We honestly like that type of notch which Apple calls “Dynamic Island”.
We were pretty excited about yesterday’s keynotes. The iPhone 14, based on leaks, comes with a rather interesting design and that’s really the only thing why we’re so eager. Now that it’s out. We’re happy to see Apple went with this implementation. Although the design from the leaks is better, we’re still happy that they went for the pill notch. And this notch isn’t as gimmicky as the bar notch from previous iPhones. Apple has added a lot of mechanics and functions to it, effectively making it a “mini-screen”. Apple calls this feature “Dynamic Island” and we’ll talk about that later.
Wait, they went with 48MP cameras now?
You heard that right! Apple was one of the last major smartphone manufacturers to not adopt to a pixel-binning system. This record was finally broken when Apple announced a new master-engineered computational photography system with a 48MP main camera with 4-in-1 pixel binning. To achieve the best quality in a pixel-binned image, Apple developed a new computational engine called “Photonic Engine”. This engine improves low light image quality. Of course, this 48MP camera has OIS.
Aside from that, their 12MP Ultrawide and 12MP telephoto also received noticeable improvements. For instance, the 12MP Ultrawide now has 1.4µm pixels which could process more details and noticeably make images sharper. This makes it really good for macro photography. Meanwhile, the 12MP telephoto camera now offers 3x optical zoom. Now we’re wondering if these two are just sidelines or gimmicks. The phone can capture 4K video in cinematic mode with either 30 or 24fps. Still no 60fps. Also, contemporary Android flagships can take 8K video now. A little late Apple, as always.
It’s time for the pill!
As we mentioned earlier, the most notable feature of the phone is the “notchless” (at the loosest sense) design. Instead of the outdated and ugly bar notch, they went with a pill-like design which does have some fun features. Some may call it gimmicky. So it’s not just a notch, it is also a notification bar of sorts. Apple has showcased many ways this Dynamic Island can be used. It can bring up alerts, use it as a way to visualize music, and other activities.
This type of thing isn’t 100% new or innovative however. As some Android phones of the past can do the same thing. This is basically just a secondary display except it’s a notch and it’s located at the front. In a way, this is actually interactive and is similar to the Touchbar on a Mac. One example of a phone with a secondary display is the Meizu Pro7 and many foldables like the Galaxy Z Flip series from Samsung. And of course, the iPhone doesn’t fold but at least it doesn’t show any noticeable creases. Let us know when you fix the creases because right now, that’s just a cool story, bro.
The phone is powered by the A16 Bionic chipset. This is a hexacore CPU which Apple claims to be “40% faster than the competition” and can easily handle heavy workloads. It also features a pentacore GPU with 50% more memory bandwidth that allows it to handle demanding games and productivity apps more efficiently. The computational photography engine was made possible thanks to the 16-core Neural Engine included with the chipset that’s capable of 17TOPS.
An “innovative” Always-on Display
While Android phones had AOD for who knows how long, Apple here has shocked and bewildered us to their craziest innovation yet! The iPhone 14 Pro uses a 6.1in. 120Hz OLED screen (Super Retina XDR) while the Pro Max uses the same screen but at a taller 6.7in. This same pattern was used since the introduction of the iPhone XS
Did we forget to mention that iOS 16 now comes with widgets both on the home screen and lock screen? We’ve never seen that before.
Satellite Connectivity. In case you get lost or when disaster strikes
The iPhone 14 series may not be the first set of phones to have satellite communications (aside from satphones of course), it is the first in the series to feature it. The first phone to have Satellite-based GPS connectivity is the Huawei Mate 50 series.
Satellite connectivity is quite useful in disastrous situations where cellular connectivity is dead. We have a full dedicated article discussing satellite connectivity and satellite phones. Today, this type is also being tested for users to access the internet. One such example is the low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite system called Starlink.
The iPhone has a crash detection system that detects when there’s a severe car crashed that you just experienced (hopefully not). When the phone detects a crash, it will notify the user and will trigger emergency SOS via satellite when you don’t respond. Additionally, you have the option to turn off this mode or cancel the SOS trigger, as well as perform an emergency call. This is just one example of the iPhone’s new safety capabilities, as if Apple does care about you.
This near-instant crash detection is thanks to an improved accelerometer with a dual-core CPU. The phone will take advantage of its other sensors, notably, the barometer which can now effectively detect cabin pressure changes. Also, it will use its GPS for speed changes, and finally, the microphone that is used to detect sounds which it thinks is a severe car crash. We wonder if it can get fooled by made up car crashing sounds.
Currently, the satellite service is only available for users living in the US and Canada, and is free temporarily, for two years.
This satellite communication also allows users to connect their “Find My” app via satellite to track it when there’s no Wi-Fi nor cellular connectivity.
And speaking of connectivity, the phones lost its SIM Card trays in the US. Removing features is such an Apple thing to do. This was done to favour eSIMS more.
The phone has an “all-day battery” that Apple does not disclose. In addition, it uses the MagSafe wireless charging which has 15W of power. In Apple’s website, the iPhone can be fully charged using a 20W adapter or higher within an hour. Not actually fast considering other phones have at least 66W of fast charging on a flagship. It also supports a 7.5W Qi wireless charging.
It has no in-display fingerprint reader, but its pore-accurate LiDAR scanner is secure enough for face recognition.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are two “budget” smartphones from Apple. They are essentially repeats of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini. Also, notice how there’s no “Mini” here? Yeah. That name is just not selling. So what Apple did is make the iPhone 14 “mini” the regular iPhone 14 and the supposed regular iPhone 14 now called the iPhone 14 Plus.
It uses the same 6.1 and 6.7in. displays from the iPhone 13. Like the actual iPhone 14 series, these two new phones feature satellite communications, crash detection, and MagSafe charging. It also uses the same Ceramic Shield tempered glass. Apple’s equivalent to Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. Also, it does not utilize the A16 Bionic which is a shame because this phone will deteriorate the same way as the iPhone 13, not the 14 Pro or Pro Max.
Oh wait, did we forget that all four iPhones are made with recyclable materials? This was Apple’s way of contributing to the environment. Even though they’re still using Lightning cables that break too easily and resells chargers with different packaging which consumes more plastic than they were if they are included inside the box. Consistency is good, Apple. Which is it?
AVAILABILITY:
The four phones are available in the Philippines. The iPhone 14 starts at Php 56,990 for the 128GB storage option. Both the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus come with 4GB RAM. The next storage option, 256GB starts at Php 63,990 while the 512GB storage option costs Php 75,990. It’s either you give up all your savings, or sell one (or maybe all) of your organs. You can be a donor.
The iPhone 14 Plus starts at Php 63,990, Php 70,990, and Php 82,990 with the same storage options respectively.
Meanwhile, the 14 Pro and Pro Max have the following prices listed below. They both carry 6GB RAM.
iPhone 14 Pro
- 128GB: Php 70,990
- 256GB: Php 77,990
- 512GB: Php 89,990
- 1TB: Php 102,990
iPhone 14 Pro Max
- 128GB: Php 77,990
- 256GB: Php 84,990
- 512GB: Php 96,990
- 1TB: Php 109,990
The phone is available in all available authorized Apple retailers including Digital Walker, Beyong the Box, and Power Mac Store. It must be nice having an iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB Fully Paid no installment.
Due to import duties, the new iPhones are Php 7,000 more expensive than its US counterparts. Don’t worry, the phones you’ll be having does still include the SIM Card tray.
Hear us out, about a few weeks or months from now, when this article was written, Android manufacturers would 100% copy or “take inspiration” from this pill notch. That’s a guarantee! We’re hoping that this would make the dreaded waterdrop notch disappear or become endangered in the foreseeable future.
iPhone 14 and 14 Plus SPECS:
- 6.1in. (iPhone 14, 2532x1170px) or 6.7in. (iPhone 14 Plus, 2778x1284px) Super Retina XDR OLED display, 1,200nits peak brightness (HDR)
- 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio
- Ceramic Shield protection
- TrueTone, HDR, P3 Wide colour gamut
- Apple A15 Bionic (5nm)
- CAMERAS:
- 12MP (main), f/1.5, 26mm, 7P lens, 100% Focus Pixels, Sensor Shift OIS
- 12MP (ultrawide), f/2.4, 13mm, 120° FOV, 5P Lens, 2x Optical Zoom, 5x Digital Zoom
- FRONT: 12MP, f/1.9, 23mm, SL 3D depth sensor, 4K Video
- Unspecified battery capacity, 50% in 30 minutes with 20W charger or better
- 15W MagSafe Wireless Charging
- 7.5W Qi Wireless Charging
- iOS 16
- 5G services, Facial Recognition (with LiDAR Scanner), Wi-Fi 6, Satellite connectivity, NFC (Apple Pay)
- Lightning connector, Stereo speakers, eSIM (US models only)
- Midnight, Purple, Starlight, Product RED, Blue
iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max SPECS:
- 6.1in. (Pro, 2556x1179px) or 6.7in. (Pro Max, 2778×1284) Super Retina XDR OLED display, 120Hz ProMotion variable refresh rate, 2000nits peak brightness (HDR)
- Ceramic Shield protection
- Dynamic Island
- Always-On Display
- HDR, TrueTone, P3 Wide Colour Gamut
- Apple A16 Bionic (4nm)
- CAMERAS:
- 48MP (main), f/1.78, 24mm, 2nd-gen Sensor Shift OIS, 7P Lens, 100% Focus Pixels
- 12MP (telephoto), f/1.78, 48mm, 2nd-gen Sensor Shift OIS, 2x optical zoom
- 12MP (ultrawide), f/2.2, 13mm, 120° FOV, 6P lens, 100% Focus Pixels
- FRONT: 12MP, f/1.9, 23mm, 1/3.6″, PDAF, 4K@24/30/60fps
- Unspecified battery capacity, 50% in 30 minutes with 20W charger or better
- 15W MagSafe Wireless Charging
- 7.5W Qi Wireless Charging
- iOS 16
- 5G services, Facial Recognition (with LiDAR Scanner), Wi-Fi 6, Satellite connectivity, NFC (Apple Pay)
- Lightning connector, Stereo speakers, eSIM (US models only)
- Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple
Source: Apple
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