7 Months in With the iPhone 14 Pro: The Good, Bad and Great

Spring has sprung. Baseball is in full swing, Tax Day is behind us and we’re past the halfway point until Apple typically announces new iPhone models. Last September, we got the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. Apple’s top-of-the-line jewels introduced the much-hyped Dynamic Island, updated cameras, A16 Bionic processor and a new deep purple color. 

The regular iPhone 14 and 14 Plus also launched alongside the new Pro models, with the Plus taking up the slot formerly occupied by the iPhone 13 Mini. For the sake of this check-in, I’m focusing solely on the Pro models, since Apple drew a strong line in the iPhone 14 series between Pro and non-Pro models for the first time in years. The regular models are essentially the iPhone 13 with some modest hardware improvements.

Apple’s new iPhones launched seven months ago, but a lot has changed since then. Most of the major iOS 16 features that were teased in September have finally launched, such as Apple Pay Later, Live Activities and Emergency SOS via Satellite. Google and Samsung also launched their Phone 14 Pro rivals, the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra. And the regular iPhone 14 and 14 Plus got a new yellow paint job.

Watch this: 7 Months Later and the iPhone 14 Pro Still Makes Me Happy

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iOS 16 on the iPhone 14 Pro

Overall, I’m as happy with the iPhone 14 Pro as Tim Cook is seeing someone with a Macintosh SE at the new Apple Store in Mumbai. Apple’s iOS 16 software is the biggest thing that’s changed on the iPhone 14 Pro since it launched in September. At its heart, iOS 16 is what defines the iPhone 14 series. Yes, iOS 16 is available on older phones, but it shines on the iPhone 14 Pro because of the seamless way features work together, like the always-on screen, lock screen and Dynamic Island.

In December, Apple added the ability to turn off the always on display’s wallpaper and have the screen turn black, which has been transformative. I always found the Dynamic Island to be useful, but the relatively new Live Activities support makes it more intuitive and helpful. Live Activities is a slick widget that shows an app’s ongoing activity (like the score of a basketball game or the status of your Uber ride) on the lock screen, always-on display and Dynamic Island.

Overall, the Dynamic Island is like having a shortcut at the top of your screen no matter what you’re doing on your iPhone. Glancing at my Uber ride status from my lock screen or in the Dynamic Island just makes sense.

I want more from the Dynamic Island, especially if there were features that people could customize for their own iPhone. In 2016, Apple rolled out the iMessage app store for stickers and games with iOS 10. I don’t think we need a Dynamic Island app store, but something that can make it feel even more personal like the ability to pin an Memoji sticker as a Dynamic Island icon. But for the Dynamic Island to really take off, both Pro and non-Pro models in the next iPhone generation need it. That would incentive more apps to take advantage of it, as well as more features to be developed. And fortunately, iPhone 15 rumors indicate that all models will get the Dynamic Island.

But the iPhone 14 Pro and iOS 16 haven’t been without their bugs. And I’m not talking about Car Crash Detection being triggered on roller coaster rides or by skiers, though that did happen. And I should be clear that Car Crash Detection, even as Apple fine tunes the bugs, is actually one of the most significant additions. I’m glad Apple included the tool on all iPhone 14 models because it has already helped save people’s lives.

In my seven months, there were times the 14 Pro froze for a second or two. No matter how I tapped the screen, it was unresponsive. Looking at discussion forums on Apple’s website, I’m not alone. Usually a restart got everything back in order. And I should point out that the issue wasn’t frequent and seems to have resolved itself — maybe this was through an iOS update.

I also suffered the Weather app bug where the app would only show the city name and the forecast would remain blank. As a loyal Dark Sky user for years who was forced to give the app up in January, this bugged me. Has it been fixed since? Seems so.

The iPhone 14 Pro cameras

Beyond iOS 16, the iPhone 14 Pro is also where Apple flexes its camera prowess. On the whole, photos are quite good and at times excellent. I do find that the 14 Pro pushes shadows and highlights far, which gives some photos a flat look. Contrast isn’t a bad thing, Apple. I often find myself editing photos after I take them, but maybe I need to adopt a Photographic Style in the Camera app. Below are several photos that I took with the iPhone 14 Pro.

Video has always been an area where the iPhone is a step ahead of the competition in terms of image quality. But with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, it seems Samsung has finally caught up. But out of all the phones I have access to as a reviewer, the iPhone 14 Pro remains my go-to machine for making media.

Something I hope to see on the next iPhone are improvements to the Camera app. It’s getting full of tools and features, some of which require you to know where to swipe in order to find. Others are buried in the menu maze known as the Settings app. 

The iPhone 14 Pro battery and final thoughts

As I highlighted in my three-month check-in, the iPhone 14 Pro’s battery life is good, but it’s definitely a step down from the iPhone 13 Pro. And the same applies to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which has been my go-to. The larger 14 Pro Max battery gets through a day on a single charge even with heavy use. My screen time averages around seven-and-a-half hours, which is good.

At the end of the day, the iPhone 14 Pro is Apple’s best. And if you’re considering getting one, now is still a good time to buy, but know that the rumored iPhone 15 series will likely come out in September.