the 14 Pro gets the newA16 Bionic Chip and this new chip is all about Power efficiency, and battery Life (all-day battery life). This is what allows the Always on Display as the screen rate can go all the way down to 1hz so battery life should still be really good on the iPhone 14 Pro.
I am no expert on chips/processors and to be honest, I am not interested in becoming one so I am not going to bang on about it. Long and short of it is that we are getting an updated chip.
Conclusion:
So in terms of hardware it’s not a dramatic change it still looks the same other than the pill cutout but then that was not something that was expected. For me the above was enough for me to get straight onto their website when the pre-orders could be placed. There are also some other little bits such as the display can now go up to 2000 nits brightness which from what I read is mental so you will have no problem with the display outdoors in the sun. There is also crash detection which is a nice feature but not something that I would choose to buy a phone on.
And with iOS 16 being released as well that will make features like the Always on Display really nice with the ability to add widgets to your lock screen. Again with most things, Apple it’s not cheap but most Apple Fans that like to upgrade every year will do so and I think will enjoy the new features. At the end of the day it’s a personal choice as to whether you upgrade and if the upgrades/features are enough to tempt you to part with your hard earned cash, for me, it is clearly a yes 🙂
So I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on my new 14 Pro and getting to know all the new features so keep an eye out in the coming month or so for my 14 Pro review.