New month, new Apple toys. We’ve been monitoring the rumors about the new iPhone here at Macrumors for over year and the day has finally arrived where we can touch, tap, gesture and all the everyday things we do on our current iPhones. My self imposed upgrade is not until next fall when hopefully USB C will replace lightening. Not necessarily for any technical reasons, but more consistency across the product lines. If it doesn’t, then I got an extra unused 5 watt USB lightening charger and cable in my drawer that’s waiting for it.
After all the major reviews and forum unboxings my personal feelings upon interacting with the iPhone 14 Pro’s was mainly a feeling of crickets. I specifically chose to play with the Pro and Pro Max simply because they are the most different out of the entire lineup this year. I glanced a bit at the new color on the standard iPhone 14 but didn’t bother wasting any time.
The much raved about Dynamic Island was the clear stand out but also the most ‘I’m over it’ feature on the new phones. Thats not in a bad way either. Its just that it won’t really add any sentiments of ‘how did I live without this all my life’ either. Its intuitively designed and makes multitasking a little more efficient. The word is still out on it and my final analysis won’t be until a year from now. But its a fun little feature and really makes the iPhone 14 series standout if you go Pro. I don’t see what was the technical reason why Apple couldn’t bring this to the cheaper models. MBA’s talking maybe?
The camera’s, the camera’s are huge in so many ways, they are pretty much oil tanks at this point. I love taking photos, but I’m not obsessed about taking photos. Thats maybe why I still have an iPhone X five years later. The camera I believe has been good enough for most amateur photographers since the iPhone 6s/7, even better since the 11. Recently a family friend was capturing photos on her Android and swapped phones to grab one using my X and she was so impressed by the iPhone X. Think about that, a 5 year old phone.
I needed to test the iPhone 14 camera to really see what we are dealing with here. Now, this isn’t a scientific or thorough analysis. I even messed up by not even capturing the subject I used with two key devices, my iPhone X and 4s. But the purpose is really to show how far we are coming from with this platform. The iPhone keeps getting better, but spectacularly better for the average user is debatable. Below are photos captured using a mix of devices from iPhone (2007) all the way up to 14 Pro Max.
The Macro feature introduced on the 13/14 is unique but I just don't know how many bee's butt's I want to take pictures of. Also, isn't that considered an invasion of privacy?
iPhone 6s
iPhone 6
iPhone 5s
iPhone 4
iPhone (first gen) 2007
The new Deep Purple is among the new favorites, outside the store, I could see new users walking around with that specific model. But to me, its an underwhelming color way. It just does not sparkle like a Pacific Blue or even Sierra. The Black color has a nice trim, but the dark gray back I feel does not feel complete. The sleeper hit this year is probably Silver. Its neutral, looks industrial and bold. But at the end of the day, if I had one of these, they would surely be going in a case.
My time with the device was short, because the store was so crowded. Yes, people are buying these, the demographics are mostly older models. I saw someone with what looked like X and old 6 series style models switching out to the new iPhone. Not everyone is taking the bite though, three college students compared their 12’s and admired the new phone, but just didn't feel any urgency to upgrade yet. On the bus back home, a soon to be former Galaxy Ultra (Note) device user with an Apple store bag pretty much told the story where he is heading. And that might be the highlight of this generation of iPhones, its not for a 12 or 13 or even an 11, but maybe that Android user or iPhone 7 user who wants to finally upgrade after holding out so long.
If you are already in possession of a iPhone 12 or 13, much of what's new you can already get by upgrading to iOS 16.
The iPhone 14 to me feels like we are at peak iPhone. Its even making my thoughts about next years rev start to feel underwhelmed. Not in a bad way, its just, yeah, there is a new iPhone that’s out, what else is new?
After all the major reviews and forum unboxings my personal feelings upon interacting with the iPhone 14 Pro’s was mainly a feeling of crickets. I specifically chose to play with the Pro and Pro Max simply because they are the most different out of the entire lineup this year. I glanced a bit at the new color on the standard iPhone 14 but didn’t bother wasting any time.
The much raved about Dynamic Island was the clear stand out but also the most ‘I’m over it’ feature on the new phones. Thats not in a bad way either. Its just that it won’t really add any sentiments of ‘how did I live without this all my life’ either. Its intuitively designed and makes multitasking a little more efficient. The word is still out on it and my final analysis won’t be until a year from now. But its a fun little feature and really makes the iPhone 14 series standout if you go Pro. I don’t see what was the technical reason why Apple couldn’t bring this to the cheaper models. MBA’s talking maybe?
I needed to test the iPhone 14 camera to really see what we are dealing with here. Now, this isn’t a scientific or thorough analysis. I even messed up by not even capturing the subject I used with two key devices, my iPhone X and 4s. But the purpose is really to show how far we are coming from with this platform. The iPhone keeps getting better, but spectacularly better for the average user is debatable. Below are photos captured using a mix of devices from iPhone (2007) all the way up to 14 Pro Max.
The Macro feature introduced on the 13/14 is unique but I just don't know how many bee's butt's I want to take pictures of. Also, isn't that considered an invasion of privacy?
iPhone 6s
iPhone 6
iPhone 5s
iPhone 4
iPhone (first gen) 2007
The new Deep Purple is among the new favorites, outside the store, I could see new users walking around with that specific model. But to me, its an underwhelming color way. It just does not sparkle like a Pacific Blue or even Sierra. The Black color has a nice trim, but the dark gray back I feel does not feel complete. The sleeper hit this year is probably Silver. Its neutral, looks industrial and bold. But at the end of the day, if I had one of these, they would surely be going in a case.
My time with the device was short, because the store was so crowded. Yes, people are buying these, the demographics are mostly older models. I saw someone with what looked like X and old 6 series style models switching out to the new iPhone. Not everyone is taking the bite though, three college students compared their 12’s and admired the new phone, but just didn't feel any urgency to upgrade yet. On the bus back home, a soon to be former Galaxy Ultra (Note) device user with an Apple store bag pretty much told the story where he is heading. And that might be the highlight of this generation of iPhones, its not for a 12 or 13 or even an 11, but maybe that Android user or iPhone 7 user who wants to finally upgrade after holding out so long.
If you are already in possession of a iPhone 12 or 13, much of what's new you can already get by upgrading to iOS 16.
The iPhone 14 to me feels like we are at peak iPhone. Its even making my thoughts about next years rev start to feel underwhelmed. Not in a bad way, its just, yeah, there is a new iPhone that’s out, what else is new?
