Dynamic Island is fresh and more practical than the notch The new 48-megapixel camera is an upgrade to the Pro level The A16 Bionic chip continues to impress The price of the iPhone remains unchanged by inflation
Disadvantages
Forcing eSIM adoption is an anti-consumer move Degraded battery life on the smaller Pro The always-on screen can be bright and distracting The 3X optical zoom falls short of the competition
With the new iPhone 2022 lineup, Apple has packed almost all of its best innovations and upgrades into the Pro models. The fact that Apple has kept the same base prices for the entire iPhone 14 lineup is a win for consumers in today’s hyper-inflationary environment where everything seems to cost more.
For the first time in a while, the decision to upgrade to the newest iPhone is more about functionality and less about aesthetics.
If you’re buying the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro or the 6.7-inch iPhone Pro Max, you’ll be getting a lot more for the same price this year. You get the Car Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via Satellite available on the standard iPhone 14 models. However, you also get a whole new set of camera features, a powerful new screen that can be viewed in full sunlight, and dimming almost as part of new always-on display and a new notification and multitasking feature called Dynamic Island that’s way cooler than its name suggests.
For this year’s top iPhone review, we’ve teamed up to bring you a ZDNET review with two perspectives. June was testing an iPhone 14 Pro on loan from AT&T and I (Jason) was testing an iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max on loan from Apple. Two heads are always better than one, as the saying goes, and we’re sure this approach will give you even better buying advice for one of the most important products of the year.
Standards
iPhone 14 Pro iPhone 14 Pro Max Display 6.1-inch OLED with 120 Hz 6.7-inch OLED with 120 Hz Dimensions 71.5 x 147.5 x 7.85 mm 77.7 x 160.7 x 7.85mm Weight 206 gr 240 gr Processor A16 Bionic Chip A16 Bionic Chip Memory and storage 6GB RAM with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 6GB RAM with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB camera 48MP (f/1.78) Wide, 12MP (f/2.2) Ultra-wide, 12MP (f/1.78) 2X Telephoto, 12MP (f/2.8) 3X Telephoto, 12MP (f/1.9) front 48MP (f/1.78) Wide, 12MP (f/2.2) Ultra-wide, 12MP (f/1.78) 2X Telephoto, 12MP (f/2.8) 3X Telephoto, 12MP (f/1.9) front Battery Up to 23 hours of video playback Up to 28 hours of video playback Stamina IP68, ceramic shield IP68, ceramic shield Software iOS 16.1 iOS 16.1 Colored Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple Price Starting at $999 Starting at $1,099
Stuck on Dynamic Island
Jason: The notch never really bothered me. I quickly got used to it as it became part of the signature profile of Apple devices — especially after it was added to the MacBook Pro lineup in 2021. When Apple announced it was replacing it with a black pill-shaped oval and called it the “Power Island,” my first thought was “Why waste energy and resources on something so trivial?” I was definitely wrong about that. Despite its silly name, Dynamic Island is functional and elegantly designed. Although only a few apps and features take advantage of it at this point, it’s clear that this is on its way to becoming one of the next signature features of an iPhone. Dynamic Island can display two live activities at a time. June Wan/ZDNET When you’re playing a podcast, song, or YouTube video and swipe up to switch to another app, the player automatically connects to the island with a little audio visualization that shows it’s still active. When you’re ready to go back to it, just tap and you’ll be back. And now there are subtle and useful new animations for a range of activities, from unlocking FaceID to pairing AirPods to phone calls and so much more. I continue to discover new ones and have a bit of fun with the playful animations. This feature quickly won me over. June: I think it’s safe to say that “Dynamic Island” is the worst name for what might be the best iPhone feature in a long time. Also, a pill-shaped notch that leads to iPhone multitasking was missing from the 2022 bingo card. But here we are, an inch of pixels that really makes me feel like I’m taking full advantage of the iPhone’s glorious OLED screen. You know the rest. The live activity transitions are refreshing to use, it’s much easier now to jump into Hey Jude’s “Na, na, na, nananana” segment, and the overall animations are fun, mesmerizing, and pixel-perfect. That said, it’s my moral obligation as a Gen Z to confirm that after a week of tapping and swiping on Dynamic Island, smudges are trivial and selfies are still king. More: iPhone 14 Pro finally brings the notch to life
Always-on display is not always good
Jason: The arrival of home screen widgets in iOS16 made an always-on display seem inevitable, and the app on the iPhone 14 Pro mostly gets it right. The iPhone partly has the Apple Watch to thank for that. I didn’t like the original always-on app on my Apple Watch and quickly disabled it. However, it has evolved to become much more useful and battery-friendly in the latest Apple Watch Series 8 hardware and WatchOS 9 software. The iPhone 14 Pro takes a similar approach with always-on. In this case, it just dims the lock screen brightness to about 10-20%. The iPhone’s always-on display is impressive compared to others’ interpretations. June Wan/ZDNET While it looks great, it’s a bit of a concern battery-wise, because it makes me think the iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on screen uses a lot more power than a competitor like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. June: Dear Apple, here’s the fix: let us manually adjust the dimming level of the always-on display, or just switch the home screen to a screen saver that’s turned off (with the date and time, of course) . Unless you have a darker, less noisy background, ambient mode can be distracting at first. For the past decade, iPhones have had me staring at the screen every time a notification wakes it up. And now, Apple wants my undivided attention by giving me a screen that stays on forever. It seems like every new feature on the iPhone is just a polished version of something Android devices have had for years. In this case, the iPhone 14’s always-on screen is as impressive as it is practical. More: How to get the most out of your new iPhone lock screen
It’s all about the eSIM…in the US
Jason: Make no mistake, if everything goes smoothly, then the eSIM process on the iPhone 14 makes it much smoother and faster to transfer your phone number from your old iPhone to your new one. Mine took less than 30 seconds to test with Verizon. And for the majority of users, I think they’ll be fine with it and see it as an improvement in most cases — when it works. Edge cases are the problem, and my objection is that Apple is removing the physical SIM case and forcing an eSIM-only version to launch on US customers. This is an anti-consumer move because there are many good reasons why some people still need or prefer a physical SIM phone. The top reason is privacy. This is especially true for certain journalists and populations at risk of persecution around the world. For a company that calls privacy a human right, Apple removing the physical SIM card option reduces privacy for millions of people, especially some of the most vulnerable. With eSIM, the iPhone eliminates another port. June Wan/ZDNET June: Like Jason, I’m one of the luckier users who only needed a carrier-provided (AT&T) QR code to register my iPhone 14 Pro controller. I’ve also heard enough accounts from other iPhone 14 users to know that success isn’t guaranteed when switching to an eSIM domestically, let alone during international travel. Once it’s set up, though, you’ll be surprised how quickly you forget that eSIM is a thing — just like how quickly we all forgot about 5G. More: How to port your number to Apple’s newest iPhone
Placing “Pro” on the processor
Jason: For years, iPhones have had more processing power than most people will need in day-to-day use. This year’s A16 Bionic is the same. If you’re stuck waiting, it’s usually because of WiFi, 5G, or a slow-loading app or website. However, there is one area where I found the A16 Bionic to be noticeably faster than last year’s model, and that’s FaceID unlocking. In general, FaceID works much better and faster on the iPhone 14 Pro. Part of that may be due to the new front-facing camera, but I attribute much of its speed to the A16 Bionic. Whatever the case, I’m grateful for it, because I’m one of those who have generally found a good fingerprint reader on devices like the Galaxy S22 to be faster and more reliable than FaceID on the iPhone. That gap has been closed this year. A familiar site for the iPhone 14 Pro. June Wan/ZDNET June: Aside from the FaceID improvements, I haven’t noticed any major changes between this year’s A16 Bionic and last year’s A15. That’s another way of saying that the iPhone 14 Pro is still powerful, still efficient, and will still be reliable for years to come. The new engine really comes into play when I’m shooting those 48MP ProRAW photos and want to make edits directly from the iPhone. The A16 Bionic handles image and computational processing with grace, with shutter speeds seconds faster than the 13 Pro for capturing high-resolution, low-light photos. More: The five best phones you can buy right now
Lights, camera, action mode
Jason: I love taking smartphone photos and the iPhone has been my primary camera since 2009 when the iPhone 3GS became good enough to replace my tiny Canon ELPH that I always kept in my pocket. Today, I also shoot with Sony mirrorless cameras and the Samsung S22 Ultra (my current work phone). But every year I still take more photos on the iPhone than any other camera. I have won awards for my best video…
