Apple has four new phones—the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, and the high-end iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. We got a chance to check them all out ahead of their release. Here's what we think.
I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.
The wait for new iPhones is over. The rumors circulating over the last few months were all over the place: Would the iPhone 14 have a notchless screen and an always-on display? Does the star-filled “Far Out” invitation mean the satcom era of Apple technology is upon us? Did the iPhone mini get put out to pasture? OK, so most of those rumors were actually more or less true, but it was still cool seeing the four new iPhones in person at Apple's launch event in Cupertino.
After the event concluded, it was pretty telling that the iPhone 14 Pro side of the hands-on demo table was almost impossible to get to—most of the cool new advances are happening on the Pro end, and that’s what most of the crowd was interested in. But not everyone is going to pick the pricier Pro lineup over the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, so we got our hands on all four models to give you our first impressions.
Dynamic Island isn't a reality dating show, but the name given to the now-animated area where the iPhone once had a notch. To be clear, it’s only on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. In Apple's introduction video, it looked like a game changer. In person, my first thoughts are: It's cool, but pretty tiny (most of the time). Depending on the apps you have running in the background, the Island changes form—for most apps, it looks like you have to swipe up while you’re using the app for it to join the Island.
What I like is how seamlessly various apps are integrated into this small space simultaneously—you can see anything from a timer to album art, and the color of the animated waveform when music is playing matches the color scheme of the album art, so the Island is truly dynamic in both color and shape. It’s also impressive how little you notice the front-facing camera. If you’re looking for it, you’ll see it, but your eye is more likely to pick up the Island’s shape-shifting blob than the camera.
What I don’t love—and I suspect Apple is less excited to show off—is the Island’s presence when watching video. The notch may be gone, but there’s still an Island blocking out full-screen playback.
The new lock screen feels dynamic in its own right. Long-pressing on the screen reveals an an impressive array of customizable options. There are now multiple ways to make your lock screen yours, and an extensive image gallery, which includes Suggested Photos from your own library and image banks with themes like Weather & Astronomy.
It’s not just different fonts and image banks, you can get truly goofy. For instance, any emoji (or multiple emoji) can be turned into your wallpaper, and then that wallpaper is available in ten different repeating patterns, including a swirling image. You can also add widgets to the lock screen, and with the new always-on display, they’ll appear below the time.
In person, the resolution on the new Pro camera system’s 48MP main camera is legit. Sure, in an Apple promo video, zooming in on a photo taken with the camera might show plenty of detail, but we all take these videos with a grain of salt (or at least we should).
What’s it like to actually zoom in on a hi-res photo on the new Pro screen, however? Impressive—complex details are rendered pretty flawlessly. Zooming in on clothing or hair, you can see the texture and individual strands without issue. Of course, we’re looking at pro photography taken specifically to market these features. It’ll be interesting to see if the camera makes it easy for non-pro shutterbugs to get the same kinds of results.
Our hands-on demo of Action video mode, which is supposed to stabilize wobble, wasn’t very scientific: We moved the phone up and down while filming, then switched into Action mode and did the same thing. The result, compared with the non-Action Mode footage, was definitely better, but not as dramatically stabilized as what we all saw in the promo video. Still, it’s a welcome feature, and when you have all that extra resolution to play with, losing some of the edges (which is how most image stabilization works) isn’t the end of the world.
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus models have a somewhat familiar look to them, while the Pros, in Space Black, Gold, and Silver models, look more shiny and flashy, like a luxury watch. Then there's Deep Purple—that model definitely has its own thing going on. Of the four models, it's the most striking in person. Between Samsung and Apple, purple is definitely having a moment. The iPhone 14 Pro’s purple has a sort of muted two-tone feel to it, almost gray from certain angles; it's very regal.
The in-hand feel for all of these models is, well, large, chunky, and metallic. All of the models feel substantial—the iPhone 14 lineup is not for iPhone mini lovers. Also, like previous models, these things can double as fingerprint collection kits. In between every demo, an Apple associate had to wipe down the phones for the next round of videos and photos. In the space of a minute, the screens and backs can get noticeably smudged up. So it’s either fingerprints or a case, but with phones this large—and an IP68 rating—who really wants a case?
There’s not much from our hands-on time with the iPhone 14 Pro models that gives us a real sense of just what kind of upgrade the A16 represents, but its “nearly 16 billion” transistors certainly allow for many of the excellent new display features to perform seamlessly, from lock screen dimming to the Dynamic Island mutations. I didn't witness any graphics stuttering or see screens having issues loading will playing around with the phones.
Two features I hope I never have to use in the real world: Crash detection and the new Emergency SOS via satellite.
The most impressive part of it, I think, is the fact that Apple has an entire team of people waiting to make a call on your behalf if you get lost on your trek through the Sonoran Desert or somewhere else remote. The demo video shows you more than what we were able to glean in person on the showroom floor, where, thankfully, there were no crash demos.
iPhone 14 pre-orders begin on Sept. 9 (this Friday) for all of the new models, which will be available starting Sept. 16 (except for the 14 Plus, which is available on Oct. 7).
The new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus start at $799 and $899 respectively for the 128GB models, and are also available in 256GB and 512GB capacities. The new iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max start at $999 and $1099, respectively, for the 128GB models. The Pros also come in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB for more money.
As for your iPhone 14 color wheel, the new 14 and 14 Plus are available in Midnight, Purple (more lavender, I’d say), Starlight (basically cream—handsome in person), Blue (a very pale blue), and a primary (Product) Red model. The Pros are available in the aforementioned Space Black, Silver, Gold, and Deep Purple models.
Here's our breakdown on the differences to help you decide which to phone is right for you. And make sure to check back soon for our full reviews.
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I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.
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