The iPhone 14 Pro offers the new A16 chip, an excellent camera and the new Dynamic Island. In our test you will find out why Apple’s new top smartphone is worth a look and what advantages it has over its predecessor.
Design and display: Premiere for the Dynamic Island
The new Dynamic Island is only available on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
Image: © Apple 2022
Visually, Apple uses the iPhone 14 Pro to the usual high-quality and at the same time angular design – fans of the iPhone 5 will be happy. As with the iPhone 13 Pro, the 14 version has a stainless steel frame. This looks particularly chic, but is prone to fingerprints. That didn’t bother us.
The iPhone 14 Pro weighs 206 grams (iPhone 13 Pro: 203 grams). The small weight gain cannot be determined with the best will in the world. Like its predecessor, the iPhone 14 Pro has one IP68 certification. Means: According to the manufacturer, the smartphone survives submersion in a water depth of six meters for a maximum of 30 minutes. The display is again protected with the Ceramic Shield, which is particularly scratch and break resistant. In addition, the glass back can now be replaced separately – which is quite practical if the worst comes to the worst.
The most obvious new feature on the iPhone 14 Pro (and Pro Max) is the Dynamic Island. The time of the classic camera notch is over. In the new pill-shaped recess at the top of the screen are still the Front camera and special Face ID sensors housed. But what’s more: In the “dynamic island” information such as the charging status of paired AirPods, the route via Apple Maps or incoming calls is now displayed. When playing music, the Dynamic Island even becomes a media player. Depending on the app, the shape and size of the Dynamic Island changes. We really liked that when we tested the iPhone 14 Pro – but so far only a few apps have supported this feature.
The display size says: “Same procedure as last year”. The iPhone 14 Pro has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion and a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The resolution is 2,556 × 1,179 pixels (460 ppi). As usual, this ensures razor-sharp images and great animations.
The highlight, however, is the significantly improved brightness. Because: In contrast to the predecessor, the display of the iPhone 14 Pro reaches up to 1,600 nits in HDR playback (iPhone 13 Pro: 1,200 nits). The display particularly impressed us when we were out in the open: the display was easy to read despite direct sunlight. Here the iPhone 14 Pro achieves a peak brightness of an impressive 2,000 nits.
The iPhone 14 Pro finally offers the always-on display that many fans have been asking for. The constantly switched on lock screen shows you information such as die the time or notifications from apps. In order to save power, the always-on display still switches itself off – for example when the power-saving mode is activated or the device is in your handbag or trouser pocket. This is practical and well solved. If you don’t need this feature, you can switch off the always-on display in the settings (display & display).
Performance and battery: Power thanks to the A16 chip
The iPhone 14 Pro’s new A16 chip offers better performance.
Image: © TURN ON 2022
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max users will enjoy the new A16 chip. It consists of six CPU cores (two performance and four efficiency cores), five GPU cores and 16 cores for the neural engine. At first glance, there are no differences to the A15 chip in the iPhone 13 Pro. However, Apple manufactured the A16 chip using the 4-nanometer process. That means better performance and greater efficiency.
In the test, our iPhone 14 Pro ran super fast and smoothly. There were no delays when launching apps. Thanks to the chip power, high-end gaming on the smartphone is also great fun. And with the 120Hz refresh rate, it all looks decidedly smooth.
You can get the iPhone 14 Pro with four different storage capacities. As with the previous model, you have the choice between 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB. Photo enthusiasts should take the larger 1 TB version. The model with the largest memory is particularly worthwhile when taking pictures in the lossless ProRAW format (more on that later). This is where the new 48-megapixel sensor in the main camera shows its full potential.
Battery performance has improved slightly compared to the iPhone 13 Pro. According to Apple, the device should now last 23 hours of video playback (without streaming) instead of 22. However, the battery life remains the same when playing streamed videos and music. Up to 20 or 75 hours are specified here for both devices. In our test, the iPhone 14 Pro easily lasted a whole day with average use.
Like its predecessor, you can quickly charge the iPhone 14 Pro with 20 watts. Within 30 minutes you can go from 0 to 50 percent battery.
Camera: Pro-level images and impressive action mode
Snapping is a lot of fun with the iPhone 14 Pro.
Image: © TURN ON 2022
For the first time since the iPhone 6s, Apple is equipping an iPhone with a 48-megapixel main camera. With the iPhone 14 Pro, this ensures significantly better image quality, which we really liked in the test. Important: If you take photos with the preset factory settings, the images will be saved as 12 megapixel files as usual. This is due to the so-called pixel binning process. Here four pixels are merged into one pixel. This process improves photo quality in low light conditions. Photo enthusiasts should definitely use the ProRAW mode in good light. The images occupy more memory, but you get the full 48 megapixels. And the result looks much sharper and more detailed than photos with pixel binning.
With the iPhone 14 Pro, four-legged friends are also presented in a great way.
Image: © TURN ON 2022
The autofocus for the selfie camera is also new. This allows you to snap even better pictures of you and friends – in this case with 12 megapixels. Thanks to an aperture size of f/1.9 instead of f/2.2, the selfies look much better than the previous model, even in poor lighting conditions. On the other hand, nothing has changed with the other cameras: The resolution of the ultra-wide-angle sensor is 12 megapixels, as with the iPhone 13 Pro. Only the aperture size has been reduced from f/1.8 to f/2.2. The telephoto lens (12 megapixels) still offers a triple optical zoom.
A highlight: the new 48-megapixel main camera.
Image: © TURN ON 2022
The video recordings with the iPhone 14 Pro are also convincing. Of the Cinema mode with shallow depth of field is on board again – and can do even more: The iPhone 14 Pro records video clips in 4K, HDR and at up to 30 frames per second. It’s completely new Action Mode for better image stabilization. It’s really impressive: hectic movements when filming are completely compensated for, so that your video runs smoothly. So you can confidently go to a give up the gimbal. In our test, the action mode worked perfectly. You record videos in this mode in either HD or 2.8K resolution and at 30 or 60 frames per second.
New: Car accident detection (and emergency call SOS)
Another new feature of the iPhone 14 Pro is automatic car accident detection. The iPhone 14 Pro and the Pro Max both work with the new dual-core acceleration sensor. In combination with the new dynamic gyro sensor, the smartphone recognizes when the iPhone owner is in a serious car accident. If he then no longer reacts, the rescue service is automatically contacted.
In the USA and Canada, the new iPhone 14 models offer another new function: an SOS feature via satellite. If the worst comes to the worst, you should also be able to make an emergency call if the iPhone 14 Pro does not have an Mhas a cellular or WiFi connection. It is still unclear whether we in Germany will ever be able to enjoy this function.
Conclusion: The best iPhone on the market
The iPhone 14 Pro convinced us visually and technically in the test.
Image: © TURN ON 2022
With the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple fans once again get the best iPhone on the market. The optics are high-quality, the display is sharp, the new A16 chip is impressive with a lot of power and the smartphone also delivers first-class quality for photo and video recordings. However, the new 48-megapixel main camera only reaches its full potential in ProRAW mode. Thanks to the new Action Mode, video recordings appear buttery smooth – no matter how restless your hand was while filming.
“Time to say goodbye” is the motto for the classic camera notch. And we like it. The Dynamic Island for the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max may seem like a gimmick at first glance – but we really liked it in everyday use. Only time will tell how well it will be accepted by third-party providers. After all, they have to adapt their apps to it.
The automatic car accident detection is also useful – and the emergency call SOS function via satellite, if it ever comes to Germany. The only real downer: Apple continues to rely on its Lightning connector. A USB-C socket is long overdue. Apple will have to make the change by autumn 2024 at the latest, because then the USB-C connection will be mandatory in the EU.
| I enjoyed that | I didn’t like that much |
| + Chic design | – No power adapter included |
| + First class display | – No USB-C again |
| + New 48 MP main camera | – Massive camera hump |
| + Impressive action mode | |
| + Fast performance |
Tag: iphone design, iphone 14, apple iphone, iphone release