Everything about the Apple iPhone 14 Pro feels completely effortless. The design is professionally judged and modern, the software is very simple to use and the camera takes much better pictures than its predecessors. But it’s also easy to use in other ways as it isn’t the most daring update compared to the previous version.
Let’s dive deeper into whether the iPhone 14 Pro is worth the effort to jump into Apple ownership or upgrade from an existing iPhone. If you’re looking for a non-Pro iPhone 14, check out our review.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Design
If you’ve ever seen an iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro will be very familiar to you. It still feels a bit too sharp in your hand, but it has the same flat and square chassis beautifully crafted from stainless steel. Apple’s Ceramic Shield sits above the screen and has tempered glass on the back. The IP68 water-resistance rating adds confidence as the phone prevents damage from accidental water spills. The volume control and power button are still on the side, and if you buy an iPhone 14 in the US, you won’t find the SIM tray as it’s the first iPhone that only accepts eSIM.
The 6.1-inch Pro has a beautiful balance to hold in one hand and can be used with one hand. It weighs 206g and is not featherweight, but with a width of 71mm and a thickness of 7.8mm, there is no discomfort at all, and there is no fatigue at all even if you hold it for a long time. However, it can be slippery, and protecting it with a case will help prevent unwanted breakage for your freedom. There are a few plain colors (black, silver, or gold), but opt for the lovely new deep purple and opt for the clear case. It looks almost black in some situations, but when viewed in proper lighting, the purple pops out absolutely. The chassis is also purple. I think it looks great.
On the back, the camera module is large and the iPhone 14 Pro makes a bold statement when not in its case, but the three cameras protrude considerably, so the phone doesn’t lay flat on any surface. All of this adds up to a smartphone that is an iPhone. This isn’t a groundbreaking design, it’s not particularly flashy, but it’s a classy and stylish design that will suit any occasion. It doesn’t require attention, but it’ll still get an admirable look, especially if you opt for purple.
Would you like to see a design that is not nearly identical to the last two models? Yes, it would have been nice. Do you really need to look different? No, not at all. Apple has got the Pro formula right: a luxurious look, just the right size and weight, high-quality materials, and great build quality, so there’s no blame for not making dramatic changes with the iPhone 14 Pro. One more thing I’ve been wanting to see is more color options, but expect them to be added later to keep the range fresh.
iPhone 14 Pro always-on screen
With a 2556 x 1179 resolution and 460 PPI pixel density, the new 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR screen has a little trick. Before we get into the big changes, it’s worth mentioning brightness. It typically reaches 1600 nits but can reach up to 2,000 nits when exposed to sunlight outdoors, and the difference is noticeable. There is a “bump” at the start of the add-on, and the screen becomes brighter and easier to read when the sun is shining.
But the biggest and most obvious new screen feature is the always-on display. Android phones always have a screen that shows time, battery, and notification icons on a black screen. Apple’s always-on screen is essentially just a blurry version of the lock screen, is displayed in full color, and comes with dynamic widgets and notification notifications. You can only see the always-on screen on your Apple Watch on your phone. Additionally, the time and date are highlighted in a bright white font over the selected wallpaper, and notifications clearly show the icon and basic details for each item.
Controls for music and audio apps also remain on-screen, with quick taps to wake you up and ready to pause or change tracks. I found the entire lock screen experience sharper and more responsive than ever before. I use my phone in my car for music, and before on my iPhone 14 Pro, I had to tap multiple times to get an instant response with a single tap. The always-on screen is beautiful and useful, and in terms of design, it’s a step up from implementations we’ve seen elsewhere. However, it may not be conducive to battery life. We will discuss this again later.
Apple’s 120Hz ProMotion feature is back and should be considered a strong reason to opt for the Pro model over the standard iPhone 14. A higher refresh rate provides smoother, less irritating animations for scrolling and less eye strain. It quickly becomes “invisible”, but you’ll absolutely find it’s not there. When you watch videos on iPhone 14 Pro, the screen comes to life with stunning colors, deep blacks, and perfect contrast. Even the stereo speakers are the best in the industry. The sound has clarity, power, and real presence, and I can enjoy watching videos and listening to streaming music for hours on end.
The iPhone 14 Pro has a nice screen, and viewing on the larger 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max is much more immersive and enjoyable. If you can afford the extra weight and price of the device.
iPhone 14 Pro iOS 16 and Dynamic Island
Dynamic Island, Apple’s clichéd name for replacing the expanded pill-shaped notch at the top of the screen, is most certainly a work in progress. For now, it’s relatively simple, displaying information about your Bluetooth connection, screen, voice recordings, face unlocks notifications and timers. Apple’s Live Activity feature isn’t ready yet, and developers haven’t been given access to it. If this happens in the near future, the utilization of Dynamic Islands will skyrocket.
For now, it looks like a possibility. Dynamic Island is out of the way and the features it offers are also useful. Music control is the best example. A short tap takes you directly to the playing app, and a long press displays a quick set of controls. These features can be found elsewhere on iOS, but using Dynamic Island is undeniably fast, intuitive, and a good sign for the future when more apps are available. It’s sleek and beautiful because the software changes and moves so smoothly around the hardware components that you can’t really tell where one starts and the other ends.
iPhone 14 Pro has iOS 16 installed. Aside from the new battery percentage display and great haptics, a lot has been done about customizing the lock screen in iOS 16, and I’m not sure if this is necessary or beneficial. Even the new settings page to change the wallpaper and add widgets is unnecessarily complicated and somewhat confusing. It’s nice. I personally don’t see the day-to-day benefit of adding more clutter to the lock screen, but I understand that others may feel differently. The new A16 Bionic processor supports all of this calmly, and while performance hasn’t been an issue, we’re not sure we’ll see any real differences from the A15 Bionic on the iPhone 13 Pro.
iOS’s notification system has also been demonized for a while, but it’s a personal matter. I have been using iOS for years and have seen the system evolve to what it is today. No, it’s not perfect, but it’s better than ever and I don’t think it’s the disgusting thing other people do. Notifications are at the bottom of the lock screen in the stack and can be expanded when Face ID sees you. Some can interact with or further view or tap to open that app. For me, it does what I want and it’s never better or worse than most Android notification systems.
Negative? Muscle Memory means I often pull down the left side of the screen when my phone is unlocked to better see notifications I might have missed. interact with. I also hate having the search widget permanently pinned to the bottom of each home screen, duplicating functionality and creating visual clutter.
There is one important software advantage over many other phones that make iPhone enjoyable to use. It’s just a software update. Apple hasn’t specified a timeframe for how long it will officially support smartphones with a major update to iOS, but the latest iOS 16 software will work until the iPhone 8, released in late 2017. iPhone 14 Pro will continue to be updated for the next five years.
Apple iPhone 14 pro camera
Yes, the camera on the iPhone 14 Pro is an improvement over the camera on the iPhone 13 Pro. Not a lot, but improvements make a difference. The main camera has 48 megapixels, and the wide-angle and telephoto cameras have 12 megapixels. We’ve already compared the iPhone 14 Pro to the iPhone 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, detailing their capabilities in different environments and how the new Photonic Engine improves low-light zoom images.
How about the app and photo experience?
When using the rear camera, facial recognition is almost instantaneous, the app recognizes text instantly and completely separates it so you can copy and paste it into other apps or messages, and Siri Knowledge recognizes plants and animals well. Image editing suites are powerful, but chaotically laid out, not particularly fast to use, and I’ve found that pre-made filters do little to enhance my images. Samsung does a better job with filters, but their editing suite is much less intuitive and I often use apps like Snapseed to improve my photos.
Stills can be shot in Apple’s ProRaw mode, providing more editing possibilities for those who know how to get the most out of the format. Be careful, however, as ProRaw photos take up a lot of space with a single image coming in at around 60MB or more. Things get even worse if you want to experiment with ProRes features for video, as Apple estimates that a minute of ProRes video will take up a huge 1.7GB of storage. It is also estimated that the 256GB iPhone 14 Pro will be able to record 19 minutes of ProRes with the remaining 100GB.
ProRes and ProRaw are niche features that most people don’t feel the need to experiment with, similar to the returning Cinematic Mode (currently shooting in 4K resolution at 24fps or 30fps) and the new Action Mode. This adds a gimbal-like level of stabilization to your video as you and your subject move. The iPhone 13 Pro already provided great stabilization for video (see the comparison with the Asus Zenfone 9 with gimbal), and the iPhone 14 Pro is also great, and the soft growth between zoom levels is very welcome.
Taking photos and videos at a reasonable resolution in normal mode and stabilizing the stock should be sufficient for most people in most situations. Additional pro-style features may not be used very often and certainly, not everyone who buys an iPhone 14 Pro will use them, but they are well implemented and undoubtedly strong if you have the knowledge to use them properly and the right add-on software.
The camera on the iPhone 14 Pro is fantastic. It takes interesting and vivid photos under the sun, detailed and balanced photos in low light, and has enough versatility for me to experiment with. There’s more tech expertise hidden inside than ever before, and features that are beyond my level right now but may prove useful and enjoyable in the future.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Battery and Charging
The iPhone 14 Pro’s battery performance wasn’t all that great, but there are signs of improvement. Initially, the battery did not last more than a day and with moderate use (about 3-4 hours of screen use) it will drop below 30% in the early evening. Excessive use and trips to the charger were required at this point. It was also mostly connected to Wi-Fi and sometimes only provided GPS, cameras, apps, short videos, and hours of streaming music with no games.
Since its dark and early days, the iPhone 14 Pro seems to have settled into my own usage pattern. The battery doesn’t suddenly last two days, but it’s definitely improved. The release of iOS 16.0.2 may also have helped optimize the system. Although not specifically mentioned as a benefit, the first version of iOS 16 also significantly reduced the battery life of my iPhone 13 Pro. It suggests that the software may be a factor in the relatively poor battery performance.
Apple doesn’t provide a charger for the iPhone 14 Pro but does put a USB Type-C to Lightning cable in the box. If you own Apple’s 20-watt charging block, expect your battery to charge to 50% in about 30 minutes. I use Apple’s 29W charging block, which takes about an hour to fully charge. Acceptable performance, but not matching the fast charging times offered by the OnePlus 10T or many phones from Oppo or Xiaomi. But it does match Samsung’s phones.
Battery life and charging technology are the most impressive parts of the iPhone 14 Pro. Other brands, especially some not sold in the US, have made significant strides in fast charging technology, and it’s reasonable to expect that most Android phones will last two days on a single charge under normal use. Apple is lagging behind in this, and if you’re demanding a lot from your phone, be prepared to carry a battery pack or stop emergency charging during the day to avoid anxiety.
There is anecdotal evidence from people testing the beta version of iOS of longer battery life, which we will continue to monitor on the iPhone 14 Pro.
iPhone 14 Pro Pricing and Availability
The basic iPhone 14 Pro with 128GB of storage costs $999 or £1,099 in the UK. Every time you add storage space, the price goes up. Up to $1,499 or £1,429 for the top 1TB version. All iPhone 14 Pro models are currently available through the Apple online store and most networks in the United States. Apple iPhone 14 Pro price in Bangladesh is BDT 192,674 for the 128 GB version.
Small differences in the iPhone 14 Pro make a big difference.
One of my favorite things about the iPhone 14 Pro is how easy it is to use, and this starts from the moment you take it out of the box. Setting up the phone doesn’t take long, and if you’re using a different iPhone, Apple offers everything from extra temporary iCloud storage and quick account transfers to make it really that simple. If you’re trading an older iPhone, you’ll get a small notification popup that basically automates the process required to prepare a return. A great introduction to a new, easy, and expensive phone.
It goes far beyond that first moment. I use both AirPods Pro and AirPods Max which connect instantly and provide a fantastic Bluetooth range. Also, different devices can be interchanged without confusing them. I also regularly use Sony’s WH-1000XM3 headphones with my iPhone, which is simple to keep up to date using the accompanying app, and the Bluetooth connection is equally stable.
I connected my Apple Watch SE 2 and Apple Watch Ultra to my iPhone 14 Pro, and again, it’s super easy and the connection is perfect. My Oura Ring also connects without problems and the app works very well. My podcasts are downloaded when I want, Apple Pay is accepted everywhere, the selection of cases to protect the phone is huge, and the resale value is generally stronger than any other device. There are also two new safety features. It’s a car crash detection system that I don’t intend to test, and an emergency satellite call function that won’t be available until November and can’t be tested. Hope you never need it.
I don’t want the phone I own and use every day to be an effort. It’s one of the reasons why necessary software like Oppo’s ColorOS and OnePlus’s OxygenOS are frustrating. The iPhone 14 Pro offers all the features and quality you’d expect from a $1,000 phone and offers a wealth of features that increase ownership while invisible, whether it’s a 120Hz ProMotion screen or collision detection.
This is what I want more than any visual change for change, and the iPhone 14 Pro delivers. Buy with confidence and enjoy the ultimate smartphone ownership experience. But if you already have an iPhone 13 Pro, there’s not much new here unless you’re fascinated by the always-on screen and Dynamic Island. The same goes for anyone with an iPhone 12 Pro. Anyone with an iPhone 12 years or older will find it to be a worthy upgrade.
