After a long and much-anticipated wait, the brand new iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max’s are here, and their new features are better than ever.
With the “Dynamic Island” for notifications, an always-on brighter display, the A16 Bionic chip, a stronger camera system, new colour options, and other features, Apple has finally unveiled the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
For the first time since the outbreak, tech enthusiasts gathered at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino as four new handsets with stunning features and capabilities were shown off. Not only that, but a brand new wearable for extreme sports, the Watch Ultra, was also revealed.
The next-generation iPhone, Watch, and AirPod products were the main focus of the event, where CEO Tim Cook appeared on stage at the Steve Jobs theatre in a pre-recorded talk.
So what’s new?
Until you examine the display in more detail, the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max resemble the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max from the previous year. The pill-shaped cutout, however, means that the notch is gone.
The phones move around and animate in what the company refers to as the new Dynamic Island. Apple is employing this method for live activity widgets and even for when the swipe up feature is used, to move background operations like music.
Notifications and alerts will adjust and move around the pill-shaped notch.
With 2,000 nits of brightness, an upgraded Super Retina XDR display is up to two times brighter than the one previously seen on the iPhone 13 Pro. For the first time, it has always-on functionality. The display can slow down to a refresh rate of 1Hz, displaying iOS 16’s new Lock Screen constantly to provide quick access to the time, widgets, and Live Activities.
The A16 chip is the first Apple chip built on a 4nm process, featuring 16 billion transistors. With two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, Apple says that the new 6-core CPU easily handles demanding workloads. The chip features an accelerated 5-core GPU with 50 percent more memory bandwidth and a new 16-core Neural Engine.
The iPhone 14 Pro has a new dual-core accelerometer with Crash Detection, a better front-facing camera with an f/1.9 aperture and autofocus, and Emergency SOS with satellite connectivity.
When a cellular connection is unavailable, emergency SOS via satellite enables customers to connect directly to a satellite and communicate with emergency services. Users can also use Find My when there’s no cellular or Wi-Fi connection.
iPhone photos set to reach new levels
The pro camera system and computational photography features on the iPhone 14 Pro are supported by A16 Bionic.
Apple claims that the new camera hardware is supported together through CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and image signal processor, which can carry out up to four trillion operations in each picture.
The A16 offers Action Mode to more seamlessly stabilise video as well as the Photonic Engine to apply Deep Fusion early in the image process and enhance low-light performance across all of the device’s cameras. At 24 and 30 frames per second, action mode is now also accessible in 4K.
A 48-megapixel Wide camera with a 65 percent bigger quad-pixel sensor and second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation is part of the rear camera system. As a result of the quad-pixel sensor’s ability to merge every four pixels into a single huge quad pixel measuring 2.44 m, most images taken with it have a 12MP resolution and better low-light capture. ProRAW is the sensor’s preferred format.
In addition to the 3x from the real Telephoto camera, the 48-megapixel wide camera offers a new 2x telephoto perspective and is capable of recording 4K video without using digital zoom.
Not only that but the Ultra Wide camera is also enhanced. A new adaptive back flash with nine LEDs has up to three times better uniformity and is up to twice as bright.
The iPhone 14 Pro is priced at $999 (US), while the iPhone 14 is priced $799 (US). It is still yet not clear how much they will cost in Qatar.
New watch, who’s this?
The new features of the Apple Watch Series 8 include a new low-power mode option, temperature sensors for tracking ovulation cycles, and car crash detection.
Apple also added that a new automatic retrospective ovulation notice could be helpful for infertile couples.
If turned on, the new watch can track body temperature every five seconds during the night and identify minute variations that may indicate ovulation.
Car crash detection is another new feature. When a serious crash is detected by the watch’s sensors, it will automatically link the wearer to emergency services, provide their precise position and alert emergency contacts.
The Series 8 now includes a low-power mode that offers up to 36 hours of battery life on a full charge. This feature was taken from the iPhone.
In the US, the Apple Watch Series 8 starts at $399.
Your ultimate sports watch
Apple has unveiled a robust watch that is swim-proof, dust-proof, and crack-resistant to compete with brands like Polar, Garmin, and others.
In the unveiling of the new watch, which concentrated on a larger face design for use in extreme sports, ultramarathoner Scott Jurek of Born to Run made an appearance.
Apple guarantees that its clients will have enough power to finish an ultra-triathlon, which entails swimming, cycling, and running, with the promise that all Ultra watches have a battery life of up to 36 hours on a single charge and an extended battery life of 60 hours.
The price of the Apple Watch Ultra starts at $799 in the US.
AirPods upgrade
Compared to their predecessors, AirPods Pro are simpler to locate. Each set includes a brand-new technology for tracking down misplaced earbuds that, when dropped outside of the case, sound a chime.
In addition, the case has a built-in speaker that, when activated by the Find My app, will play a louder sound.
The new AirPods Pro is priced at $249 (US).
