8 things to know about the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max before you buy one

I haven't had much time with the new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max but seeing that the phone is already available to pre-order and that it goes on sale this Friday (Sept 16).

I thought I share some quick thoughts about it. And if you want to know more, stay tuned for the full review.

It looks and feels just like the iPhone 13 Pro

This shouldn't be surprising. Both have the same design, are made of the same materials (glass and stainless steel), and have the same number of cameras.

If you pore over the spec sheets, you'll find that the iPhone 14 Pro is slightly taller, thicker, and heavier, but you don't really notice that in your hands.

Though some might be disappointed that Apple didn't do anything to make it look different and special, it, crucially, still feels and looks like a piece of quality gadgetry.

Oh, and if you are thinking of getting Deep Purple, you should know that it's less bright that what the videos and press photos depict. Most times, it looks to me like grey but with a very slight purplish tinge (just look at the photo above).

You need new phone cases

Despite being very similar in appearance, you will need new phone cases for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max because the slight size differences are reason enough for old cases not to fit the new phones.

Furthermore, Apple has oh-so-slightly moved the positions of the buttons.

You won't notice just by looking, but they are quite obvious if you place an iPhone 14 Pro next to an iPhone 13 Pro and examine them closely.

It's fast

The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are the only phones to get a new chip, the A16 Bionic.

It's built using a 4nm process; has around 16 billion transistors; and although Apple didn't say how much faster it was compared to the A15 Bionic, it did say it was 40 per cent faster than the competition.

I ran some quick tests and, yes, the A16 Bionic chip is a beast. It's noticeably faster than last year's A15 Bionic and leaps and bounds ahead of Qualcomm's newest flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.

iPhone 14 Pro comparison

The always-on display is nice to have

Only Apple will know why it took so long to implement this technology in their iPhones because many Android phones have had it for years.

At any rate, it's much welcomed because you can now glance at the phone to quickly look up certain information (weather, calendar, messages, and more) without having to power up the phone.

That said, I do wonder if it isn't possible to bring this tech to the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. It can't be that complicated, can it?

The 48MP main camera takes nice photos

There's no doubt that the new 48-megapixel main wide camera is one of the biggest updates to the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro Max.

The new sensor is 65 per cent larger which means it'll capture more light – though at the cost of smaller pixels.

However, it's using pixel-binning techniques to get around this problem so the resultant image is still 12 megapixels.

Pro users, however, can opt to shoot photos in full 48-megapixel resolution using ProRAW.

In my limited time with the camera thus far, it seems to take really nice photos.

That said, I need to test it further to ascertain just how much better the new 48-megapixel camera is. Because in well-lit situations (like the photo below), I don't really see a big jump in photo quality.

Take a look at the sample photo.

The ultra wide camera is also much improved

The ultra wide camera didn't get much attention which is a pity because this year's unit is much improved.

According to Apple it has a new sensor that's nearly twice the size and has 100 per cent Focus Pixels. This means it can focus better in low-light scenarios and can capture more light.

And together with the new Photonic Engine, Apple claims it can deliver up to three times better low-light photos, which should be very handy when taking macro photos.

It seems to me that the jump in quality in the ultra wide camera is more noticeable than that of the main wide camera. 

Take a look at the sample photo below and see how much detail is captured. You can clearly make out the sunburst finish on the dial and the wear on the hands and logo.

Dynamic Island is clever

While rumours before the event already told us to expect stuff like the always-on display and improved cameras, it's fair to say that no one saw Dynamic Island coming.

And as it turns out, it's a very clever way of hiding the pill-shaped notch that houses the front-facing camera.

Because it's fluid and responds to your inputs, it shape-shifts and moves about and draws your attention away from the front-facing cameras – especially if you use your iPhone in Dark Mode.

It's very clever and makes you wonder why no one else thought of it before Apple.

The Pro iPhones are the ones to have if budget allows

Prices of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max start at $1,649 and $1,799 respectively and go up to $2,479 and $2,629 respectively should you opt for models with 1TB of storage.

If these numbers don't cause you to flinch, then the Pro iPhones are, without doubt, the phones you should buy.

Compared to the iPhone 14, which mainly rehashes components from the iPhone 13 Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro, despite looking like last year's models, has significant and meaningful upgrades.

If you demand the absolute best iPhone, then it's a no-brainer.

Here's a snapshot of the 2022 iPhones, their prices, storage options, and retail availability details.

Apple iPhone 14 and 14 Pro series in Singapore

Apple iPhone 14	Apple iPhone 14 Plus	Apple iPhone 14 Pro	Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
128GB	$1,299	$1,499	$1,649	$1,799
256GB	$1,469	$1,699	$1,819	$1,969
512GB	$1,799	$1,999	$2,149	$2,299
1TB	NIL	NIL	$2,479	S$2,629
Colours	Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, Product(Red)		Deep Purple, Gold, Silver, Space Black

You can pre-order the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max from the Apple Online Store, Amazon, the Apple Flagship Store on Lazada, or the Apple Official Store on Shopee.

This article was first published in HardwareZone.