The iPhone 14 series of devices was launched at Apple’s Far Out event this week and there is a lot to unpack. They decided to dump the Mini model in favour of a new iPhone 14 Plus model, and also launch an updated base iPhone 14 model. For most, however, the highlight of the show was the new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. So let’s take a look at the more compact Pro model in more detail. Here is everything you need to know about the iPhone 14 Pro – the new features, design tweaks and upgraded hardware.
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Let’s start off with the new internal hardware. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models are the only in the range that get the brand the A16 Bionic chipset. The A16 Bionic is based on the newer 4nm node architecture (A15 Bionic found on iPhone 14 and 14 Plus is based on 5nm) and offers major improvements in all the departments.
It has a 6-core CPU that offers about 40 percent more performance compared to last year’s A15 Bionic, according to Apple. Two of the cores are for high-intensive tasks while it has four power-efficiency cores that handle more of the mundane tasks for improved battery life. Handling the graphics is the new 5-core GPU that promises 50% improvement in graphics performance. It comes with a new 16-core Neural Engine that can perform nearly 17 trillion operations per second, resulting in better AI and ML capabilities.
When it comes to RAM, the iPhone 14 Pro models have the same as last year’s 13 models. Storage variants also remain the same as last year. The iPhone 14 Pro is available in four options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
The camera setup in the iPhone 14 Pro gets a major upgrade compared to last year’s model. It has a new 48MP main camera sensor, up from the main 12MP sensor in last year’s model. While bumping up megapixels doesn’t necessarily mean a better camera, coupled with a larger sensor, increased processing performance and better photography software means we are likely to see a noticeable improvement. As is the case with many other smartphones with 48MP sensors, it is using pixel binning technology to accommodate the smaller pixel size, which means you will still get 12MP photos (four pixels are binned together for one pixel in the image), but it should result in a higher quality image for each pixel.
In addition to featuring a better primary camera, the iPhone 14 Pro also comes with improved telephoto and ultra-wide sensors. The telephoto lens has been upgraded from a 6-element lens to a 7-element lens allowing for better portrait mode shots. On the other hand, the ultra-wide sensor now comes with improved low-light performance, thanks to the new sensor with larger pixels that let in more light.
The display is visually the most notable change with the new iPhone 14 Pro models. Not because it is any better than last years – it is still a flat 6.1-inch OLED display that boasts 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate technology and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits – but it doesn’t have a notch this time around. Rather, it has been replaced with the pill-shaped cut-out as per the rumours, which Apple has dubbed the ‘Dynamic Island’ (look out for an upcoming article explaining what it is capable of). The only difference in performance is that ProMotion is not capable of 1Hz refresh rates for better battery preservation, compared to last year’s 10Hz.
The iPhone 14 Pro starts at $999 and goes up to $1,499 for the top of the range 1TB storage model.
