Skilled’s Score
Professionals
- Dynamic Island is a game-changer
- At all times-on show
- Lengthy battery life
- Business-leading efficiency
Cons
- Costly, particularly within the UK
- Now not the most effective iPhone for battery life
- Hefty
Our Verdict
The iPhone 14 Professional Max is undoubtedly the most effective showcase of Apple’s know-how with options like Dynamic Island and Apple’s tackle always-on show tech, but it surely’s additionally costly (particularly within the UK) and now has big-screen competitors from the cheaper iPhone 14 Plus.
Although the iPhone 14 Professional Max won’t look that totally different to its predecessor, there’s loads to get enthusiastic about this yr. With headline options together with an upgraded 48Mp rear digital camera, an always-on show, Apple’s top-end A16 Bionic or the genius Dynamic Island that turns an annoyance into part of the iOS expertise, it’s a really tempting improve on paper.
Nevertheless, with competitors within the type of the big-screen iPhone 14 Plus, and a £150 improve within the UK, is it nonetheless the iPhone to go for? Effectively…
Design & construct
- Similar design as its predecessor
- Premium supplies add heft
- No SIM tray within the US
The iPhone 14 Professional Max has what some may describe as an iterative design, and by that I imply virtually nothing has modified in comparison with the iPhone 13 Professional Max. That’ll both be nice information for those who’re like me and love the iPhone’s angular edges and barely industrial design, or horrible information for those who assume it’s massive, cumbersome and unwieldy.
To be truthful, at 160.7 x 77.6 x 7.9mm and 240g, it’s definitely not the simplest iPhone to make use of one-handed, and I’ve obtained pretty massive arms. It’s not a lot of an enormous deal after I’m utilizing it at dwelling to scroll by TikTok mindlessly, but it surely does have a noticeable presence in my pocket as soon as I enterprise out and about.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
The telephone has a stainless-steel body and a glass rear, providing an improve in supplies in comparison with the aluminium-framed iPhone 14, nevertheless, it does add weight in consequence. The polished look of the chrome steel band does add to the premium appear and feel, but it surely’s definitely a fingerprint magnet in comparison with its aluminium counterpart.
Whereas that has historically been one thing you’ve needed to put up with if you need the big-screen expertise, the addition of the 6.7in, 203g iPhone 14 Plus means you’ll be able to go for a extra light-weight big-screen iPhone for those who’re not too fussed in regards to the Professional options on provide.
The digital camera bump on the rear is barely bigger this yr – although for good purpose, which I’ll come to a bit later – which may make the iPhone wobble if put down on a flat floor, although that’s negated with a case that, let’s be trustworthy, we’ll all be utilizing with such a high-end smartphone.
In the case of color choices, you’ve obtained the pretty commonplace House Black, Silver and Gold alongside a brand new Deep Purple end, providing a shocking shade of purple that replaces the sunshine blue variant from final yr’s Professional assortment. The white variant I used to be supplied for evaluation seems to be good, however the purple end is the one to go for for my part.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Elsewhere, all the things is the place you’d count on, with quantity rockers and a silent mode change on the left, a Lightning port on the underside (presumably for the final time earlier than USB-C turns into commonplace) and an influence button on the proper, although you may discover the shortage of a SIM card tray for those who’re within the US. That’s as a result of Apple has gone all-in on eSIM assist within the US, negating the necessity for a bodily SIM card.
The excellent news for these hesitant to maneuver to an eSIM setup is that it’s US-exclusive and you may freely change your SIM at a second’s discover in all different areas worldwide.
Show & audio
- Dynamic Island is a game-changer
- At all times-on show is a welcome addition
- Spectacular audio expertise
The iPhone 14 Professional Max sports activities the identical 6.7in Tremendous Retina XDR display as its predecessor, full with assist for Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR content material and a stunningly detailed visible expertise. It’s the big-screen iPhone (although there’s additionally the non-Professional iPhone 14 Plus to contemplate) and its massive dimensions are properly suited to watching TikToks and Netflix motion pictures.
Essentially the most instantly apparent change in comparison with its predecessor is the redesigned notch, which is now dubbed ‘Dynamic Island’ by Apple. Unique to the Professional fashions, the oblong-shaped cutout truly provides to the iOS expertise slightly than detracts from it as with most competing cut-out cameras.
It does that by dynamically altering form relying on what you’re doing, seemingly increasing and shrinking at will. It’ll broaden and show a Face ID icon when scanning your face, it’ll show a lock image when your iPhone is locked and show your AirPods battery life once you first join.
It’s used for far more than displaying icons although; apps like Music can use Dynamic Island to show now-playing data, and with a faucet, you’ll be able to achieve entry to shortcuts to manage music.
It’s not unique to Apple apps both, with third-party apps in a position to make use of the tech. That features Dwell Actions which look to interchange the barrage of notifications you get from apps like Simply Eat and Uber Eats when ordering meals with a easy widget that lives within the cutout – although, sadly, most at the moment don’t use it.
The show can now additionally dynamically shift between as little as 1Hz and 120Hz, permitting you to benefit from the buttery-smooth refresh charge when gaming and scrolling whereas saving battery life in areas with little movement, just like the Lock and Dwelling screens.
It additionally permits Apple to supply an always-on show expertise for the primary time, and in true Apple trend, outdoes many of the Android competitors that has had the tech for years.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Not like Android smartphones that show a black display with primary time and notification data, Apple provides you the whole lock display expertise full along with your widgets, notifications and even your wallpaper. It seems to be extra like a dimmed lock display than an always-on show, and whereas it took a little bit of getting used to, it’s probably the greatest options of the brand new iPhone – particularly in terms of maintaining monitor of incoming messages when taking part in the PS5!
Additionally count on probably the greatest audio experiences on a smartphone, with Apple’s stereo speaker setup providing stunning depth when listening to music and a large soundscape when watching YouTube movies or TV exhibits on Netflix. It’s higher with linked earbuds (Apple hopes you’ll go for the brand new AirPods Professional) however you’ll just do nice with out them more often than not.
Specs & efficiency
- A16 Bionic comfortably outperforms the competitors
- Satellite tv for pc Connectivity for emergency companies
- Automotive Crash detection
As you may count on from Apple’s top-end smartphone, the iPhone 14 Professional Max is a top-end performer that, with Apple’s new A16 Bionic at its coronary heart, can battle off the Android competitors with nary a fear – when it comes to uncooked CPU efficiency, anyway.
It’s a 4nm chipset, down from the 5nm of the A15 Bionic, with a 20% increase to energy effectivity and a extra modest 10% enchancment in efficiency. Although Apple doesn’t formally be aware the accompanying RAM, Geekbench 5 reveals that it homes 6GB. It won’t sound like a lot in comparison with some Android rivals, however merely put, the iPhone doesn’t want as a lot RAM to maintain efficiency up.
It’s the primary time that Apple has saved its newest processor unique to the iPhone 14 Professional vary, with the usual fashions getting the A15 Bionic from final yr’s Professional fashions for a extra unexceptional pace bump. It’s a simple transfer for Apple to tempt individuals to pay extra for the Professional fashions, however as seen in our benchmark assessments, it’s not that a lot sooner than final yr’s chipset.
For reference, I examined the iPhone Professional Max with 1TB of storage but it surely’s additionally obtainable in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB for those who don’t want as a lot.
If these numbers don’t imply a lot then let me guarantee you: the iPhone 14 Professional Max is about as quick and responsive as they arrive. There was by no means as a lot as a touch of stutter or lag, with spectacular efficiency even in graphically demanding titles like Genshin’s Influence, pictures and movies are captured immediately and it may possibly even deal with video enhancing – so long as you’re completely happy to edit on a smartphone-size show, that’s.
Count on equally as quick efficiency in terms of connectivity, with 5G assist alongside Wi-Fi 6 with 3×3 MIMO assist, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC and Apple’s U1 Extremely-wideband chip that will help you find AirTags and different Apple merchandise.
Different notable options embrace satellite tv for pc connectivity for emergencies, permitting you to straight connect with satellites out of your iPhone in areas with out mobile protection. Utilizing a built-in system on the iPhone, you’ll reply questions on your emergency that are then relayed to emergency responders together with data like your location and present battery life.
Additionally new is Automotive Crash Detection, which because the identify suggests, makes use of quite a lot of built-in sensors in your iPhone to detect once you may’ve been in a crash. If it detects massive adjustments in gravity or exceptionally loud noises, it’ll mechanically name emergency companies for you.
It’s one other useful ‘peace of thoughts’ characteristic that I hope I’ll by no means want to check out, but it surely’s price noting that there are studies that it’s being by accident activated on rides at theme parks. Thorpe Park’s Stealth could be scary, however I don’t assume I’ll want an ambulance.
Cameras & pictures
- 48Mp rear digital camera is the star of the present
- All-round enhancements to low-light pictures
- Improved Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR video capabilities
All the things I stated in regards to the cameras and photographic capabilities of the iPhone 14 Professional additionally applies to the iPhone 14 Professional Max, as the 2 share the identical upgraded digital camera system.
The star of the present is undoubtedly the principle rear 48Mp snapper, boasting a powerful aperture of f/1.8 and OIS. It makes use of pixel binning tech to crunch pictures right down to a extra manageable dimension – across the identical decision as a regular 12Mp sensor – whereas utilizing that additional element to generate extra element and light-weight. It’s a trick used on high-megapixel cameras on the Android aspect for years, but it surely’s new right here.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
It supplies a noticeable increase in high quality in comparison with the already-capable iPhone 13 Professional Max, with nice color accuracy, spectacular element and balanced dynamic vary.
It additionally excels at low-light pictures with a 64% bigger sensor and a pair of.44-micron pixels, in a position to subtly seize particulars in low-light situations slightly than merely artificially brightening the scene like most Android rivals. It’s more true to life, and you may modify the quantity of sunshine earlier than the snap is taken to additional customise the look.
Although nonetheless the identical megapixel rely at 12Mp, the 120-degree ultrawide lens has additionally had a lift in low-light pictures, making use of a bigger sensor and improved f/2.2 aperture. Contemplating low gentle was a weak spot for the 13 Professional Max’s ultrawide lens, it’s nice to see, although don’t count on fairly the identical high quality as the principle lens.
The 12Mp 3x telephoto lens nonetheless won’t be capable to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely’s 10x optical zoom however the tight angle supplied is right for portrait pictures, and like the opposite cameras, there’s a slight increase to low-light pictures for extra dramatic and moody portrait pictures.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
The primary spotlight of the 12Mp front-facing TrueDepth digital camera needs to be the addition of autofocus, offering higher selfies no matter whether or not you’re capturing in Portrait mode or not, and it’s a specific boon in group pictures the place a number of faces should be in focus. Apple’s clearly assured of its capabilities, additionally permitting you to shoot in Apple’s ProRAW format for pro-level post-processing.
Video efficiency has additionally been improved, although don’t count on to see 8K video right here simply but. As a substitute, the iPhone 14 Professional Max can report at 4K@60fps in Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR, up from the 30fps of its predecessor. There’s additionally a brand new Motion Mode that additional helps stabilise video footage, and as ever, you’ve obtained Apple’s Cinema Mode that allows you to shift focus in movies for a extra Hollywood-esque capturing expertise.
Battery life & charging
- Now not the most effective iPhone for battery life
- Nonetheless a cushty all-day machine
- Unofficial charging at as much as 29W
One of many largest attracts for the top-end iPhone 14 Professional Max has historically been battery life, with Apple’s Professional mannequin often providing the most effective battery lifetime of any iPhone, however that’s not the case this yr.
That plaudit now goes to the iPhone 14 Plus, which even Apple admits will last more than the iPhone 14 Professional Max in all cases besides video playback the place Apple’s dynamic show tech permits the Professional mannequin to drop right down to a decrease refresh charge. As famous by my colleague Henry in his evaluation, the iPhone 14 Plus “lasts for completely ages”.
That’s to not say that the iPhone 14 Professional Max includes a sub-par battery – it alleviated the battery nervousness I had when testing the common iPhone 14 Professional, comfortably in a position to deal with my above-average-use of texting, calling, gaming and streaming TikTok with out a top-up – however if you need the very longest battery life potential, that’s the iPhone 14 Professional Max isn’t the one to go for.
Although Apple formally claims that the iPhone 14 Professional Max fees at 20W, impartial studies recommend that the iPhone 14 Professional Max can deal with 29W charging. Both manner, you don’t get a 20W brick within the field, so for those who’ve obtained a spare 30W charger laying round, you might make the most of barely boosted cost instances.
Utilizing a 35W charger I needed to hand, the iPhone 14 Professional Max obtained 22% cost in quarter-hour, 52% in half an hour and a full cost in round 90 minutes. It’s definitely not quick charging by Android requirements, however I’ll take something that’ll make the iPhone charging expertise sooner.
As ever, you’ve additionally obtained the choice of seven.5W Qi wi-fi charging and 15W wi-fi charging by Apple’s MagSafe system.
Software program & updates
- iOS 16 supplies a elegant expertise
- Works properly as half of a bigger Apple ecosystem
- Years of software program updates
The iPhone 14 Professional Max comes operating iOS 16 – however the identical could be stated of the iPhone 8. Software program assist and longevity are key elements in Apple’s reputation, with the corporate persevering with to replace older fashions of iPhones for years, getting the most recent options and enhancements. Although the Android competitors is beginning to enhance with multi-year OS upgrades, it nonetheless doesn’t come near what Apple provides.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
iOS 16 itself introduces a bunch of recent options together with the flexibility to customize your lock display for the primary time – a handy characteristic contemplating the always-on show tech of the brand new Professional fashions – alongside the flexibility to edit and unsend messages, reduce out topics from pictures with a single faucet and extra.
It’s the end result of lots of small options that make iOS what it’s, whether or not it’s small advantages like having the ability to reply to texts on a linked iPad or Mac, or the very fact you’ll be able to copy hyperlinks and codes from one machine and paste on one other instantly.
It’s higher as half of a bigger ecosystem of Apple merchandise, after all, however Apple’s software program expertise actually is top-tier whether or not you’ve obtained one machine or many.
Value & availability
The iPhone 14 Professional Max could be very a lot a top-end smartphone with a price ticket of $1,099/£1,199 with 128GB of storage.
That’s a specific hit to the UK market, which has seen a rise of £150 in comparison with its predecessor. It’s debatable that the 48Mp snapper, Dynamic Island, always-on show and different enhancements assist offset the elevated worth, but it surely’s price noting that there hasn’t been a rise within the US.
That makes the already costly iPhone even tougher to justify for UK consumers.
In case you are tempted to select up the iPhone 14 Professional Max, it’s obtainable from Apple worldwide alongside native retailers like Greatest Purchase within the US and Amazon within the UK. Check out the most effective smartphones to see how the top-end iPhone compares to the Android competitors.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Verdict
The iPhone 14 Professional Max is a showcase of Apple’s newest and biggest tech, providing a premium visible expertise with its 6.7in Tremendous Retina XDR show, Dynamic Island tech and improved ProMotion tech that permits for an always-on show expertise on the iPhone for the primary time, together with an enhanced 48Mp rear snapper and options like Automotive Crash Detection.
The large display is completely suited to scrolling by TikTok, watching TV sequence on Netflix, and taking part in video games on Apple Arcade, and with the A16 Bionic, there’s not even a touch of stutter or lag. Merely put, it’s the most effective of the most effective.
Nevertheless, it’s not a clear-cut choice this yr; in addition to a worth hike for UK shoppers, the iPhone 14 Professional Max is now not the one big-screen iPhone. You now have a selection between it and the iPhone 14 Plus, which is each cheaper and provides higher battery life, although with out the Professional options.
Should you’re not too fussed in regards to the newest tech, the iPhone 14 Plus could possibly be a less expensive big-screen possibility that fits your wants.
Specs
- 160.7 x 77.6 x 7.9mm
- 240g
- 6.7in Tremendous Retina XDR show
- At all times-on show
- IP68 mud and water resistance
- A16 Bionic
- Primary 48Mp digital camera, f/1.78, sensor-shift OIS
- 120-degree 12Mp ultrawide, f/2.2
- 12Mp 2x telephoto, f/2.8
- 4K@60fps with Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR assist
- 12Mp f/1.9 front-facing digital camera with autofocus
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Wi-Fi 6 with 2xMIMO
- NFC
- Satellite tv for pc connectivity
- Automotive Crash detection