Regular 14 or 14 Pro? With the iPhone 14, there are even more differences between the standard and more expensive Pro variants. Annoying: the strong dollar means higher prices.
The Pro version of the iPhone 14 stands out more than usual from the standard iPhone this year, and not only visually. All iPhone 14 models across the board are getting new functions. For example, the detection of car accidents, an “Action Mode” for less shaky videos or emergency SMS via satellite. But two other innovations are reserved for buyers of an iPhone 14 Pro: The constantly active display (Always on) and the “Dynamic Island”, a variable area at the top edge of the screen around the cut-out for the selfie camera and sensors for face recognition. The test of the iPhone 14 Pro shows that both innovations change how an iPhone is used in everyday life.
iPhone 14 and 14 Pro Max – the stars of the show
The first thing that catches the eye on the iPhone 14 Pro is the huge cameras. Each of the three lenses has a diameter of 1.6 centimeters. The massive lens tile on the back is part of a new camera system in the two Pro models. The focus is on an image sensor with 48 megapixels.
Dynamic Island – more than just a gimmick
Since the iPhone X, the “Notch” peninsula for sensors and speakers has been emblazoned at the top of the screen. At that time, in the course of the expansion of the display size, an emergency solution, the display area with the “dynamic island” is five years later from necessity to virtue.
The notch has been made smaller and offset a few millimeters from the edge of the screen. It now appears black to users – and the pixels of the iPhone’s OLED screen can be just as deep black. This allows the area around the pill-shaped Dynamic Island to grow and shrink while displaying various information.
Various notifications and symbols are now moving to the “Dynamic Island”. These include the open padlock when unlocking the iPhone, the crossed-out bell when muting and the battery warning. If something is going on, it expands and displays it.
Learn more about the new iPhone feature: What can the “Dynamic Island” feature do on the iPhone 14 Pro?
The island brings order to the jumble of information
When music is playing, the bar shows a tiny album cover and dancing sound waves. If you tap on it briefly, the associated music app opens. A long press expands the compact player widget. Even if you plug the iPhone into the charging cable, connect Bluetooth earphones, or use FaceID face recognition – the information about this ends up quickly on the island.
The small bar has a big impact in several ways. Previously, the various notifications were scattered across the screen. Now they have a fixed place and a uniform format. While the eye has been trained to hide the notch, the island around it becomes the opposite of where it is looking for information.
Instead of pushing itself to the fore as before, the information now floats on an additional level above the app you are currently using. So far, app developers can access the island via the “NowPlaying” API for multimedia playback and CallKit for calls. When Apple releases it to the “Live Activity” interface, the “Dynamic Island” will be able to realize more of its potential.
Live sports results or the arrival time of a driving service can then also be displayed in this area. If a timer is running at the same time, it is spatially encapsulated in its own small circle. Live Activities is expected to come to iPhones running iOS 16 in 2022.
More information at a glance
The constantly active display is also about more information at a glance. In stand-by it is no longer switched off, but now displays a dimmed lock screen. The display brightness and refresh rate are throttled so that the function does not drain the battery charge quickly. And if, for example, the phone is face down on the table, it goes off.
This always-on display can display information in a series of widgets below the time. This can be, for example, the activity rings or the air temperature. The function still seems a bit like a blank slate – literally, because most of the display remains blank. Over time, the developer widgets could fill this space with live activity. That would make it possible to unlock the phone and open an app less often.
More pixels for more camera detail
While the always-on display and the “Dynamic Island” polish the operation, the camera is one of the most used functions of a smartphone. Apple, which has been focused on getting the most out of 12-megapixel sensors for years, is now upgrading the number of pixels after competitors like Samsung.
The idea here is to mostly bundle the 48 megapixels of the new Pro models into groups of four (Quad Bayer) to get a 12 MP resolution with larger pixels. Larger pixels can capture more light, and that’s especially helpful in low-light conditions. The new camera system also has the advantage that the telephoto lens with double magnification now simply picks 12 megapixels from the center of the sensor. As a result, a full-resolution image is produced even with a double zoom.
In Apple’s ProRAW format you can also use the full sensor resolution of 48 megapixels. However, depending on the motif, an image can be a few dozen or more than 100 megabytes in size – which requires a lot of storage space. In addition, the format is not suitable for series of snapshots: the phone needs some time to process an image. And the camera only uses all 48 megapixels for photos with the standard wide-angle lens – i.e. the main camera.
According to the first impressions, the camera of the iPhone 14 Pro delivers slightly sharper and more detailed images with a slightly cooler color palette than the previous models. The improvements are particularly visible in low light conditions.
More information about iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro can be found here: iPhone 14 is here! All innovations at a glance
And what about the “ordinary” iPhone 14?
All the innovations of the Pro models put it a bit in the shade. The technology blogThe Verge“ promptly explained it as an iPhone 13S – based on Apple’s earlier naming formula of only adding an “S” to models with less radical changes every two years.
Hardware from the previous year
One argument for this: the standard model of the iPhone 14 contains the previous year’s A15 Bionic chip, instead of the A16 of the Pro version. Compared to the chip in the iPhone 13, however, an additional GPU core is unlocked. The iPhone 14 has adopted this structure from the iPhone 13 Pro from the previous year. Instead of Dynamic Island, the standard iPhone keeps the usual notch.
The most important changes that you will notice with the iPhone 14 in everyday life concern the cameras. On the one hand there is the “Action Mode”. It is designed to prevent shaky videos when shooting while walking, running or cycling. Even the standard image stabilization of the iPhones is very solid, but the “Action Mode” keeps the image shake-free even if you deliberately pan the iPhone wildly while in motion.
The software uses the ultra wide-angle camera (0.5x) and crops the edges frame by frame to deliver a stable video in the middle. That’s why you can’t shoot 4K videos with it – and the function works much better in good lighting conditions.
On the other hand, the iPhone 14 has taken over the camera hardware from the iPhone 13 Pro from the previous year, with larger pixels and a wider aperture. In addition, the iPhone 14 gets the same selfie camera with autofocus that is also in the iPhone 14 Pro.
Accident detection and an emergency call to space
At the same time, the entire iPhone 14 series has two functions that remain invisible in everyday life, but can save lives in an emergency. The first is the detection of car accidents. The iPhones got new motion sensors for this. They can register heavy loads in the event of an impact, recognize pressure changes caused by the opening of airbags and evaluate ambient noise. Unfortunately, we were not able to try this out in our iPhone 14 test.
The software can detect frontal and side impacts, rear-end collisions and rollovers and then automatically trigger an emergency call if you don’t react within 20 seconds. The technology is also integrated into the Apple Watch Series 8.
If you get into trouble in areas without mobile phone reception, you can send a call for help directly via satellite with all models in the iPhone 14 series. The functions will initially only be available in North America from November. But travelers from other countries will also be able to benefit from it there. And expect Apple to quickly expand coverage to more regions.
Contacting the satellite is not entirely uncomplicated
The satellite emergency call should be available free of charge for two years, but it is not yet known how much it will cost afterwards. There is a lot of effort behind the function: the iPhone has to be aimed directly at the satellite that is not visible to the eye. Depending on the reception strength, this can take 15 seconds to over a minute. The software compares the position of the cell phone and available satellites and shows a graphic on the display where to aim the iPhone.
With the iPhone 14, Apple is trying hard to establish the reprogrammable eSIM inside the devices as the new standard instead of the usual plastic SIM. The US versions of the iPhone 14 no longer have a slot for a physical SIM card. In Germany you can continue to use your previous mobile phone card. If you configure an iPhone 14 with the help of the previous iPhone, the setup assistant also offers to transfer the phone number to the eSIM.
Strong dollar makes iPhone 14 more expensive – no mini version
While Apple kept prices stable in the US, the strong dollar in Europe is causing price increases, some of them sharp. The basic model of the iPhone 14 with 128 gigabytes of memory costs 999 euros compared to 899 euros for the iPhone 13. The new Plus version with a larger display (6.7 instead of 6.1 inches) is available from 1149 euros. It will follow in October, while the rest of the model range is available now. Unlike the 13 series, there is no iPhone 14 mini with a smaller 5.4-inch screen.
The prices for the iPhone 14 Pro now start at 1299 euros instead of 1149 euros previously. The larger Pro Max is now at least 1449 euros instead of the previous 1249 euros. And the most expensive iPhone, the Pro Max with a terabyte of storage, now costs 2099 euros – 250 euros more than the iPhone 13.
With material from dpa