iPhone 14: Everything we know about iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max – including ‘always on’ display, ‘Dynamic Island’, A16 Bionic chip, and new colour options

Apple has officially announced the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max – here’s everything we know about the iconic brand’s latest smartphones.

The iPhone 14, which features battery life and camera upgrades over its predecessor, is said to be Apple’s “most advanced” smartphone yet.

There are four new iPhones to choose from: iPhone 14 and iPhone Plus, as well as iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Its four new models are between 6.1 and 6.7 inches in length, meaning they have larger screens than the iPhone 13, while lasting all day on a single charge.

Apple has launched the new iPhone 14, which is available in a range of new colours.

However, one expert noted that Apple had reserved the “biggest leaps” – such as a more powerful processor – for the Pro, its more expensive handset.

The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus feature an upgraded 12MP camera, while the Pro and Pro Max have a 48MP camera.

All are equipped with a larger light sensor which can produce low-light photographs twice the previous generation’s quality.

“Low-light photography has always been a challenge given the sensor size in mobile phones,” Ru Bhikha, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com, told the PA news agency.

“So any sort of improvements there, given the amount of pictures we take on a daily basis, will definitely be seen as a worthy upgrade compared to the iPhone 13.”

However, while the standard iPhone 14 uses its predecessor’s A15 bionic chip, the Pro will be equipped with the faster A16 chip.

“Apple has stuck to its guns and reserved its biggest leaps in innovation for its most premium handsets, despite the economic challenges facing many consumers,” Mr Bikha noted.

Similarly, the Pro versions boast an “Always-On Display”, meaning users can see basic notifications while the screen is locked.

Unveiling the feature at a virtual event, Apple executive Greg Joswiack said: “It’s easy to see the time and other core information without raising your iPhone or tapping the display.

“This keeps the central information available for the moments where all you need is just a glance… this is the most advanced display we’ve ever shipped.”

Mr Joswiack added that it was made possible by the Pro’s “incredibly power-efficient” display, which operates with a refresh rate as low as 1Hz.

Apple has ditched the iPhone mini seen in previous generations – the “cheapest and most pocket-friendly phone from the main series”, Mr Bikha said.

The virtual event also saw the unveiling of the Apple Watch Ultra, which the company’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams labelled “the most rugged and capable Apple Watch yet”.

It is aimed at those taking part in extreme sports – such as deep-sea diving – and is fortified by titanium casing and a sapphire crystal display protector.

The iPhone 14 will be available for £849 on September 16, while the Plus will appear on shelves for £949 on October 7.

The Pro and Pro Max retail for £1,099 and £1,199 on September 16 and 23.

What is the design?

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max feature a beautiful surgical-grade stainless steel and textured matte glass design in four stunning colours.

Available in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes,1 both models include a new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion that features the Always-On display for the first time ever on iPhone, enabled by a new 1Hz refresh rate and multiple power-efficient technologies.

This makes the new Lock Screen even more useful, keeping the time, widgets, and Live Activities available at a glance. The advanced display also brings the same peak HDR brightness level as Pro Display XDR, and the highest outdoor peak brightness in a smartphone: up to 2000 nits, which is twice as bright as iPhone 13 Pro.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max also continue to offer industry-leading durability features with the Ceramic Shield front cover — tougher than any smartphone glass — and are protected from common spills and accidents with water and dust resistance.2

What is Dynamic Island?

With the introduction of the Dynamic Island, the TrueDepth camera has been redesigned to take up less of the display area.

Without impeding content on the screen, the Dynamic Island maintains an active state to allow users easier access to controls with a simple tap-and-hold.

Ongoing background activities like Maps, Music, or a timer remain visible and interactive, and third-party apps in iOS 16 that provide information like sports scores and ride-sharing with Live Activities can take advantage of the Dynamic Island.

What is the Pro Camera System?

The pro camera system on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in a smartphone, empowering every user — casual or professional — to capture the best photos and video.

iPhone 14 Pro takes computational photography even further with Photonic Engine, offering a giant leap for mid- to low-light performance in photos across all cameras through a deep integration of hardware and software: up to 2x on the Main camera, up to 3x on the Ultra Wide camera, up to 2x on the Telephoto camera, and up to 2x on the TrueDepth camera.

Photonic Engine enables this dramatic increase in quality by applying Deep Fusion earlier in the imaging process to deliver extraordinary detail, and preserve subtle textures, provide better colour, and maintain more information in a photo.

For the first time ever, the Pro lineup features a new 48MP Main camera with a quad-pixel sensor that adapts to the photo being captured, and features second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation.

For most photos, the quad-pixel sensor combines every four pixels into one large quad pixel equivalent to 2.44 µm, resulting in amazing low-light capture and keeping photo size at a practical 12MP. The quad-pixel sensor also enables a 2x Telephoto option that uses the middle 12 megapixels of the sensor for full-resolution photos and 4K videos with no digital zoom.

This delivers optical quality at a familiar focal length, which is great for features like Portrait mode. The quad-pixel sensor also brings benefits to pro workflows, optimising for detail in ProRAW. And with a new machine learning model designed specifically for the quad-pixel sensor, iPhone now shoots ProRAW at 48MP with an unprecedented level of detail, enabling new creative workflows for pro users.

What are the new safety capabilities?

The entire iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking safety capabilities that can provide emergency assistance when it matters most.

With a new dual-core accelerometer capable of detecting G-force measurements of up to 256Gs and a new high dynamic range gyroscope, Crash Detection on iPhone can now detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when a user is unconscious or unable to reach their iPhone.

These capabilities build on existing components, like the barometer, which can now detect cabin pressure changes, the GPS for additional input for speed changes, and the microphone,4 which can recognise loud noises typified by severe car crashes.

Advanced Apple-designed motion algorithms trained with over a million hours of real-world driving and crash record data provide even better accuracy.

When combined with Apple Watch, Crash Detection seamlessly leverages the unique strength of both devices to get users help efficiently. When a severe crash is detected, the emergency services call interface will appear on Apple Watch, as it is most likely to be in closer proximity to the user, while the call is placed through iPhone if it is in range for the best possible connection.

The iPhone 14 lineup also introduces Emergency SOS via satellite, which combines custom components deeply integrated with software to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage.

What is the The A16 Bionic chip?

The A16 Bionic chip in iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max is generations ahead of the competition, and unlocks unparalleled experiences like the Dynamic Island, powers all-day battery life,7 and delivers impressive computational photography capabilities.

With two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, the new 6-core CPU is up to 40 percent faster than the competition and easily handles demanding workloads.

A16 Bionic features an accelerated 5-core GPU with 50 percent more memory bandwidth — perfect for graphics-intensive games and apps — and a new 16-core Neural Engine capable of nearly 17 trillion operations per second.

Using Apple’s best-in-class fusion architecture to combine performance and energy savings, the chip delivers more performance with a fraction of the power compared to the competition.

Fundamental to the pro camera system, A16 Bionic powers incredible computational photography features. The CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and image signal processor seamlessly work together to support the new camera hardware and perform up to 4 trillion operations per photo.

Powerful Cellular Capabilities and 5G

iPhone offers users super-fast downloads and uploads, better streaming, and real-time connectivity with 5G to help them stay in touch, share, and enjoy content.8 Support for 5G on iPhone now extends to over 250 carrier partners in over 70 markets around the world, with expanded support for standalone networks.

eSIM allows users to easily connect or quickly transfer their existing plans digitally, is a more secure alternative to a physical SIM card, and allows for multiple cellular plans on a single device.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max remove the SIM tray for US models, enabling users to more quickly and easily set up their device.

Pricing and Availability

• iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in deep purple, silver, gold, and space black in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage capacities.

• Customers in the UK, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the UAE, the US, and 30 other countries and regions will be able to pre-order iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 9, with availability beginning Friday, September 16.

• iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in Malaysia, Turkey, and 20 other countries and regions beginning Friday, September 23.

• Emergency SOS via satellite will be available starting in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be included for free for two years with the activation of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

• Customers can get iPhone 14 Pro for £45.79 a month for 24 months or £1099 before trade-in, and iPhone 14 Pro Max for £49.95 a month for 24 months or £1199 before trade-in from apple.com/store, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple Store locations. iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are also available through Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers.12