According to preliminary tests, the iPhone 14 Pro Max doesn’t physically vary all that much from the 13 Pro Max. The Dynamic Island is a significant change for the device, therefore the alterations here go beyond the surface. Although a lower price than anticipated is appreciated, will potential upgraders find it sufficient?
Pros
- +Strong, clean design
- +Dynamic Island is smart
- +Power is clear from the first touch
Cons
- –Design is similar to last year
- –Camera bump is huge
- –Most expensive iPhone out
The “underground” headliner of the Apple Far Out event is the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Even if it isn’t the most popular search term, it definitely makes the biggest impression, especially when compared to the average iPhone 14.vv
The iPhone XR is the phone that most people should be looking at this year, even if it is extremely similar to the iPhone 13 Pro Max that was released last year (and the 12 Pro Max that was released the year before that).
…if they have the money to do so. We’ve examined it thoroughly to see whether it would likely be exciting enough for you to become excited about (and, eventually, hard-earned cash).
iPhone 14 Pro Max price and release date
There’s no slow-down on when you’ll be able to hold the devices though – iPhone 14 preorders open from launch day, September 7, and you can get your hands on the iPhone 14 Pro Max from September 16.
iPhone 14 Pro Max design
The design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max won’t dramatically alter from that of the 13 Pro Max, as was already announced. Though the proportions are essentially the same, the camera hump at the back is considerably longer, so you’re out of luck if you’re searching for something that would fit the pricey case you purchased for the 13 Pro Max.
If you’ve used the Pro Max 12 or 13, holding the new model will feel very comfortable. Your fingers will naturally rest on the sharper, squared-off edges, so most people’s thumbs will need to execute the customary hand gymnastics to reach across the screen.
There is no USB-C port at the bottom, contrary to what you might have thought, and the physical mute switch is still present (which will be quite satisfying to many who live in terror of not being able to rapidly silence their mobile device).
All of those who were unsure whether they would need to change their chargers will feel relieved that Apple will continue to support Lightning for at least another year.
As you can see in our hands-on photographs, the stainless steel band around the outside is still a fingerprint magnet. Also, notice that the SIM tray on the side behind the volume controls is missing. It will be fascinating to see how people react if they can upgrade their phone SIM-free, but when it was first introduced, there were murmurs of discontent.
However, the screen has undergone the most significant design modification; let’s take a closer look at it.
iPhone 14 Pro screen
One significant modification has been made to the iPhone 14 Pro Max display: the notch has been replaced by a single, lengthy pill. Or is there truly just one big pill?
That’s not the case; instead, Apple’s iOS 16 is making this pill for you by filling it in and, in a nice touch, can use the screen in between to display tiny notification lights.
It has the name Dynamic Island, which was met with laughter when it was first revealed but will surely quickly become part of Apple lingo.
The wonderful thing about this is that it changes and moves depending on what you’re doing. When we played with it, you could start playing music and have the album cover in the top, have the timer sit next to the notch, or just tap it to access your music.
It’s a very cool feature, and Apple has pulled off somewhat of a surprise by transforming what was once an ugliness into a really useful tool for using the phone.
If you’ve been comfortable with the notch for years, it may take some getting used to (and even more so if you’re coming from an Android phone with only one camera hole), but when it changes dynamically, it appears to make more sense.
The screen’s holes are likely to become less noticeable after a few days of use, but in our early testing while viewing a few movies, they appeared to be more noticeable because the screen wrapped around them rather than the notch, which was at least to one side.
The rather cool new always-on display is on the screen of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Don’t call it anything groundbreaking because companies like Samsung have been providing this capability for years.
The need to tap or elevate the phone to see the clock can be inconvenient and drains battery by waking up the device. However, it looks good and is something iPhone users have been clamouring for for many years.
While the always-on display would consume more power, our iPhone demonstration was unable to estimate by how much, thus it may potentially help users who use their phone as a clock conserve battery.
The OLED display technology used in the phone now has the same capabilities as the Apple Watch, where it can slow down to just one refresh per second and still display some content on the screen. This new feature has been made possible by this development.
You’ll need to play about with that to decide whether you want to show all the widgets or not because it has more features than we had anticipated, like the clock, wallpaper, and widgets that continue to display when the phone is locked and off.
You’ll be quite impressed by the clarity and colour reproduction, the smoothness, and the overall expanse you get with this 6.7-inch display if you’ve never used an iPhone with an OLED screen before, which is conceivable if you’re coming from one of the earlier iPhone 11 models.
If you’re replacing a 12 or 13 Pro Max, however, we didn’t notice a significant difference other than the notch.
