I’ve been secretly using the iPhone 14 Pro for a week – an ‘annoying’ feature is one of the best additions

Each year launches new iPhones. In 2022, we’ve got the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

I’ve been using the Pro Max model, which is enormous – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The regular Pro is much more practical, so if you’ve got small hands, I’d stick with that.

I prefer the bigger real estate for and watching a bit of telly on the train.

The Pro model has a 6.1-inch screen (just like the iPhone 14), and the Pro Max rises to a gargantuan 6.7 inches.

The screen itself is brilliant, serving up a dense 460 pixels-per-inch and a ludicrous peak brightness of 2,000 nits.

That’s part of the reason why you’ll get stunningly detailed and colour-accurate visuals with very impressive contrast.

At the top of the screen, you’ll notice that the “notch” (introduced with iPhone X to house Face ID) is gone.

In its place is a new smaller detached cut-out that Apple is calling the Dynamic Island.

It transforms its shape and size depending on your activity.

For instance, it will show album art and a colour-matched waveform if you’re listening to music.

It will even pop out into a square if you’re using Face ID. 

Apple has somehow managed to turn what should be an annoyance into something unique, useful fun.

It’s a genuine surprise: Apple was lagging behind rivals when it came to the notch, and then blitzed past them with a single dash.

True colours

The exterior of the iPhone is hardly different from last year’s iPhone 13 Pro. Why fix what’s not broken?

Two new colours (Space Black and Deep Purple) join the old Silver and Gold options to keep things feeling fresh.

Possibly my biggest surprise was how much I liked the Deep Purple.

I’ve never really cared for purple as a colour. It’s a bit depressing, right?

But the Deep Purple looks very slick, so I guess I’m a convert.

And like many of Apple colours, it’s changeable in the light: it can look purple, pink, grey and even black.

The Space Black (admittedly more of a grey) is also very attractive – and probably a safer pick. I’d recommend checking them out in person before buying if you have the chance.

Screen saver

Apple’s new Always-On Display definitely takes a bit of getting used to.

For maybe two days, you constantly think something is happening on your iPhone.

Once you get over the fact that no one is actually speaking to you, it’s great.

You can easily see album art, the time and date, and any other (new in iOS 16!) Lock Screen widgets you might have.

I’m using a few global times for work, a temperature chart for the day, and the sunset time. I’m not a vampire, I promise.

Now I’m five days in and it’s hard to imagine not having an Always-On Screen.

It saves you from tapping your iPhone to check it – now it’s just a glance away.

Picture perfect

Photography is magnificent: in fact, daytime images have been largely flawless for years now.

Where Apple is rightly putting most of its efforts is in low-light photography.

The iPhone 14 Pro manages to produce detailed and colourful images even in very dim settings.

And there’s a new 3x Telephoto zoom option that lets you snap some great close-ups – even if you can’t get very near to your subject.

Really though, the iPhone 14 Pro’s real magic is in video.

We rarely talk about video on iPhone, even though the quality is borderline ridiculous given the small size of the sensors on board.

Apple has managed to pair its impressive hardware with expertly crafted computing to create shockingly good video quality.

You can record 4K video right up to 60fps, or Cinematic Mode in 4K at 30fps.