The launch of the iPhone 14 collection marked a brand new period for Apple. By no means earlier than have we seen such a stark divide between the usual and Professional fashions. Whereas the usual iPhone 14 was little greater than a repackaged iPhone 13, the iPhone 14 Professional leaped ahead to catch and match the most effective Android telephones. The iPhone 14 Professional launched a dramatic improve in digicam sensor decision, in addition to a robust new option to multitask — a pill-shaped cut-out dubbed the Dynamic Island. However whereas the improve would possibly sound massive on paper, utilizing the iPhone 14 Professional tells us a barely completely different story. In typical Apple vogue, the modifications are delicate, significant, and thought out — to a level.I’ve been utilizing the Apple iPhone 14 Professional ever since its launch in September. How effectively has it fared within the six months since? Let’s discover out within the Android Authority iPhone 14 Professional evaluate revisit.
The nice
DesignDhruv Bhutani / Android AuthorityThere are two methods to have a look at the design of the iPhone 14 Professional. Should you subscribe to the minimalist faculty of favor, the again of the cellphone is a timeless traditional that, even now, in its third iteration, continues to look premium. I’ve received the all-black variant readily available. It may be boring to some, however six months later, the stealthy look nonetheless evokes a way of understated luxurious that not many different telephones are in a position to match as much as. I adore it.The iPhone is a slow-moving beast, however the laid again minimal design continues to feel and look nice. The iPhone, and Apple, for that matter, is a slow-moving beast by its very nature. The corporate’s give attention to design conformity throughout generations of telephones is a characteristic that polarizes customers and design nerds. Should you search for pleasure and drama out of your cellphone, the iPhone 14 Professional is unquestionably not going to chop it for you.It’s additionally a comparatively high-maintenance cellphone. For instance, regardless that the overall building and supplies have held up very effectively, and the buttons retain their excessive tolerance tactility, the polished high-gloss facet rails are a ache to maintain fingerprint free. Equally, the digicam module attracts quite a lot of lint and mud, extra so in a dusty metropolis like Delhi. Apple’s claims of resilience in opposition to drops with its use of Ceramic Glass appear sound, however I nonetheless racked up some dust-related micro scratches within the few days I used it with out safety. I’d extremely suggest most customers slap on a case — take a look at our listing of the most effective iPhone 14 Professional circumstances for a couple of choices — or on the very least a high-quality display screen protectorDhruv Bhutani / Android AuthorityDespite all this, for me, the 6.1-inch kind issue of the iPhone 14 Professional stays some of the comfy available on the market, and the reassurance of getting a well-recognized kind issue works in my favor.I’m dual-wielding the cellphone with a Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely, and that enormous of a cellphone can typically be arduous to slide right into a pocket. Furthermore, one-handed use is nigh unattainable with out some cautious maneuvering. For many who recognize larger-sized telephones, Apple has the iPhone 14 Professional Max on supply, however, in my expertise, that cellphone is much more unwieldy than the S23 Extremely. All of which to say, there’s nothing new to find right here. Should you like what Apple has been doing with the previous couple of generations of iPhones, you’ll just like the iPhone 14 Professional. And in case you don’t, effectively, powerful luck.
Dynamic IslandDhruv Bhutani / Android AuthorityFor all its similarities with earlier generations of {hardware}, Apple did add one new design characteristic to get folks excited. Adore it or hate it, the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Professional is a daring new try at reinventing multitasking on the iPhone. However when you’ve stepped off the pulpit of Apple’s advertising and marketing hyperbole, it’s simple to see some good concepts and some not-so-great ones.On the face of it, Dynamic Island is nothing greater than sensible utilization of area between the front-facing digicam and the Face ID authentication system. Nevertheless, that revolutionary use and its implementation are what give it legitimacy as an fascinating, nearly ingenious transfer.At launch, Dynamic Island was supported by little aside from Apple’s first-party apps. However whereas having an always-accessible music participant within the notch is good, it’s not important. Six months since launch, the scenario has improved by leaps and bounds, although not fairly as a lot as I’d have hoped. In style apps like Carrot Climate and Apollo have added fascinating use circumstances for the dynamically adjusting notch.Most days, I discover myself utilizing it to leap between two actions. All these months of use later, I’d keep shy of calling the island a roaring success, however identical to the Contact Bar-enabled Mac, it’s confirmed itself as a nice-to-have characteristic that provides just a little little bit of utility and enjoyable. As soon as the novelty wears off, you principally neglect about it except wanted. I see it as a stop-gap measure and anticipate Apple to do away with it totally as soon as it’s found out under-display cameras in a couple of years.
PerformanceDhruv Bhutani / Android AuthorityPerformance on the iPhone 14 Professional is yet one more case of understanding precisely what to anticipate, however for all the suitable causes. Apple’s mantra for efficiency isn’t in regards to the specs and benchmarks. It’s the expertise that issues, and the cellphone delivers the products. Quick, fluid, and performant, the cellphone is designed for a life span of 5 years, and I’ve little question it’ll attain that determine.To Apple’s credit score, the corporate has a knack for nailing down long-term software program fluidity and optimization. Animations are simply as fluid as day one, and the overall person expertise, in case you like Apple’s manner of doing issues, is a pleasure to make use of. Should you care about benchmarks, the iPhone 14 Professional’s A16 Bionic chipset continues to beat the more moderen Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset in CPU-bound checks however lags behind in GPU-based checks.The not so good
CamerasRyan Haines / Android AuthorityObjectively talking, the iPhone 14 Professional’s cameras are aggressive however removed from the most effective at school. Certain, video recording tends to be top-tier, however except you’re an beginner videographer or content material creator, most of your use will probably be clicking photographs, and you’ll find way more fascinating {hardware} with the most effective Android digicam telephones. Whereas the first sensor received a much-needed improve to a 48MP sensor, the secondary ultrawide and telephoto sensors retained their 12MP decision. There’s no periscope lens to be discovered right here both, tapping out at an inexpensive however not earth-shaking 3x optical zoom.
However images isn’t actually an goal artwork. Processing, last output, dynamic vary, and myriad different components play a job in deciding whether or not you just like the output from a digicam. Sadly, the iPhone 14 Professional took a slight step again. Straight-out-of-camera JPEGs have an excessive amount of sharpening happening with a barely oversaturated shade profile. There’s additionally the warmer-than-normal shade profile. Once more, one thing I personally like however isn’t for everybody. It’s not dangerous, however for the subset of customers coming from the final era’s cellphone, there’s a slight degradation in image high quality. Apple’s lackluster HDR implementation can be a recurring concern with blown-out skies, highlights, and lens flares in nighttime pictures. That mentioned, nitpicking apart, the iPhone’s digicam stays a crowd-pleaser even when it isn’t the perfect choice available on the market.
The JPEGs are wonderful, however RAW images utilizing the iPhone 14 Professional opens up an entire new dimension of prospects for inventive customers. Nevertheless, there’s one extra side in regards to the digicam that retains me coming again to the iPhone — RAW seize. Most telephones right now can seize RAW photographs, however the sheer quantity of dynamic vary in RAW photographs from the iPhone is astounding. As an beginner images fanatic, my choice lies towards RAW captures and a Lightroom modifying workflow. Pictures from the iPhone match completely into that course of and permit me to push for extra particulars within the shadows and spotlight retrieval.As we famous in our unique iPhone 14 Professional evaluate, video seize right here stays among the finest you will get out of a smartphone. Whereas different telephones extoll the advantages of 8K seize, the iPhone has them beat within the sheer high quality of the footage — and that’s what really issues. It’s only a disgrace the remainder of the digicam package deal can’t match that elite normal.
ChargingRobert Triggs / Android AuthorityThe iPhone would possibly lastly be prepared to hitch the USB-C occasion subsequent 12 months, however the iPhone 14 Professional remains to be hamstrung by the Lightning connector and its slow-as-heck charging speeds. The utmost you may hope for is 23W with an acceptable charger and 15W wi-fi charging in case you pay the nosebleed costs for Apple’s MagSafe charger. Customary Qi charging stays locked to 7.5W in typical Apple vogue. Mainly, anticipate to attend upwards of 80 minutes for a full cost.The Lightning connector comes with its personal set of points which might be much more annoying right now. For instance, I take advantage of a USB hub with my Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely and iPad Air to switch recordsdata or output video over HDMI. That’s a no-go with the iPhone. Should you, like me, need to make full use of lossless audio streaming from Apple Music, you’ll probably need to use an exterior DAC and amp. As soon as once more, I needed to scramble round to seek out an acceptable cable to make use of with the iPhone. Sturdy accent assist for Apple’s ecosystem means it isn’t notably arduous to seek out the suitable connectors. Nonetheless, with every little thing else in and past Apple’s ecosystem shifting to USB-C, the corporate’s dogged allegiance to the connector is a nuisance you shouldn’t need to take care of in 2023.
Battery life
Apple’s been main the cost with its battery life optimization during the last two generations of telephones. The iPhone 13 Professional was a straightforward two-day smartphone for me. The iPhone 14 Professional, alternatively, has been considerably inconsistent, and I’m not totally certain it’s right down to the {hardware}. You see, Apple managed to stuff a barely bigger battery into the shell of the iPhone 14 Professional. However whereas it compensates for the upper clock speeds of the processor, there’s extra to the story right here.The battery dimension went up, however battery life went down. Blame the buggy software program for that.For one, Apple’s software program, ranging from iOS 16, has been surprisingly buggy. And whereas we’ll come to that shortly, it’s additionally immediately impacted the cellphone’s battery life. In a single day battery drain has elevated from 2-3% on the final era’s cellphone to five% and past this time round. Whereas the iPhone 14 Professional nonetheless lasts me a full day of use, I often need to plonk it down on a charger on the finish of a protracted day. Six months and a hundred-odd wi-fi charging cycles later, my battery well being remains to be at 100%, which makes me query the veracity of these claims. Don’t get me incorrect, battery life is a lot good right here, however there’s a noticeable lower over the iPhone 13 Professional fashions, and I’d guess that’s principally right down to the software program.
SoftwareRobert Triggs / Android AuthorityMuch as I just like the iPhone’s person expertise, iOS 16 has been the buggiest software program launch from Apple that I’ve skilled in years. From battery life woes to glitchy apps, Apple’s most up-to-date massive software program replace has fallen far wanting Apple’s traditional excessive requirements for software program stability.Bugs and the occasional force-closed app mar an in any other case exemplary person expertise. At launch, battery drain was a serious concern with iOS 16, however Apple largely fastened it with the following launch. Till the next launch introduced it again with a vengeance. Equally, I’ve confronted app crashes and errant keyboard bugs over the course of six months of software program releases. Even right now, my iPhone 14 Professional doesn’t at all times efficiently swap from Wi-Fi to 5G. Suffice it to say; this isn’t the expertise you anticipate from a cellphone that prices as a lot because the iPhone does.
iPhone 14 Professional evaluate revisited: The verdictDhruv Bhutani / Android AuthorityThe indisputable fact that the iPhone line-up fends off a litany of Android flagships to defend its title of the most well-liked premium cellphone on the earth is not any joke. For all our nitpicks and points, the iPhone 14 Professional gives an exemplary albeit confirmative person expertise. Shopping for an iPhone means dwelling in Apple’s world and by Apple’s guidelines. That’s not essentially a foul factor. The shut match-up of {hardware} and software program delivers a usually good person expertise with considerate prospers strewn about. The cameras aren’t thrilling or world-beating, however they ship on point-and-shoot goodness for the plenty and have quite a lot of headroom for the creatives. In the meantime, the design continues to age like wonderful wine.Is the iPhone 14 Professional nonetheless a superb buy six months later?37 votesYes, It is nonetheless an awesome cellphone.57percentNo, I might take a look at the options.43%
Issues just like the Lightning connector and sluggish charging are points, for certain. However are they dealbreakers or mere annoyances? That’s for the client to resolve, however I’d say that even with a generational decline in battery endurance, it’s nonetheless respectable sufficient to alleviate any severe battery anxiousness. Actually, my largest gripe is one thing I’d by no means thought I’d be complaining about with an Apple product. Apple’s rush to combine newer interface components and have units comes with the trade-off of occasional glitches. Maybe the software program workforce might do with taking a extra stoic method just like the {hardware} workforce.Finally, shopping for an iPhone has at all times been a trade-off between bleeding-edge specs and a system Apple deems excellent. Should you’re okay with that, the iPhone 14 Professional stays an distinctive smartphone in 2023.
Apple iPhone 14 ProApple iPhone 14 ProPremium design and construct • Upgraded most important digicam • Dynamic IslandThis resort is all-exclusiveThe iPhone 14 Professional is a incredible cellphone. It sports activities glorious cameras, highly effective internals, and the all-new Dynamic Island cutout that breathes extra life into your notifications.Feedback
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