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iPhone 14 Pro And The Changing Smartphone Landscape

The iPhone 14 Pro, powered by the A16 Bionic chip, showcases the title of the fastest smartphone chip ever. It brings forth an innovative pro camera system, featuring a groundbreaking 48MP Main camera equipped with a quad-pixel sensor and the Photonic Engine. This enhancement significantly elevates the quality of low-light photos. Notably, this device proves its vitality in various aspects of life, whether it's for daily tasks, creative endeavors, or even emergencies. It offers features like Emergency SOS via satellite and Crash Detection.

Upon closer inspection, the iPhone 14 Pro represents a smooth experience. Its expertly crafted contemporary style perfectly balances modernism, and its easy-to-use software makes navigation a snap. In addition, the camera outperforms its predecessor, producing stunning pictures. Therefore, let's get into the details to determine whether the iPhone 14 Pro is a worthwhile investment for those considering entry into the Apple ecosystem or an upgrade from an existing iPhone. If you're seeking a more budget-friendly option, you might want to explore our review of the iPhone 14.

Superior Display Technology With Elegant Design

The iPhone 14 Pro presents a stunning design, featuring surgical-grade stainless steel and textured matte glass in four exquisite colors; Space Black, Silver, Gold and Deep Purple. It's available in 6.1-inch size and introduces a new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion. For the first time on an iPhone, it incorporates the Always-On display, thanks to a fresh 1Hz refresh rate and energy-efficient technologies. This enhances the Lock Screen's utility by providing quick access to time, widgets, and Live Activities. The advanced display matches the peak HDR brightness of the Pro Display XDR and boasts the highest outdoor peak brightness among smartphones, reaching up to 2000 nits – twice as bright as the iPhone 13 Pro.

However, the back glass is now removable to facilitate repairs, although the cost remains substantial. To enhance screen durability, Apple employs its Ceramic Shield technology. With a weight of 7.3 ounces, the phone feels noticeably heavier despite its compact size. Similar to the iPhone 13 Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro's large camera bump prevents it from lying flat on a table or counter, causing a slight wobble when trying to use it in such a situation. Consider using one of the recommended iPhone 14 Pro cases to reduce this issue.

The iPhone 14 Pro provides reassurance with its IP68 water-resistance certification, ensuring it remains unharmed in the face of accidental encounters with water. The volume controls and power button retain their familiar positions on the side. For those purchasing an iPhone 14 in the United States, it's worth noting that there's no physical SIM tray, as this marks the first iPhone exclusively using an eSIM.

In Pakistan, the iPhone 14 Pro includes a traditional physical SIM tray, as the country is not fully equipped for the newer eSIM technology. The eSIM is a more modern approach to SIM cards, eliminating the need for a physical card. However, its usage is still in the early phases of acceptance, and not all mobile carriers in the region are currently equipped to support it.

Fueling A16 Bionic in iPhone 14 Pro

The A16 Bionic chip, featured in the iPhone 14 Pro, represents a significant advancement in smartphone technology. It unlocks unique experiences like the Dynamic Island, sustains extended battery life, and enhances computational photography capabilities. With a combination of two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, the new 6-core CPU outpaces the competition by up to 40%, effortlessly managing demanding tasks. The A16 Bionic chip incorporates an accelerated 5-core GPU with 50% more memory bandwidth, ideal for graphics-intensive applications and games. Additionally, it houses a new 16-core Neural Engine capable of handling nearly 17 trillion operations per second. This chip utilizes Apple's fusion architecture to effortlessly blend performance and energy efficiency, delivering superior performance with a fraction of the power compared to rivals.

Integral to the advanced camera system, the A16 Bionic chip empowers remarkable computational photography features. The CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and image signal processor collaborate seamlessly to support the new camera hardware, executing up to 4 trillion operations for each photo.

Sensational Screen Experience

The 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, with its impressive 2556 x 1179 resolution and 460 ppi pixel density, offers some remarkable features. Significantly, its brightness reaches 1600 nits in regular conditions but can soar to 2,000 nits when exposed to sunlight, delivering a noticeable enhancement in readability under such conditions.

The standout feature is the always-on display. In contrast to Android phones, which have featured always-on screens for a while, Apple's version is essentially a dimmed rendition of the lock screen, presented in full color and featuring dynamic widgets and notification alerts. It mirrors the functionality of the Apple Watch's always-on screen but on your phone. This implementation surpasses what we've seen on other phones, with the time, date, and notifications displayed in a clear and aesthetically pleasing manner.

The music and audio controls remain visible on the always-on screen, requiring just a quick tap to activate, making the lock screen experience more responsive. The always-on display is both visually appealing and highly practical, setting a new standard in design.

Additionally, the iPhone 14 Pro reintroduces Apple's 120Hz ProMotion feature, a compelling reason to opt for the Pro model over the standard iPhone 14. This higher refresh rate results in smoother scrolling, less jarring animations, and reduced eye strain. While it quickly becomes seamless, its absence is certainly noticeable. When watching videos on the iPhone 14 Pro, the screen truly comes to life, offering vibrant colors, deep blacks, and impeccable contrast. The stereo speakers also shine, delivering exceptional clarity, power, and an immersive audio experience.

A New User Experience

The Dynamic Island feature introduces a more interactive experience on the iPhone. It blurs the line between hardware and software by adjusting in real time to display important alerts, notifications, and activities. For example, when you receive a phone call, the Dynamic Island will expand to show the caller information and answer and decline buttons. When you start playing a song, the Dynamic Island will shrink to show the album artwork and playback controls.

This innovation also involves a redesign of the TrueDepth camera, which now occupies less screen space, ensuring that it doesn't obstruct the content. The Dynamic Island remains active without interfering with the on-screen content, making it easier for users to access controls with a simple tap-and-hold. This is particularly useful for maintaining visibility and interaction with ongoing background activities such as Maps, Music, or timers. Moreover, third-party apps in iOS 16 that offer information like sports scores and ride-sharing with Live Activities can also make use of the Dynamic Island to enhance the user experience.

Innovations In Pro Camera Technology

The Pro model introduces an innovative 48 MP Main camera with a quad-pixel sensor that adjusts to the specific photo being taken. It also incorporates second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization. In everyday photography, this quad-pixel sensor cleverly combines four pixels into a single larger quad pixel, measuring 2.44 µm. This not only enhances low-light photography but also maintains a manageable photo size at 12MP.

When it comes to the app and the photographic experience, the iPhone 14 Pro offers 2x or 3x optical zoom shots and a 0.5x wide-angle option. For video, it supports recording at up to 4K resolution with 60 frames per second (fps). It's a versatile and satisfying experience, although some users may desire a more extensive optical zoom, the 3x setting still gets you fairly close.

The face recognition is nearly instant when using the rear camera, and the app swiftly recognizes and accurately isolates text for copying and pasting into other apps or messages. Siri Knowledge excels at recognizing plants and animals. Additionally, still photos can be captured in Apple's ProRaw mode, offering more editing potential for those skilled in optimizing this format. However, it's important to note that ProRaw photos consume a significant amount of storage, with individual images taking up approximately 60 MB or more.

The quad-pixel sensor also brings advantages to professional workflows, prioritizing detail in ProRAW. With a newly designed machine learning model tailored for the quad-pixel sensor, the iPhone can now capture ProRAW images at 48 MP, delivering an incomparable level of detail and enabling fresh creative possibilities for professional users.

Impeccable Performance

When we examine the performance improvements in Geekbench, it's evident that Apple has a substantial lead over Samsung and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. In practical use, the iPhone 14 Pro is a power user's delight, offering ample power for a wide range of tasks. It excels in gaming, maintaining consistently smooth frame rates across various tested games. The A16 Bionic chip also shines in on-the-fly video editing, handling tasks like editing 4K ProRes footage with ease. You can apply effects and edits with minimal disruption.

One area where the iPhone 14 Pro falls short is storage capacity. The default option is 128GB, with options extending to 256GB, 512GB, and even 1TB at an additional cost. Given the increasing demand for storage on modern smartphones, especially with the high-resolution 48MP photos and 4K videos, the base 128GB storage might seem somewhat limiting. Many users seem to be opting for extra storage, suggesting that Apple could be more generous in this aspect in the future.

Efficient Charging And Battery Specifications

The iPhone 14 Pro features a battery with a capacity of 3200mAh, which is slightly larger than the battery in its predecessor, the iPhone 13 Pro. This increased capacity, coupled with the enhanced power efficiency of the new A16 Bionic chip, contributes to a modest improvement in battery life.

Regarding charging capabilities, the iPhone 14 Pro is equipped with 20W fast charging, enabling the phone to go from 0 to 50% battery capacity in approximately 30 minutes. Additionally, it supports MagSafe wireless charging, allowing for convenient wireless charging at speeds of up to 15W.

An exciting addition to the iPhone 14 Pro is the introduction of Adaptive Charging. This feature is designed to extend the lifespan of the battery by adapting to your daily charging patterns. For example, if you typically charge your phone overnight, Adaptive Charging will adjust the charging speed during the night to prevent the battery from overheating and degrading prematurely.

In short, the iPhone 14 Pro offers a commendable battery life and supports efficient fast charging. The innovative Adaptive Charging feature is a valuable addition, ensuring that your battery stays healthier over the long term.

Cellular Capabilities

The eSIM offers a convenient way for users to connect or swiftly switch their current plans digitally. It provides a secure substitute for the physical SIM card and permits the use of multiple cellular plans on a single device. The eSIM feature on the iPhone 14 Pro is currently only available in the United States. However, Apple has announced that eSIM support will be expanded to more countries in the future.

The Bottom Line

The iPhone 14 Pro stands out in the crowd, due to its exceptional cameras, stunning display, and efficient performance. It outpaces the competition with its speed, delivering a smoother experience, and its camera capabilities outshine the rest. This latest offering from Apple, the iPhone 14 Pro, undeniably surpasses its predecessors, firmly establishing itself as the best smartphone the company has ever introduced. With these remarkable qualities, it effortlessly earns our highest recommendation.

Pricing And Availability

The iPhone 14 Pro has not made its way to Pakistan as of now, and pricing details remain undisclosed. However, considering past iPhone launches, it's likely that the iPhone 14 Pro will come with a premium price tag in Pakistan. The iPhone 14 Pro made its worldwide release on September 16, 2022.

There are a few other ways to purchase an iPhone 14 Pro in Pakistan:

Through an authorized Apple reseller: There are a number of authorized Apple resellers in Pakistan that sell iPhones. You can find a list of authorized Apple resellers on the Apple website.

Through a private seller: You can also purchase an iPhone 14 Pro from a private seller. This is often the cheapest way to buy an iPhone, but it is important to be careful when buying from a private seller, as there is a risk of buying a counterfeit iPhone.