Wired
Waiting for a great review done by Luis to show you everything in the regular video of the new iPhone 14 Pro Max, I’ve been able to use the new iPhone 14 Pro Max for a full weekend, take advantage of its new features and I bring you mine (Personally and according to my user-level criteria) First impressions What Cupertino’s new flagship offers us from a usage standpoint (rather than spec details). Here are my first impressions of using the iPhone 14 Pro Max over the weekend.
Telling you these initial thoughts about the new iPhone, I tried to test all the news it brings and we’ll cover all of this throughout the post, learn about the new design, test the camera and analyze the screen with its new Always-On-Display feature. Let’s go together.
Design: New Colors for Continuous Lines
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a new color that comes from the already typical black, white and gold: deep purple. At first glance, as Apple says, purple is dark. The matte touch that the rear glass gives it is very nice, it doesn’t appear purple, it’s closer to a blue-gray tone. We only notice purple nuances in bright outside light, or if we look at the camera module, the purple is more appreciated and brighter than the rest due to the nature of the glass in that area. .
It’s an eye-catching color, but if you look at the stainless steel sides, it’s striking, where there’s more presence of the color with more lightness (and attracting all our traces). An area similar to a camera module. However, the colors give the device a very elegant touch. Comparing it to the new (and gorgeous) space black, purple is still a dark color for those who don’t want the white back of the silver and gold models but don’t have a quirky feel.
The camera module is now bigger
The new (huge) camera module, especially if you used an iPhone before age 13, it feels huge. It protrudes a lot from the body of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and if you don’t put a case on the device, it dances when you put it on a table. The unevenness on both sides caused by the hump is very noticeable. It’s a little uncomfortable, for example, when we write with the device on a desk (maybe it doesn’t work for everyone). He can dance so much that it is almost impossible to write in this way.
Another disadvantage of such a large module is the accumulation of dirt between the objectives. They’re vacuum magnets, which aren’t the easiest things to clean as you’ll need handkerchiefs, t-shirts, or anything that might get into tight, deep recesses. It’s not as easy to clean as the 11 Pro model, and it barely sticks out.
goodbye nick, hello dynamic island
Perhaps the most striking design-level change to the device compared to previous generations is. Apple has said goodbye to Notch and hello to the acclaimed Dynamic Island, which revolutionized how we interact with our devices. But let’s analyze it at the design level first.
Dynamic Island, despite Apple implementing it with the opposite intent, occupies more of the notch. I explain. The Dynamic Island is lower than the Notch, leaving some of the functional screen on top, which makes it take up more screen than the Notch. This enables iOS 16 elements such as the Wi-Fi symbol, coverage, our carrier name, etc. Located in the top bar, they now show the changes for other devices in a larger font (perhaps a sizable change for those who aren’t from another Max version).
But it’s beautiful and beautiful. Dynamic Island refreshes the design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and it seems that there are indeed design changes. At the end of the day, the part we interact with and watch the most is the screen, and it gives us this sense of real change. There are also many rumors that “the jump from the FaceID module to the camera is obvious”. lie. It is evident when backlit, the screen is locked (or always on) and viewed from the indicated angle. Very detailed. In your day-to-day life, you don’t realize it and look at it from the front (when you look at it 99% of the time), you see the full black pill we all know.
Dynamic Island in Design Mode is a success compared to Notch.
Camera: 48MP for spectacular detail and good video stabilization
One of the biggest innovations compared to the previous generation is (or is) the new camera module, which now has 48MP capable of capturing more detail in our photos. And, from a user perspective (since I’m by no means a professional photographer, I’m learning to use the new lens and its capabilities), it’s a real blast.
I was able to go to the mountains and capture different landscapes with many textures (stones, trees, clouds, sun…) and the new camera of the iPhone 14 Pro Max took spectacular photos. 0.5x works great in natural light (although I don’t think Apple can find 100% on this. For example, lack of improvement compared to the latest generation of regular GoPros). On a personal level, I’m not a big fan of taking pictures at 2x or 3x. I always like to shoot them in 1x and zoom in or out until I find the frame I want, but for mountains, 2x and 3x take very detailed photos and allow for distances that I can’t easily reach in this case.
I leave you with 4 simple photo examples of 0.5x, 1x, 2x and 3x. Higher digital zoom is better or use it.
Photos taken with 1x
Photos taken with 2x
Photos taken with 3x
Another big improvement I see is the quality of panoramas. Previously they were very blurry when zoomed in, they were only beautiful when we saw them in full mode on the iPhone, but the detail, quality, lighting and overall panoramas also showed good quality.
On the video level, on the other hand, Action Mode is a success. I’m used to shooting “action” videos with my GoPro and didn’t expect this level of stabilization on the iPhone. We recorded rock climbing in the mountains and going through them and the truth is that the video holds up really well and will be loved by the vast majority of people. Apple’s first touch on this is good, although there is room for improvement. However, I’m sure it’s going to be used for much more than movie mode.
Screen: Always-on display mode is a big novelty
The biggest novelty at the screen level is the Always-On display mode, which completely changes the way we interact with devices (when you don’t have an Apple Watch). The always-on screen of the iPhone 14 Pro Max fundamentally changes what we see in other Android terminals. Although in these they painted all the pixels black and left the time and some notification icons, Apple overhauled the concept and darkened the entire screen, highlighting the elements on top (time and widgets). But we see the whole screen.
The always-on display mode of the new iPhone Pro shows our wallpapers and even notification banners as if the screen is on but not on. We can check the last notification (because if we want to see more, if we have to interact with the screen and it will open) without touching the screen to open it. At the user level, this is a brutal change when interacting with the device.
Always show. Traces of transverse steel can also be seen.
I try to explain myself. As a regular user, I’m used to laying my iPhone on the table, face up, and every time I want to see if there’s something new, I tap the screen and check. It’s not necessary now. Check if we missed something and you spend less time on other tasks, it’s more agile. Another situation is that you have an Apple Watch connected. In this case, you might not be interested in activating it since you usually get notifications on your Apple Watch and you don’t need to check your iPhone screen as much.
In many other cases, until you get used to this mode (I’m still using it), you’ll press the lock button because you feel like the screen is on and you don’t know if it’s in Always-On display mode.
Dynamic Island: Apple hits big with iPhone 14 Pro
I like it, I like it very much. The Motion Island not only fits elegantly into the new display design, but also brings a very rich and detailed feature set. Because only Apple can merge.
You play music, you can easily manage it from Dynamic Island, calls are made from it, we can manage conversations using the integrated interface while navigating, and we can view details like voice waves or visible timers at any time.
All of this will be enhanced by third-party apps that integrate more functionality into Dynamic Island.For now, usage may be minimal at times and you may miss more interactions with her, but in the short to medium term this will be enhanced with app updates. Sports results, order status, etc.
Without a doubt, this is a huge success for Apple with these Pro models. Not only does it change the way we view the terminal, it also changes the way we interact with it. Define the roadmap for notifications and devices for the next few years here.
Low brightness setting on top?
Apple has introduced the most powerful screen yet in terms of brightness in the iPhone (and smartphone), with a new outdoor peak of up to 2.000 nits. As of now, I couldn’t unleash that power on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the brightness for normal use like I told you wasn’t much appreciated. Yes, it’s a bright screen, but at max brightness and outdoors, the capacity isn’t as noticeable, and you don’t get that WOW moment. I may have missed something about the settings or when the iPhone can reach this brightness (I’m not playing something outdoors, it’s been using the home screen, social networks, and photos).
The battery lasts all day (and more)
The battery is another point I highlight (even more so as the Max model). Squeeze it, watch streaming content, take photos, play games, and use social networks, and from the start of the day to the end of the day, more than an envelope of goods arrived, with about 30 percent arriving by the end of the afternoon.
Didn’t get to test it out on a normal day to see if the battery would be enough for two days (and one night) without a charge, but I can assure you that with the iPhone 14 Pro Max you could miss a day accessing anything you don’t need to be a “wall” cuddlers” and a place to charge your device.
Conclusion: Incredible
The iPhone 14 Pro Max lives up to all expectations. Design, on-screen novelties, a spectacular camera, and maintains the already superior performance of the previous generation. Coming from the iPhone 13 Pro models, the jump may not be that big or worth it, but from any other generation, I’d recommend it to anyone considering a change. The difference is obvious.
My highlight is the camera, which has some photos and a spectacular jump and battery compared to previous generations, which is very important to me to point out, and I’m not from the Max format that multiplies the duration. On the other hand, the new design of the Dynamic Island makes it feel like a new device, rather than a single “resize”, I still have the same thing. 10/14 of this dark purple iPhone 10 Pro Max.