these are the first reviews

The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be released on Friday, but the first reviews have already appeared. Various international media were already allowed to test the brand new devices and these are the reviews.

iPhone 14 Pro (Max) reviews

The first reviewers agree: the so-called Dynamic is impressive. There are also rave reviews about the Always-On screen. The camera system does seem to disappoint: the differences with the 13 Pro are minimal, despite the 48 MP sensor.

The Verge

The biggest feature of the iPhone 14 Pro (Max) is perhaps the Dynamic Island. This is a pill-shaped cutout behind which Apple hides the selfie camera. But “unlike the notch, the Dynamic Island begs you to look at it,” writes Nilay Patel of The Verge.

The black bar changes shape. He does this with various apps and notifications and can be compared well with a widget. According to Patel, the feature has a lot of potential, but it is still in its infancy. “The Dynamic Island is one of the things that will take a year of refinement from the developer before we can really say how important it is.”

On paper, the camera of the iPhone 14 Pro is a big upgrade, but in practice there is little difference, according to Patel. In general, the 14 Pro and 13 Pro take similar photos, he says. “The 14 Pro is a bit cooler and captures a bit more detail in low light, but you really have to look for it. That applies to both the main camera and the ultra-wide angle lens.’

Check out The Verge’s full iPhone 14 Pro review

Gizmodo

According to Gizmodo’s Florence Ion, the iPhone 14 Pro makes dumping its Android more tempting than ever. “The camera capabilities are great at night, the battery life is promising, the Dynamic Island is a smart way to improve the notch, and the Always-On screen is better than Android’s.”

According to the reviewer, the Always-On display is much more subtle than its competitors. The iPhone also has something that Android does not have: the wallpaper is also shown in a dimmed mode.

If you have an iPhone 11 or 12, the iPhone 14 Pro is worth upgrading according to Ion. With an iPhone 13 Pro (Max), there is no reason to do this; the improvements of the processor and the camera would be too small for that.

Check out Gizmodo’s full iPhone 14 Pro review.

Engadget

Cherlynn Low of Engadget is happy with the Dynamic Island, although she needs to spend more time with the iPhone 14 Pro to know how big the impact is. “For now, the biggest effect is ethical.” Notifications look neater because they take place in a “permanent space rather than a translucent box that slides in and out from above.”

Enthusiasm is less with regard to the camera. “Most of the photos I took with the iPhone 14 Pro and 13 Pro are actually indistinguishable.” The 48MP sensor’s quad-binning doesn’t seem to drastically improve image quality – either at night or in daylight.

This means that the iPhone 14 Pro is not drastically different from their predecessors, except for the Dynamic Island, concludes Low. “But anyone upgrading from an older phone will appreciate what Apple has to offer.”

Check out Engadget’s full iPhone 14 Pro review.

CNET

Patrick Holland of CNET also praises the Dynamic Island. “The more time I spent with the 14 Pro, the more I liked it. It works in many situations and is an easy way to show what’s going on without completely distracting your attention from what you’re doing.’

Holland also believes that the Always-On display is better developed than with Android phones, which have had the function for years. “The color background is the biggest difference to Android phones, which usually only illuminate the time and notifications in black and white.”

The reviewer is pleased with the main camera. The improvements are especially significant in low-light situations. The 48 MP camera also captures much more detail. However, the ultra-wide-angle lens and telephoto lens disappoint – especially in dark environments.

Check out CNET’s full iPhone 14 Pro review.

Friday in the shops

The new iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have been available for pre-order since last Friday. They will be in stores next Friday (September 16) and the first models will be delivered.