The iPhone 14 Pro ditches the notch for a giant hole in the screen
It's called the "Dynamic Island," and it looks surprisingly cool.
The iPhone 14 Pro is here, and it's one of Apple's most significant upgrades in years. We're used to seeing better camera and screen technology in Apple's "Pro" lineup, but this time around it's a dramatic departure from the standard iPhone 14. For one, Apple has done away with the notch, which first arrived with the iPhone X way back in 2017. Instead, there's a large cutout Apple is calling the "Dynamic Island," which can expand via software to include notifications and other app information. The result is a portion of the screen that looks, well, very dynamic.
The iPhone 14 Pro features Apple's new Super Retina XDR display, which can reach up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness outside. That new screen tech also allows the Pro's 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screens to stay on all of the time, so you don't have to tap your phone to see essential information. How is that possible? Apple has developed a new low power mode, which allows the screens to drop down to a super low 1Hz refresh rate.
As expected, there's also a new mobile chip powering all of this magic, the A16 Bionic. It's a 6-core CPU (2 high performance cores and four high efficiency) paired together with a 5-core GPU. Apple claims the high-performance cores use 20 percent less power than the A15's, and, not surprisingly, they're also faster. The A16 will be a big draw for the Pro lineup, as the standard iPhone 14 is stuck with last year's (still very capable) A15 chip.
The iPhone 14 Pro's beefier processing power will come in handy for its new 48 megapixel main camera, a huge leap from the standard 12MP shooters Apple has relied on for years. It sports a quad-pixel sensor, which allows it to easily oversample large photos into 12MP-sized pictures. And if you actually want a beefy 48MP photo, you can shoot that in ProRAW as well. For on-the-go video shooting, a new action mode can also significantly smooth out bumps and shakes.
Apple's Photonic Engine improves low-light performance across all of the iPhone 14 Pro's cameras, something that it also shares with the standard model. There's also a new telephoto camera offering 2x optical zoom (which works alongside the pre-existing 3x zoom), along with a refreshed 12MP ultrawide shooter. Even the flash has been updated, allowing for twice the brightness thanks to a 9 LED array.
You'll also be able to tap into Apple's Emergency SOS feature, which relies on satellites to send messages when you're out of cellular range. It's a nifty feature, but it will also be available on the non-Pro iPhone 14.
Overall, the iPhone 14 Pro looks like a bigger step forward than last year's model. The Dynamic Island fundamentally reshapes the way notifications will work in iOS, and for many photographers, the larger camera sensor has been a long time coming. The iPhone 14 Pro will start at $999, while the Pro Max will go for $1,099, just like last year. You can pre-order both models on September 9th, and they'll be available in stores on September 16th.
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