Apple iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max were launched early this morning with two different configurations that have never been done before. In addition, the "face" of the two series of the iPhone 14 family is also different with one equipped with a notch and the other with a camera hole. What else has been exciting or disappointing this year? Here are 10 interesting and disappointing things about this year's iPhone 14 series.
1. Interesting – Dynamic Island iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max
For haters of the giant notch since the iPhone X, this issue was resolved this year with the use of Dynamic Island, which is a hole in the screen for the front camera and the Face ID facial scanning system. It is still quite large but provides a significant size reduction if a notch is retained. There are no features lost with the use of Dynamic Island instead Apple has an interesting feature to make users forget this camera hole exists.
Dynamic Island will grow and shrink when receiving text, email, AirDrop notifications, display charging level and more. It's dynamic makes users forget it exists just like the notch on previous models. For notch lovers, don't worry because the iPhone 14 and 14 Max still lag in maintaining it at this time. Just choose which design you feel is most compatible with your heart's desire.
2. Interesting – Apple's A16 Bionic is More Powerful
The A16 Bionic chip further improves the performance of the A15 Bionic launched last year which is still not able to overtake the majority of chips used in Android devices despite only being equipped with six cores. The 2+4 configuration is maintained with two high-performance cores with four more cores for tasks that do not require high processing power. The five-core GPU on the A16 Bionic once again promises an increase in graphics performance of up to 50% compared to last year's model.
4nm technology is used this year instead of 5nm which was used last year. This puts it on par with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 used in the latest Android flagship devices. This smaller manufacturing process also allows the device to reduce energy consumption by up to 20% which in turn extends battery life which is already legendary on the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
3. Disappointing – Apple A15 Bionic Chip On Regular iPhone 14
Another strategy is done this year because the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus only use the Apple A15 Bionic chip like the iPhone 13 series last year, only with a GPU that is 18% more powerful. So far users have had the option not to buy the Pro model but because the same flagship chip can be enjoyed on a more affordable model.
With this Apple is deliberately creating their "mid-range" device where last year's flagship chip is recycled on a non-Pro model. The good news here is that the A15 Bionic is still powerful enough compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. So device owners don't have to worry about it not having enough power to run heavy gaming applications in the near future.
4. Disappointing – iOS 16 Is Just Evolution Not Revolution
Like last year, Apple now focuses on a small evolution of the operating system instead of revolutionizing iOS 16. In terms of interface design, it still looks the same with a set of features that are still the same with some minor improvements that we will touch on below.
The most notable change of iOS 16 is that there is finally support for the Always on Display system on the lock screen when the device is not in use. Various important information can be placed on iOS 16's AOD system to allow it to be read without the user unlocking the device first. Although this feature has long been supported on Android, its implementation on iOS 16 looks more interesting and neat. Once again Apple uses the motto let it be slow as long as it is stable.
5. Interesting – New Cameras Finally Bigger Sensors
Alhamdulillah because finally Apple dares to use a larger sensor size on the iPhone. The 12MP sensor on the main camera has been used by them since the iPhone 6S launched in 2015. This year the main camera matched to the wide angle sensor is 48MP. With quad-binning technology, the photos taken will only be 12MP.
With a larger sensor, the pixel size is also larger to produce a brighter night mode, sharper normal images and more accurate color reproduction. Like AOD that has been used for a long time on Android, Apple has also finally given in and used a larger sensor on their main camera.
6. Interesting – Emergency SOS Feature Using Satellite
In horror and action movies, there must be a clichéd scene of a smartphone losing network in an emergency. Masked killers chase victims in the woods and they are killed because phone calls cannot be made. This fiction leads to anxiety in the real world if there is also an emergency when camping in the forest for example.
On all iPhone 14 models, the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature is introduced where users can send emergency short message messages using the satellite network when there is no cellular network or internet. Apple developed its own software to make it easier for users to find satellites that can be used to send emergency SMS for help.
The SMS sending feature is also simplified by simply answering common questions. For now this feature will only be free for two years to customers in the United States and Canada.
7. Disappointing – Charging Still Only 20W and Lightning
We are very disappointed with charging which is still at the old 20W notch on all four iPhone models this year. Same as last year which still uses Power Delivery 2.0 format only. Like Samsung, Apple is still reluctant to offer charging systems that are significantly faster than those used in mid-range devices from Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Redmi.
In addition, the wait for USB-C support is also still like waiting for the horned chip because the Lightning port is retained. The use of USB-C will probably only happen next year because the European Union has mandated its use on all electronic devices. This is also the iPhone 14's data transfer rate which is still USB 2.0 which is very slow.
8. Interesting – Detect Road Accidents
The fall detection feature on the Apple Watch has saved many lives since it was introduced on the Series 4 pad. Now the accident detection feature has been introduced on the iPhone 14 series. Data from the accelerometer, barometer and microphone are used to detect whether the user is involved in a vehicle accident.
When an accident is detected, a notification will be given and the user must respond within 10 seconds. In case of failure, notification to family members in the emergency list will be given complete with GPS location and a call to the emergency assistance team will also be made.
9. Interesting – Auto-Focus Selfie Camera
The auto focus selfie camera feature has finally arrived on the iPhone 14. With this feature better and faster focused images are finally possible. This update to the 12MP sensor with autofocus comes just in time as more and more users are recording for TikTok, YouTube and Instagram using the front camera.
A good front camera will produce good content without the issue of images looking less sharp and not well focused. The auto-focus feature on the selfie camera isn't new as it already exists on Android devices like the HTC 10 but its introduction on the iPhone 14 may force Android device manufacturers to offer it as a standard feature to stay competitive.
10. Disappointing – Prices Are Getting More Expensive
iPhone since time immemorial has been sold at a more premium price than other flagship Android smartphones. But this year with the value of the Ringgit plummeting coupled with the cost of manufacturers rising due to world conflicts, the selling price of all iPhone 14 models has risen sharply.
The iPhone 14 is sold at a price starting at RM4199 for 128GB compared to the iPhone 13 which is sold at a price of RM3899 for the same storage size. An increase of RM300 is not in the current economy. The price of the iPhone 14 Pro Max reaches RM8299 for the 1TB model compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max 1TB model which is sold at a price of RM7599.
So does this list of 10 things get you excited to buy the iPhone 14 series? If so, what features are most interesting to you and what might we have overlooked. Please leave a comment below this article to share your thoughts.