The Apple iPhone 14 Pro sits alongside the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max in the company's 2022/23 lineup and it offers some big changes compared to its predecessor.

It also differs quite a lot from its standard sibling - the iPhone 14 - more so than in previous years. The main reason to buy the Pro models in the past was the camera, but it's so much more than that this time.

The iPhone 14 Pro is now the iPhone that makes the most sense to buy. Here's our review.

Apple iPHone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Editor's Choice

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro is without a doubt the most exciting of the four latest iPhone 14 models. It's got a fresh design, camera upgrades, processor upgrades and display improvements, plus the Dynamic Island feature is very cool. All these upgrades and changes have set the iPhone 14 Pro up to be the best iPhone the company has made and the Pro is now definitely Pro. This is a fantastic device and hands down the iPhone 14 model to buy, as well as quite possibly the flagship smartphone of 2023.

Pros
  • Refreshed design
  • Dynamic Island is very cool
  • Great display
  • Always-On Display is well executed
  • Plenty of power
  • Great camera results
  • Faster low light processing
Cons
  • Expensive
  • Loves a fingerprint
  • ProRAW shooting has some lag
  • Dynamic Island means fingerprints over selfie camera
  • No USB-C

Design refresh

  • 147.5 x 71.5 x 7.85mm, 206g
  • Four colours
  • Dynamic Island

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro design is familiar, but there are some key differences this year to set it apart from its predecessors. One of those differences is the front of the device.

In 2021, we saw the notch at the top of the display reduce slightly compared to how it had been since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017. For 2022/23 though, that notch is no more - at least not on the Pro models.

iPhone 14 Pro dynamic island close-up

In its place is a wide pill-shaped cutout housing the Face ID sensors and the front camera, which Apple calls Dynamic Island. It's clean, inoffensive and it's a great departure from the notch, offering something a little different. More than that though, it is functional.

The pill-shaped Dynamic Island is an adaptable section that pulls in information from an alert or open app, like Apple Music or Clock, showing small icons within the space. If you have launched two apps - the Dynamic Island splits - while pressing and holding on the Dynamic Island will expand it and offer more control. A further tap launches you into the full respective app occupying the space.

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For an app to appear in Dynamic Island, you simply open it as normal and swipe up from the bottom. The app then slides into Dynamic Island. It works with timely notifications too, such as AirPods connecting, a phone call, placing your iPhone on charge, or your phone being toggled onto silent mode, as well as a feature called Live Activities.

The Dynamic Island space adapts depending on what you are being alerted to, like forming into a square for Face ID or Apple Pay, and widening when you switch the silence toggle. There are some downfalls - not all apps are compatible, and the constant pressing does mean the selfie camera gets laced with fingerprints - but overall, we love it. With most devices trying to make this part of a phone smaller, or completely non-existent, Apple went the opposite way and made it useful.

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Elsewhere, the iPhone 14 Pro has the same flat edges we have seen since the design changed in the iPhone 12. It's a surgical-grade stainless steel frame compared to the standard iPhone 14's aluminium frame, and it is weighty, delivering a solid, premium feel. As previous years though, that glossy stainless steel edge loves a fingerprint so you'll find yourself wiping it on your top along with the selfie camera regularly.

The signature silence slider remains on the left edge, along with the volume controls, while the right edge has the power button. For those in the US, the SIM tray has been removed, with eSIM only. In its place is a frosted section on the edge, but elsewhere in the world, the SIM tray remains. At the bottom, speakers flank the Lightning charging port - yes that's right, still no USB-C - and there's also one positioned at the top of the display in the narrow bezel.

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The iPhone 14 Pro is IP68 water and dust resistant like its predecessor, though there are new colour options this time, including a Deep Purple, which is hands down our favourite. You still get the Gold, Silver and Space Black options too though if you're after something a little less out there but the purple is really striking. We loved the Space Black too though - which is our review model. It's got good depth and it's much nicer than the Space Grey of the iPhone 13 Pro.

On the rear, the iPhone 14 Pro continues with three lens camera setup with Lidar sensor in the top left corner, compared to the two lens setup on the standard model. As with the iPhone 13 Pro, the rear is one glass panel so the camera housing's edges seamlessly flow into the rest of the rear glass panel. There's also a glossy finish compared to the rest of the frosted rear, differentiating the camera housing again.

Always On Display

  • 6.1-inch display, 2556 x 1179 pixels, 460ppi
  • Always On Display, Dynamic Island
  • 2000nits peak brightness

Along with the design changes, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro has some great display changes too. The size remains the same as the iPhone 13 Pro so you're looking at a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with the iPhone 14 Pro. The resolution is 2556 x 1179 pixels, which results in a pixel density of 460ppi. It's lovely and sharp with plenty of detail - and something you'll probably want a screen protector for.

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You'll also find many of the same technologies, including True Tone, support for HDR and Apple's Haptic Touch. ProMotion is on board too, but improvements have been made here with an adaptable refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz compared to 10Hz and 120Hz as it was with the iPhone 13 Pro. This allows for the Always On Display, which is the other big story of this device along with the Dynamic Island we mentioned previously.

The Always On Display means information remains on the screen in a coloured dimmed format without you turning it on, such as the time, Activity Rings or next calendar appointments. The Always On Display reflects what Lock Screen you have chosen in iOS 16 - more on that further down - so you can customise what you want to see by adding widgets.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro initial review: All about the Dynamic Island photo 9

Now, for Android users, an Always-On Display isn't a big deal. It's something that's been on Android devices for years, and not just flagships, but mid-range and even budget handsets.

Apple has also offered the technology on its Apple Watch since the Series 5, but the iPhone 14 Pro - and iPhone 14 Pro Max - are the first phones from the company to see the technology so it's exciting for iPhone fans and it makes for a great change in use.

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It's also very well executed. For example, if you have your iPhone in Sleep Focus, the Always On Display turns off to preserve battery life, and the same happens if you are wearing an Apple Watch and you walk away from your device as it assumes the display doesn't need to be powered during these times.

Elsewhere on the display, the iPhone 14 Pro offers a 1600nits max brightness - which is 400nits higher than the iPhone 13 Pro. It also has a peak brightness of 2000nits though and this is apparent in use. It's exceptionally bright and colours are certainly vibrant and punchy, while blacks are super black, making for an excellent viewing experience overall.

Hardware and specs

  • A16 Bionic chip, 16-core Neural Engine
  • Satellite connectivity
  • 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
  • Up to 23-hour battery

Unlike the standard Apple iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, the iPhone 14 Pro sees a processor upgrade to the A16 Bionic chip. It's a 4nm chip with a 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, and a 5-core GPU. There's also a 16-core Neural Engine.

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Performance is great, with the iPhone 14 Pro handling tasks with ease, as you'd expect at this level. A stint on Call of Duty Mobile saw the iPhone 14 Pro respond quickly without getting hot anywhere in particular, as some handsets do. It also handled multiple tasks at once without a problem. Call quality is good too from our experience, and the only time we've experienced any lag is when shooting in ProRAW which is a slower experience.

The iPhone 14 Pro - and the iPhone 14 Pro Max - come with satellite connectivity too. That essentially means the iPhone 14 Pro will allow you to contact emergency services via text when you don't have phone signal. This is available in certain countries only for now though - and you get two years free.

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Storage options are the same as the iPhone 13 Pro for the iPhone 14 Pro - and iPhone 14 Pro Max - starting at 128GB, with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB options. As has been the case since the iPhone launched, there is no microSD support for storage expansion.

For those in the US, there's also no SIM tray either as we mentioned, with the iPhone moving to support eSIM only. That means you won't need a nano SIM any more - but if you're someone who travels regularly and wants to buy a local SIM at your destination, or if you move phones regularly, this could be a real pain. The iPhone 14 models in regions outside the US continue to offer a nano SIM tray so it's only a problem for those in the US, or those buying an iPhone in the US.

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The iPhone 14 Pro has also been treated to a battery upgrade too, promising up to 23 hours video playback compared to up to 22 hours from the iPhone 13 Pro. Battery performance is user dependant, but the iPhone 14 Pro performs well in our experience. The Always On Display surprisingly doesn't appear to affect battery performance too much and we got from 7AM to 11PM with 25 to 30 per cent to spare, which isn't bad.

That's with all notifications coming through, including emails, Slack, WhatsApp and multiple calls throughout the day. We were also using - and continue to use - the camera heavily and other elements of the device.

Upgraded cameras

  • Triple rear camera (48MP+12MP+12MP)
  • Photonic Engine
  • 12MP front camera (f/1.9, autofocus)

The iPhone Pro models have always been focused on the camera capabilities and the iPhone 14 Pro is no different. There's a triple rear camera on the back, comprised of a main camera, ultrawide camera and a telephoto camera.

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There have been some upgrades here though. The main camera has moved from a 12-megapixel sensor to a 48-megapixel sensor with an f/1.78 aperture. It's a Quad Pixel sensor that combines four pixels together, aiming to deliver better low light results from what is now a larger sensor. The ultra wide-angle camera has also been upgraded, offering 12-megapixels with f/2.2 aperture, while the telephoto is also 12-megapixels with an f/2.8 aperture.

Apple has also added something called Photonic Engine, which is promising to improve low light images. It's essentially the sort of AI we've seen from other manufacturers that generally boosts the quality of photos from all your cameras, even the front.

iPhone 14 Pro with camera app open

In terms of performance, the iPhone 14 Pro offers lovely crisp, clear results in good lighting conditions, as well as decent results in low light conditions. We didn't notice huge differences compared to the iPhone 13 Pro in good lighting, with the devices pretty much on par in our experience.

There were improvements in low light conditions compared to the iPhone 13 Pro though and not just in the end results, but in the taking of the photo itself. Night mode kicks in quicker on the iPhone 14 Pro so you don't have to stand still for as long.

The iPhone 14 Pro has 15x digital zoom and 3x optical zoom, and while the iPhone 14 Pro isn't as sharp as the Pixel 6 Pro - now upgraded to the Pixel 7 Pro - at the maximum 15x zoom, it still performs well. If you're all about the long zooms though, devices like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra - now upgraded to the Galaxy S23 Ultra - will perform better in this department.

Overall, the iPhone 14 Pro delivers a great camera experience and once again, it's a case of being able to point and shoot and get a decent result without having to fiddle with settings. You can opt to shoot at the full 48-megapixels in ProRAW mode, and the results are excellent, but you'll get great results shooting in the default mode too. ProRAW is also quite slow so be prepared for that if you want to shoot in that mode all the time.

In terms of features, the usual suspects are on board, along with a couple of new features including Action Mode and a Foreground Blur for Portrait mode. Action Mode on the iPhone 14 Pro offered a little more stabilisation when it came to videos we took when moving ourselves, but the iPhone 13 Pro's stabilistion without this mode wasn't bad before.

The front camera on the iPhone 14 Pro is a 12-megapixel sensor, but there's a wider aperture, which makes for better low light shots, and there's autofocus too now. In a nutshell, the iPhone 14 Pro takes great selfies, but like Action Mode for video, the difference isn't huge compared to the iPhone 13 Pro in our experience.

Familiar software

  • iOS 16

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro runs on iOS 16 - which offers a range of new features, including most notably the Lock Screen that we briefly mentioned above. It's this feature that takes advantage of the Always On Display the most and they work brilliantly together. The Dynamic Island feature is also a good example of hardware and software working well together and this is only likely to expand as the months go on.

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We have a separate feature on iOS 16 and all the changes it brings, as well as a dedicated feature about the Lock Screen, but there are changes to Messages, Mail and Photos too, all of which are handy.

Of course, iOS 16 isn't exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro. The software is available on the iPhone 8 and newer, but there are a couple of extra features you'll find on the iPhone 14 Pro, like the Dynamic Island, Always On Display and some camera features, like the ProRAW, that offer a different experience to other iPhone models. The iPhone 14 models also all offer Car Crash Detection - but we hope we never have to test that.

Verdict

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro is without a doubt the most exciting of the four new iPhone 14 models. It's got a fresh design, camera upgrades, processor upgrades and display improvements. Plus, Dynamic Island is cool in use and the Always On Display makes for a refreshing change in how you interact with the iPhone. The battery also performs well in our experience, which is refreshing considering the display enhancements.

Apple iPHone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Apple's iPhone 14 Pro gets everything right. From the luxurious and durable finish, to cameras and display, it was - up until the iPhone 15 Pro - Apple's best phone to date. 

There's of course the iPhone 14 Pro Max too - which is essentially the same as the iPhone 14 Pro but on a larger scale with a bigger battery - but so far we prefer the more compact size of the smaller iPhone 14 Pro, even if the extra screen space makes for a great viewing experience.

Overall, the design refresh and upgrades have set the iPhone 14 Pro up to be the best iPhone the company has made and the Pro is now unmistakably Pro. This is a fantastic device and hands down the iPhone 14 model to buy, as well as quite possibly the flagship smartphone of 2023.