Apple has today unveiled its iPhone 14 range, boasting the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. The biggest improvement over the iPhone 13? The camera system, at least in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
In true Apple form, all four new iPhones are similar, but the 14 Pro and Pro Max are quite different when you take a closer look. The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are nothing to scoff at, but the top-range phones are the best Apple has ever created (thanks, Tim, for that line).
iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max
The two new phones boast an Always-On display, a 48MP camera, Crash Detection and a new little something called Dynamic Island (more on that in a sec). The sizes are still the same as the 13 Pro and Pro Max – 6.1-inch for the Pro and 6.7-inch for the Pro Max. But the main physical difference? Apple has swapped the notch for a more pill-like FaceID bar the company is calling ‘Dynamic Island’. It’s a pill-like space for Face ID that expands when you, for example, receive a call or notification.
iPhone 14 Pro specs
- Size: 147.5 mm x 71.5 mm x 7.85 mm
- Weight: 206 grams
- Display: 6.1-inch (OLED) [HDR display/True Tone/Wide colour (P3) & 800 nits max brightness (typical); 1,200 nits peak brightness (HDR)]
- Resolution: 2556×1179-pixel resolution at 460 ppi
- Guts: A16 Bionic chip
- Camera: 48MP Main, 12MP Ultra-Wide, 12MP 2x Telephoto, 12MP 3x Telephoto
- Battery life: Up to 23 hours of video playback (up to 20 hours streamed)
- Fast-charge–capable: Up to 50 per cent charge in 30 minutes
- Water resistance: Rated IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres for up to 30 minutes)
- Safety: Emergency SOS & Crash Detection
- Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Colours: Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple
iPhone 14 Pro Max specs
- Size: 160.7 mm x 77.6 mm x 7.85 mm
- Weight: 240 grams
- Display: 6.7-inch (OLED) [HDR display/True Tone/Wide colour (P3) & 800 nits max brightness (typical); 1,200 nits peak brightness (HDR)]
- Resolution: 2796×1290-pixel resolution at 460 ppi
- Guts: A16 Bionic chip
- Camera: 48MP Main, 12MP Ultra-Wide, 12MP 2x Telephoto, 12MP 3x Telephoto
- Battery life: Up to 29 hours of video playback (up to 25 hours streamed)
- Fast-charge–capable: Up to 50 per cent charge in 35 minutes
- Water resistance: Rated IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres for up to 30 minutes)
- Safety: Emergency SOS & Crash Detection
- Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Colours: Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple
Camera system
- 48MP Main: 24 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, seven-element lens, 100 per cent Focus Pixels
- 12MP Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view, six-element lens, 100 per cent Focus Pixels
- 12MP 2x Telephoto (enabled by quad-pixel sensor): 48 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, seven-element lens, 100 per cent Focus Pixels
- 12MP 3x Telephoto: 77 mm, ƒ/2.8 aperture, optical image stabilisation, six-element lens
- 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range; digital zoom up to 15x
A16 Bionic chip
Apple is touting the A16 Bionic chip as being “generations ahead of the competition”. It enables this Dynamic Island thing, is to thank for all-day battery life and is behind the computational power the new camera system has. With two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, the new 6-core CPU, Apple reckons, is up to 40 per cent faster than the competition. A16 Bionic features a 5-core GPU with 50 per cent more memory bandwidth than the A15. The new 16-core Neural Engine is apparently capable of nearly 17 trillion operations per second.
iOS 16, Apple’s phone software
Apple first announced iOS 16 back in June at its annual WWDC developer conference. Some features of the new software shipping with the iPhone 14 range include the ability to unsend or edit texts sent via iMessage, (almost) complete Lock Screen customisation, Family sharing (think parental controls), the ability to share photo galleries with family and friends and makeovers to a few existing apps/features/settings.
We’ve had the iOS 16 Beta running on our phones for a while, and aside from the expected bugs that have been quickly fixed by updates, the new software is great (once you get used to it).
But wait, there’s more
A handful of additional features include Emergency SOS via Satellite – antennas will connect to a satellite to let someone know you’re in trouble. Once connected, you can then send messages for help via Apple’s proprietary algorithm to send a message in 15 seconds (if you have a clear view of the sky). You can use Find My to share your location via satellite. It starts with the U.S. and Canada, no word on Australia just yet.
Like the new Apple Watch Series 8, the iPhone 14 range will also ship with ‘crash detection’ – a feature like ‘fall detection’, but instead of say falling off your bike, crash detection will know when you’ve been in a severe car crash.
Additionally, our friends in the U.S. won’t have a physical SIM tray anymore, with eSIM the standard. This won’t happen yet for Australia, however.
Lastly, later this year, Apple Fitness+ will be available for all iPhone users, even those without an Apple Watch.
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max Australian pricing
iPhone 14 Pro cost
- The 128GB iPhone 14 Pro will cost RRP $1,749
- The 256GB iPhone 14 Pro will cost RRP $1,899
- The 512GB iPhone 14 Pro will cost RRP $2,249
- The 1TB iPhone 14 Pro will cost RRP $2,599
Availability
Pre-orders begin 10:00 pm AEST Friday, 9 September, with availability for iPhone 14 Pro beginning Friday, 16 September.
iPhone 14 Pro Max cost
- The 128GB iPhone 14 Pro Max will cost RRP $1,899
- The 256GB iPhone 14 Pro Max will cost RRP $2,099
- The 512GB iPhone 14 Pro Max will cost RRP $2,419
- The 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max will cost RRP $2,769
Availability
Pre-orders begin 10:00 pm AEST Friday, 9 September, with availability for iPhone 14 Pro Max beginning Friday, 16 September. Telstra, Optus and more will have plans available from then.
Cheapest 24-month iPhone 14 (128GB) plans
Cheapest 24-month iPhone 14 Plus (128GB) plans
Cheapest 24-month iPhone 14 Pro (128GB) plans
Cheapest 24-month iPhone 14 Pro Max (128GB) plans
iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max review
As always, stay tuned to Gizmodo Australia and we’ll give you our thoughts on the new range after we go hands-on.
Head over here to check out everything Apple announced at its ‘Far Out’ iPhone 14 event.