Expert rating

Advantages

Dynamic Island is a game changer A full screen always open The 48Mp camera and pixel binning really improve photography

Disadvantages

No real improvement in battery life No fast charging Much more expensive in the UK

Our verdict

The iPhone 14 Pro is the perfect iPhone for most people, with useful upgrades over its predecessor, including the Dynamic Island camera cutout, Apple’s first stab at always-on technology, and a vastly improved rear camera setup. Battery life still isn’t perfect and it’s more expensive in the UK, but there’s enough here to get people excited about the 2022 iPhone Pro.

Price on review

£1,099

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The iPhone 14 Pro is the iPhone most people should have this year. Not because it looks vastly different from its predecessor — in fact, on the surface, the two look almost identical — but because of the plethora of upgrades offered by Apple’s Pro iPhone lineup this year, which further separates them from the standard, cheaper iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. With key features including Apple’s unique Dynamic Island, new always-on display functionality, the first 48Mp camera in an iPhone and Apple’s flagship A16 Bionic chipset, Apple has its sights set comfortably on the high-end Android competition. The question is, with a significant price increase (at least in the UK) does Apple’s latest and greatest still offer good value for money?

Design & manufacture

When you first look at the iPhone 14 Pro, it’s hard to spot the differences between it and last year’s iPhone 13 Pro – until you turn on the display, that is. Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry Overall, the iPhone 14 Pro is almost identical to its predecessor – but that’s not a bad thing. Apple’s industrial, angular design language and combination of a stainless steel frame and glass front and back looks and feels premium, with new Space Black and Deep Purple finishes joining the Silver and Gold of last year’s range. While the brushed glass back looks similar, with the same triple-camera cutout, the cameras themselves are slightly thicker than on the 13 Pro – though that’s no surprise with such an upgraded camera offering. In fact, it’s a similar story to the overall build. The iPhone 14 Pro is slightly taller and thicker this time around at 71.5 x 147.5 x 7.85mm and 206g respectively, although it’s hard to notice. Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry The side button, volume controls, and mute switch are all in the same places, as are the microphone ports, speaker grills, and Lightning port. Yes, it’s been another year without Apple making the jump to USB-C like it did with the iPad Air and iPad Pro, but rumors suggest that could finally change next year. It’s also still as dust- and water-resistant as ever, with an IP68 rating that should protect it from submersion in water. The only noticeable change in the design of the iPhone 14 Pro is the SIM tray, or lack thereof. While it still exists on models sold in the UK, Europe and most regions, Apple has decided to go all-in on e-SIM technology in the US, where there is no SIM tray for models sold there. It certainly adds to Apple’s clean aesthetic, but it will be interesting to see how American consumers react to the change. They will need to transfer their phone number to the eSIM during setup.

Screen & sound

The iPhone 14 Pro features Apple’s 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display which, while not noticeably higher resolution than its predecessor at 2556 x 1179, offers a huge upgrade. In fact, it’s the biggest change in Apple’s iconography since the iPhone X. It all boils down to one big addition: Dynamic Island. The elongated cross-section completely replaces the iconic Face ID notch, which hovers millimeters from the top of the screen and, in impressive Apple fashion, does something that no other smartphone camera cutout on the market right now does. changes shape. Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry The Dynamic Island cutout not only changes shape, but adds functionality depending on what’s happening on the screen, seemingly expanding and shrinking at will. Of course, this is just a trick made up of hardware and software, as the physical clipping itself doesn’t change, but it’s seamless and a bit magical. Look a little closer and you’ll see that the cutout actually consists of an oblong cut, a circular cutout, and then black active screen pixels in between giving the illusion of a simple cutout. The Face ID technology hidden inside has been shrunk, and Apple has managed to place the depth sensor behind the screen to condense it further. The end result is a camera cutout that will dynamically change shape and function depending on what you’re doing and the app you’re in, displaying a Face ID icon when your face is scanned, running timers, battery indicators for AirPods, music controls, and many other. You can also long-press the cutout to access additional controls, allowing you to skip a song, answer a call, or cancel a timer without leaving the app you’re in. Tapping once will take you to that app. Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry Apple has taken something that is traditionally annoying and turned it into something new and really useful. It’s not the only upgrade in the display department. The ProMotion adaptive display technology has also been improved, which can now dynamically shift from 120Hz to just 1Hz. This allows you to enjoy the smooth 120Hz refresh rate when playing games and scrolling, while not saving battery life when on a static screen like the Home screen, where the refresh rate can drop. The 1Hz refresh rate is a particularly useful addition, as it allows the iPhone to feature always-on display technology for the first time. It may have taken a while to come around, but it’s safe to say that Apple has outdone most of the competition with its app. Instead of just showing a black screen with basic time and notification information like most Android alternatives, you get the full iOS Lock Screen experience. The technology automatically activates when the iPhone goes to sleep, and while it drains the screen of most color and brightness, you can enjoy your wallpaper, see the current time, and access widgets, notifications, and music controls with a eyes. It’s a feature I didn’t know I needed, but now that I’ve used it, it’ll be hard to use an iPhone without it (you can turn it off in settings, though). The display is also incredibly bright, with Apple boasting a base brightness of 1000 nits, although this rises to an impressive 1600 nits when watching Dolby Vision HDR content and, when in direct sunlight, the display can rise to a melting 2000 nits. I’ve never had trouble seeing the iPhone screen in any lighting conditions, and I doubt anyone else will either. When it comes to audio, expect the same stereo speaker setup as previous models, with support for Dolby Atmos surround sound that gives shows like Stranger Things added depth – though you’re better off using a pair of headphones where you can.

Features & performance

Unlike the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus which are still rocking last year’s A15 Bionic, the iPhone 14 Pro and its Pro Max sibling carry Apple’s latest and greatest A16 Bionic. The 4nm chipset, down from the A15 Bionic’s 5nm, offers not only a 10% boost in overall performance but also better performance, with Apple claiming it’s 20% more efficient and the performance cores use a third of the power of the anonymous Android contest. As you’d expect, this translates to incredibly fast day-to-day use with no lag or stuttering to be seen, even when playing AAA games like Genshin Impact at high graphics settings and scrolling through a media-heavy Twitter feed. It’s not just everyday use. the A16 Bionic lets you edit Apple ProRes video on-the-fly within the Photos app, allowing you to crop, add filters and crop video with an export time of just seconds. Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry This is largely reflected in our benchmark results which see the iPhone 14 Pro not only beating the iPhone 13 Pro but also the Android competition – especially in the CPU department where Apple’s gains over Qualcomm and MediaTek are most evident. Although some Android competitors get higher frame rates in the GFXBench tests, this is due to the 60 fps frame rate limit in the iOS app. Hopefully it will be updated soon and we can run our tests again for a more accurate graphical comparison. That said, the iPhone 14 Pro doesn’t feel much faster than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in day-to-day use. When it comes to storage options, you have four to choose from, ranging from 128GB to 1TB, although with such good integration with iCloud, it’s hard to recommend the top model to anyone who doesn’t download. ProRes and ProRAW. In terms of connectivity, there is 5G, Wi-Fi 6 with 2×2 MIMO support, Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC for Apple Pay payments. It also features Apple’s proprietary U1 Ultra-Wideband chip to help you locate AirTags with pinpoint accuracy. In addition to the standard connectivity features, the iPhone…