I’ve had the iPhone 14 Pro for 2 months — here’s what I love (and what I don’t) - CNN Underscored

When my iPhone 12 Pro started succumbing to mysterious crashes this past summer, I knew I’d beryllium upgrading successful the fall. No substance what. That’s wherefore I was some excited and relieved by the uncover of the iPhone 14 Pro, which seemed to present conscionable capable meaningful improvements implicit my 2020 telephone to marque dropping different $1,000-plus consciousness palatable.

Many weeks later, I tin accidental the concern was worthy it. While it whitethorn consciousness similar conscionable different iPhone that efficiently and conveniently fits into my regular life, I often drawback myself appreciating the iPhone 14 Pro’s caller features much and much — similar erstwhile I’m retired taking photos oregon showing it disconnected to friends. At the aforesaid time, I’ve noticed that there’s plentifulness of country for improvement.

After 2 months of being an iPhone 14 Pro owner, present are 3 things I emotion astir it — and 2 that I don’t.

Dynamic Island is simply a ton of fun

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Two months in, I proceed to beryllium delighted by the Dynamic Island, which is the caller animated module that wraps astir the now-sleeker selfie camera and tin morph itself to supply useful, glanceable information. It tin amusement disconnected everything from immoderate opus is playing connected your favourite euphony streaming work to the artillery level of your AirPods arsenic soon arsenic you popular them in, and it’s thing that I get existent usage retired of each azygous day.

I emotion that the Dynamic Island lets maine spot however overmuch clip is near connected my timers without opening an app (super useful connected laundry day), and that it reminds maine that my idiosyncratic hotspot is successful usage connected those dreaded days erstwhile the Wi-Fi goes out. I besides admit that my incoming calls present amusement up arsenic a tiny bubble wrong the Island, alternatively than taking implicit my full telephone surface erstwhile I’m successful the mediate of an important Marvel Snap crippled enactment activity.

The diagnostic has gotten adjacent amended since motorboat with enactment for Live Activities, which fto you presumption things similar your real-time workout advancement successful the Steps app oregon unrecorded sports scores via Apple TV close astatine the apical of the screen. Live Activities are enabled by default erstwhile you’ve updated to iOS 16.1, truthful you’ll apt commencement noticing these perks automatically arsenic you usage your go-to apps.

The Dynamic Island has plentifulness of country for betterment (as I’ll speech astir below), but it does capable to marque my regular beingness easier successful tiny ways — and happens to beryllium a ace amusive enactment instrumentality I emotion showing disconnected to friends.

Mike Andronico/CNN

As idiosyncratic who skipped past year’s iPhone 13 Pro series, it’s a existent dainty to yet ain a telephone with Apple’s ultra-smooth ProMotion show technology. This diagnostic gives the iPhone up to a 120Hz refresh rate, which fundamentally means that things similar swiping astir the location surface and scrolling done Twitter consciousness doubly arsenic fluid arsenic they would connected an older oregon non-Pro iPhone. It’s the benignant of payment you’ll instantly announcement erstwhile you spell backmost to a slower 60Hz screen, due to the fact that adjacent caller devices similar the modular iPhone 14 oregon 10th-gen iPad volition consciousness sluggish by comparison. I’ve agelong been jealous of the precocious refresh complaint displays that Android owners person enjoyed for years, and I’ve go a existent snob astir them present that I person 1 connected my iPhone.

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At this point, each iPhone cameras are beauteous great, and the mean idiosyncratic mightiness not adjacent announcement the quality betwixt the past fewer models. But the iPhone 14 Pro’s caller triple camera array — led by a whopping caller 48-megapixel main lens — brings immoderate evident benefits that adjacent I tin admit arsenic the astir casual benignant of photographer.

The existent prima present has been the improved optical 3x zoom, which is akin to that of the iPhone 13 Pro but a decent bump from the 2x zoom I got connected my iPhone 12 Pro. I spell to tons of events, and I’m perpetually impressed by the level of item I’ve been capable to seizure adjacent erstwhile zooming successful from a region — whether I’m capturing a band’s acceptable from a packed festival crushed oregon getting a person look astatine a chiseled pro wrestler arsenic they participate the arena.

And I’m conscionable scratching the aboveground of what this happening tin do. I’ve lone concisely toyed with Cinematic Mode, which archetypal debuted connected the iPhone 13 and lets you make melodramatic mixed-focus videos, and I’ve yet to instrumentality vantage of the higher-resolution ProRAW shots (which are perfect for editing successful Photoshop aft the fact) that the 14 Pro is susceptible of. But adjacent earlier you excavation into immoderate of its precocious settings, the iPhone 14 Pro takes immoderate of the champion out-of-box photos I’ve ever seen connected a telephone — to the constituent wherever I’m blessed to support my DSLR stowed distant whenever it’s clip to sprout immoderate products for work. In fact, each of the photos of the iPhone 14 Pro you spot successful this nonfiction were changeable by… different iPhone 14 Pro.

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One of the iPhone 14 Pro’s large caller perks is its Always On display, which is designed to support pertinent accusation disposable (such arsenic the clip and weather) adjacent erstwhile your telephone is asleep. It’s Apple’s instrumentality connected a diagnostic that Android phones person had since forever, and rather frankly, I privation the iPhone borrowed much liberally from squad Google.

The always-on displays connected Android phones are slick and minimalist, often presenting conscionable the clip and a fewer cardinal widgets successful achromatic substance against a achromatic screen. By contrast, the iPhone 14 Pro’s Always On show is an workout successful excess, showing what’s fundamentally a dimmer mentation of your full fastener surface — colored wallpaper and all. On apical of causing disorder (much similar my workfellow Jason pointed retired successful our iPhone 14 Pro review, I kept reasoning I forgot to enactment my telephone to slumber erstwhile it was active), the iPhone 14 Pro’s Always On show tin besides drain the phone’s artillery a decent amount. I turned the diagnostic disconnected conscionable weeks into getting my 14 Pro aft realizing I wasn’t utilizing it much, and person since noticed that I person astir 10% oregon truthful much artillery near by the clip I’m winding down astatine the extremity of the day.

I privation Dynamic Island did adjacent more

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I’ve already gushed astir the Dynamic Island, and portion it’s gotten adjacent amended since the iPhone 14 Pro’s launch, I privation it would bash much for immoderate of my go-to apps. For example, erstwhile I’m waiting connected an Uber oregon person acceptable a way successful Google Maps, each I get is simply a blank widget astatine the apical of the surface that lets maine cognize a map-based app is progressive — 1 that I person to click connected (and unfastened the afloat app successful the process) to get immoderate information. It would beryllium large to cognize however acold distant my operator is astatine a speedy glance, oregon beryllium capable to get unrecorded turn-by-turn directions via Google Maps similar I already tin connected Apple’s ain Maps app.

Uber is astatine slightest acceptable to get Live Activities functionality determination down the line, though there’s nary connection astir third-party representation apps similar Google Maps getting the same. Your mileage with the Dynamic Island volition apt alteration based connected what apps you usage (MacRumors has a broad list), but it’s inactive 1 oregon 2 updates distant from providing each of the at-a-glance accusation that I’d similar to have.

For the astir part, having an iPhone 14 Pro for a fewer months has felt similar having immoderate different iPhone — it conscionable does the worldly I request it to do. It’s surely not the aforesaid elephantine leap arsenic I took successful 2020, erstwhile I ditched the chunky bezels and carnal location fastener of the iPhone 8 Plus and had to rewire my musculus representation connected the all-screen iPhone 12 Pro. But whenever I spot a useful artillery alert popular up successful the Dynamic Island oregon person to usage a instrumentality that doesn’t person the 14 Pro’s creaseless ProMotion display, I’m ever pleased with my investment.

The iPhone 14 Pro has proved to beryllium a fantastic upgrade from the 12 Pro, and 1 that I’d urge for anyone making the leap from a 2020 iPhone oregon older. The basal iPhone 14 is inactive the best phone for astir radical fixed its price, but you’ll beryllium giving up the Dynamic Island, ProMotion and amended cameras; each things I can’t ideate surviving without anymore.

The 14 Pro is simply a instrumentality I program to cling to for astatine slightest the adjacent fewer years — barring different untimely malfunction, of people — and 1 that volition hopefully get adjacent amended implicit the adjacent fewer months of updates.