If you expected a gradual upgrade for the iPhone Pro series this year, it’s proven to be true. Partially. If you were a firm believer that it would make this cycle clearer, you’d be right too: Apple’s approach to this year’s iPhones, especially the way he defined Pro phones, wasn’t an either/or . Familiar ones are interspersed with important new additions.
Do it later, but do it better – whatever the Android congregation has to say about it, it’s the iPhone way of life. Contrasting approaches from competing ecosystems should be evaluated. Android smartphone makers take more risks (some pay off, some don’t). Apple’s approach is a more cautious approach and updates should balance the experience. In many cases, yes.
Introducing Dynamic Island: A Year Ahead
It’s not necessarily about spec sheets. So first I have to talk about a second interactive interface inside a big display (again, new technology). For example, Dynamic Island’s display cutouts and notches are things he’d never thought of by an Android smartphone maker before. However, we expect this to be widely replicated in the coming months.
Essentially, this replaces the large notch that spills out of the top bezel (an unusable and unhelpful – obtrusive black space). Yes, and depending on the app or interaction, the displayed interactive area also varies in width horizontally. Unlike Notch, which you should have learned to ignore, Dynamic Island is something to notice.
The way Apple envisioned and developed their own apps in iOS 16 is to make this space available for active widgets. For example, you can quickly access your background tasks and notifications without having to switch apps every time. For example, it’s easy to quickly access and control music playback (the Apple Music app is the best for now).
In addition, it is also a good illustrator for, for example, Face ID, charging status, ring mode, call indicator, etc.
As is often the case with first generation implementations, it feels like first generation. Just tap it to return to the background app overlaying the Dynamic Island. A long press is required to open the quick interaction widget. It feels like a step too much. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
App developers play an important role in securing dynamic islands as a space and enhancing user convenience. Apple makes her ActivityKit framework available to developers. Some are already working.
Called Kriss Smolka’s Pong style game hit the island, has a simple idea – you have to bounce the ball with your paddle to hit a dynamic island (score points and at that point your life becomes self-explanatory). Christian Selig, the man behind Reddit’s Apollo app, feels that the space above Dynamic Island is the perfect place for his virtual pet to hang out. “Chortley the Hedgehog” has a nice ring to it.
At this time, we can’t yet make any conclusions about whether interacting with the extended widget leaves fingerprints and smudges that interfere with Face ID and selfies.
Boost performance with long-lasting battery
Once you get past the initial excitement of using it (when battery stats stabilize), you can’t ignore the even faster performance of the A16 Bionic chip along with battery optimizations. It has provided worry-free battery life. This time it’s even more.
A fully charged iPhone 14 Pro Max at 8am still hits about 37% on the meter after a reasonably busy day at work. Always on and turned off for comparison results in less than 2% wear throughout the day. This kind of battery stamina is a factor in the improved power consumption of the A16 Bionic. Because this time the battery capacity is slightly less.
You probably didn’t expect the A16 Bionic to be a bigger step forward year after year than the A15 Bionic. Companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek are still far behind in the race – this is Apple’s strength (almost Michael Schumacher or Mika he’s Hakkinen-esque, and anyone following Formula 1 will find it helpful).
This also means that iPhones haven’t yet switched to Apple Silicon, the M-series chips found in iPads and MacBooks. maybe next year?
Also read:How to get your Apple iPhone 14 delivered to your doorstep in minutes? Use this app
Do Megapixels Really Matter?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This year was the year Apple had to rethink its camera system. The 12-megapixel camera works well, paired with some serious software smarts. But time begged for a step forward. This is his switch to 48 megapixels, which may not be seen much in Samsung’s use of his 180-megapixel camera.
Regardless of the obvious numbers, there is more captured light and more data for image processing algorithms (including the new Photonic Engine) to process. Low-light photo results immediately show that it’s an upgrade over last year’s Pro phone (understandably, we couldn’t have asked for more). Shooting in uncompressed format using the full 48 megapixels makes a more visible difference.
Let’s talk a little bit about the changes. The new sensor is 65% larger than the 12-megapixel primary sensor in last year’s iPhone 13 Pro phone. Even with a 48 megapixel camera, you basically get a 12 megapixel image with 4 pixels of data packed into 1 pixel. That is, otherwise there are no strict photo differences between the iPhone 14 Pro series and its predecessors. Unless you’re using the full width of the 48 megapixel feature by choosing ‘RAW’.
The added detail is very apparent when you zoom in on the photo. I put some images in the Pixelmator Photo app (I can’t recommend this app enough if you’re into photo editing), and the machine learning there is often more was also excellently edited – and occasionally said that the iPhone still emits a warm tone, though less than before.
But if Instagram is where the photographic excitement begins and ends, you can’t tell the new camera system from the old one. In some scenarios more aggressive noise reduction is provided. But then again, the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s camera is more predictable than that of Android phones, with the possible exception of Google Pixel phones.
Makes the canvas brighter and smoother and always on
I’ve never complained that the iPhone Pro display isn’t bright enough. Still, Apple pushed the ceiling even further while adding a few more pixels. But that’s not the highlight. much more.
This 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display is finally ready to be always-on. Android phones have had it for a while, but again, it’s worth noting the different approaches.
The always-on Android phone template is a beautified monochrome with a completely dark screen with some icons lit up. Apple’s view is to leave the entire screen on. It’s pretty dark. The reason is not only the new generation OLED display of the Apple iPhone 14 Pro series, but also the reduction of the refresh rate to his 1Hz when dimming.
It looks better when the entire screen is dimmed than a black canvas layered with pockets of information. Still, there is a sense that it could have been darker. We feel that the dim always-on display mode can be two shades darker.
By inheriting ProMotion (120Hz refresh rate), brightening peaks, and adding always-on (which consumes a bit of battery life each day), Apple is changing the fundamentals of what makes iPhone displays the best in smartphones. not.
How Pro should the iPhone 14 Pro series be?
Differentiating processing power with the new lineup adds more value to the Pro’s equation. For the latest A16 Bionic processor, Dynamic Island, 48-megapixel camera, and always-on display, you’ll have to spend extra money on the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max (depending on which size works best for you). For you). That’s a step (and in some cases a few steps) from the Pro phones of 2021 and beyond.
And they’re doing the longevity aspect better than before too. This processor won’t slow down for years to come. The 48-megapixel camera also puts you in a more comfortable spot, as does the display. These are cutting-edge iPhones, a privilege no longer available on the regular iPhone 14 series (we’ll be reviewing those as well, so stay tuned).
That said, it may be too early to tell where it’s headed in the evolutionary cycle of Dynamic Island (early adopters have their own charm).
The fact that it takes a year of refinement and developer attention has its definite peculiarities, but if the signs point to any trend, it doesn’t matter. It also proves that Apple is still thinking beyond the spec sheet, but turning the notch into an island is all about improving the user experience. The A16 Bionic chip’s irrefutable advantages weren’t intended, but that’s not all.
