Adam Kos The new iPhones 14, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max went on sale today, and I'm holding the last mentioned one in my hand right now and have been working with it for about an hour. Because the first acquaintance with a new product can tell a lot, here you can read my first impressions. Of course, it is possible that I may change my mind about certain facts in the review, so take this text with a grain of salt.
The design is almost unchanged
Last year's Sierra Blue color was very successful, but any variant proves that Apple cares about the appearance of the iPhone Pro versions. Although this year's new space black is very dark, it is also noticeably more decent, which is also preferred by many. But if you were wondering if it captures fingerprints, then write that it does. It's not as noticeable on the back frosted glass as it is on the frames.
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The shielding of the antennas is in the same places as it was last year, the SIM drawer has moved slightly down and the camera lenses have become larger, which I already wrote about in the unboxing and also in the first sample photos. So when you put the phone on a flat surface, typically a table, and touch the bottom right corner, it's really uncomfortable. It was already unpleasant with the iPhone 13 Pro Max, but with this year's increase in the module, it is extreme. Also, due to how raised the lenses are, most housings probably won't do either. The large photo module also results in catching dirt. So when you take your iPhone out of your pocket, it's not very pretty.
A display with a fundamental improvement
Compared to last year's iPhone 13 Pro Max, the display has improved in three ways - brightness, adaptive refresh rate and Dynamic Island element. By being able to drop the frequency of the display down to 1 Hz, Apple could finally come up with an always-on screen. But from my experience with Android, I'm a bit disillusioned with how it handled it. The wallpaper and time still shine through here, so Apple completely discards the advantages of OLED and its ability to turn off black pixels. In fact, the display just goes dark, and what I don't quite understand is why, for example, when charging, the charging process of the battery is not shown in its icon on the top right. You have to insert a widget for this.
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Dynamic Island is really nice. On the iPhone 14 Pro Max, it's actually noticeably smaller than the notch, and its variability is very eye-catching. Apple has nicely integrated the active camera and microphone signaling into it. A few times while working with my phone, I found myself tapping on it just to see if it would do anything at that moment. He didn't. So far, its use is mainly tied to Apple applications, but it is clear that it has great potential. Now don't expect too much from him. However, it is interesting that it responds to taps even though it does not provide any information. It even reacts differently to taps and swipes. Apple also managed to make it really black, so you practically can't see the camera or the sensors inside.
I am also pleased with how the speaker has been scaled down. It's not as good as the competition, especially in the case of Samsung, but at least something. The speaker on the iPhone 13 is too wide and unsightly, here it is practically just a thin line that you can hardly notice between the frame and the display.
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Vratislav Holub Performance and cameras
It is perhaps too early to test the operation, on the other hand, it must be said that the novelty should not have any problem with anything. After all, I still don't feel it even with the previous generation. The only thing I'm a little worried about is how the device will heat up. Apple has the advantage of presenting news in September, i.e. at the end of the summer, so it avoids an entire season of real competition. This year, my iPhone 13 Pro Max limited functionality (performance and display brightness) several times because it was simply hot. However, we will assess this for the new product almost a year from now.
Sample photos
I already use the iPhone as my primary camera, whether I'm taking snapshots or trips and whatever, and I have to say that the iPhone 13 Pro Max is pretty much perfect for that. The novelty should push the quality of the result a bit further, on the other hand, the question is whether the constant enlargement of the module and individual lenses is worth it. This is really a lot, so I hope the difference will be noticeable here. I am quite pleasantly surprised by the double zoom, by the fact that I cannot simply take photos at full 48 MPx, then disappointed. I don't need ProRAW if I want to take a really big and detailed photo. Well, I guess I'll turn on that switch in the settings.
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First impressions without emotion
When you're waiting for a new device, you have high expectations. You look forward to it, unpack the device and start playing with it. Here is the problem that those expectations have not been fulfilled yet. As a whole, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a great device that brings many new features that will be liked, but as the owner of the iPhone 13 Pro Max, I see the same device in front of me, with only one difference at first glance - the limited Dynamic Island.
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But from this point of view, I just don't see the quality of photos at night, I don't see the difference in performance, endurance, or whether I will appreciate Always On and other new features over time. Of course, you will learn all this in the individual articles and the resulting review. In addition, it is obvious that iPhone 12 owners will look at the device differently, and those who still own the previous variants will look completely differently.
- You can buy the iPhone 14 Pro Max for example at Mobile Emergency (you can also take advantage of the Buy, sell, sell, pay off action, in which you can get an iPhone 14 from 98 CZK per month)
