Introduction
Several years have passed, and each generation of IPHONE looks the same, but this time it is not, the front notch screen design has been changed to a pill screen design. iPhone 14 Pro Max is obviously following in the footsteps of iphone 13 Pro Max and bringing many new features. The most eye-catching thing is the arrival of the 48-megapixel module and the disappearance of the notch screen. Yes, by 2022, the Pro model will use Dynamic Island, a pill containing Face ID, but not only that. This is a small update for IPHONE, which never makes much changes.
Ergonomics and design
Since 2020, iPhones have been very similar in style. As expected, the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iphone 13 Pro Max are very similar, the latter has borrowed a lot of iphone 12 Pro Max. The difference in each iteration is quite subtle, mainly lies in the size of the photo pixels, which grows every year, and the colors: two blues of the number 12 and 13, and a dark purple of the number 14. But in its latest flagship product, Apple adds a unique element, the famous Lingdong Island.
Dynamic Island can be extended according to operations to display more or less information. Here, charge.
Apple has found a way to remove the vulnerability on iphone X without deleting Face ID, which is Apple's homemade face unlocking solution. We found a pill with a hole in it containing the modules in it. This new system is more cautious than the old grooves and, most importantly, is smaller. The company said it cuts the price by about 30%. But why give a name to the slightly lower groove on the screen?
is simple because it is not a notch. The function of Lingdong Island is similar to the overlay display on the screen, and when the user is not there, it displays some information related to the application. For example, if you are listening to music and exiting the application ( Apple Music , Spotify, YouTube Music, etc.), Lingdong Island will display the songs being played.
Lingdong Island can also perform fast interactions, such as uploading, receiving files through AirDrop, or connecting AirPods to the remaining battery when connecting AirPods to the iPhone. You will find that this is a difficult operation to describe, but when you see it, it becomes meaningful. At present, various interactions are quite limited and third-party applications must be given time to truly utilize this Lingdong Island. Otherwise, it's just a gadget you can easily overlook.
can be enlarged by long pressing it on the dynamic island
The appearance of the rest of the
has not fundamentally changed. The 6.7-inch screen is still there, and due to pill-related space savings (88.8%), this iPhone is almost similar in size to the previous one. It is slightly smaller (0.1 mm) and smaller in width, but adds 0.20 mm thick and the weight rises to 240 grams. Some people would say it's a brick, but owners of old Pro Max models won't care. We must admit that it's easy for us to get used to it, and it's a small price to have one of the biggest smartphones in the market.
extra thickness is due to the new photo module.
Finally, let’s talk about the back. We have written on it that the camera's base is bigger and wider than last year. However, in the unmatted square glass space, the integration is the same, in contrast to the overall decoration on the back. The smartphone’s outline is still stainless steel, and its color matches the color on the back – it’s dark purple in our test model. The dark purple of
iPhone 14 Pro is more or less dark, depending on the brightness.
In terms of connection, the iPhone 14 Pro Max still adopts the Wifi 6 standard and switches to the more energy-efficient Bluetooth 5.3. The IP68 standard is still applicable, protecting the phone from long-term soaking (depth up to 6 meters, up to 30 minutes). The domestic models still have SIM card ports, unlike the US iPhones that only have eSIM. When it comes to charging, we will rely on this pretty old lightning port, which should be the last time Apple devices appear before switching to USB-C or plug-free mode.
Audio
Since the release of iphone 7, Apple has announced the 3.5mm mini jack on its terminal as a dead end. Therefore, it is not surprising that they cannot be seen here. Listening to music requires headphones (lightning headphones) or wireless headphones. The quality of
stereo is always as good as it can be listened comfortably even at very high volumes. It's always great in an environment where you don't always want to wear headphones, like at home.
screen
14 Pro Max retains a 6.7-inch Oled display with a refresh rate of 120hz (the promotion technology has been integrated into the iPhone Pro since 2021). The display's resolution changes slightly, increasing to 2796 x 1290 pixels, which is a small gain for Lingdong Island. The
screen part is not usually surprising to Apple, and its calibration is good every year, if not nearly the same. This is a good thing, because in this California giant, it is impossible to change this setting like many Android players do.
We noticed that the color temperature is at 6817 K, very close to our reference value of 6500 K. The delta E is the lowest we have measured on our smartphones. The iphone 14 Pro Max peaks at 0.9, with only green and red tones exceeding delta E 2. The remaining colorimetric range remains below 1, which is good.
brightness changes again. Apple still promises a base brightness peak of 1000 nits, which we verified by measuring 1043 cd/m², but the HDR peak rose to 1600 nits (compared to 1200 nits on the 13 Pro Max), which can reach 2000 nits in sunlight. By simulating the bright light with a flash, we managed to climb to 1955 cd/m², which has never been seen on smartphones or other Oled screens. Only high-end mini LED screens can reach or even exceed this peak. So, using the iPhone 14 Pro Max in a completely dry situation should be no problem, especially since it has a pretty good reflectivity (46.2%). At the lowest point, the screen of this iPhone dropped to 0.1 cd/m² due to the white point reduction parameters.
contrast is infinite, and the remaining time is 0 milliseconds, which is the characteristic of the Oled board. The touch delay is measured at 30 ms.
performance
If iPhone 14 and 14 Plus do not inherit the latest Apple chips, then this is not the case with the Pro model. The 14 Pro Max tested here comes with a homemade A16 Bionic SoC and 6gb RAM. This 4nm etch processor is the first of the California company.
secularization is the same every year: by perfectly mastering the design from A to Z, Apple has successfully released the most powerful chip on the market, able to do anything without wavering. The smartphone will remain capable for at least 5 to 6 years, thanks to the company's confidential software optimizations that allow it to adapt to the operating systems of a large number of smartphones. So you'll understand that the Apple A16 Bionic is powerful, but the gain is not as large as you think compared to the previous generation.
in the test, his performance was as outstanding as ever. All software can run easily, even the most greedy software, especially the open-world RPG games "Genshin Impact" and "Tower of Fantasy" that are popular in the app store.
photo
Apple changed its algorithm this year, abandoning the 12-megapixel wide-angle module and changing it to 48mpx. Optical opens at f/1.8, equivalent to 24mm, but mainly smaller 1.22µm pixels. It is always accompanied by a 12mpx ultra-wide angle (f/2.2) and a 12mpx 3x telephoto lens . Like in 2021, the ultra-wide-angle lens can also be used as a macro lens, but has been improved on 14 Pro models to get closer to the subject at a higher level of detail.
main module: 48mpx, f/1.8, 24mm.
As we often explain on Android smartphones, the change in the definition of wide-angle modules is accompanied by the arrival of pixel binding on iPhones this year. This means that by default, the smartphone will shoot 12mpx, but it is also possible to achieve full definition for better image quality.
In this test, we will analyze 12mpx photos of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.It is worth noting that unlike the iPhone using 4-inch binning, the Samsung uses 9-inch binning. Therefore, South Korea merged 9 pixels into 1.
If the overall image of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is more neutral and closer to reality, then the effect of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra may be more pleasing to the eye. Despite the exposure of a strong hair, the latter benefited from a better pique. Micro contrast on iPhone images may highlight details, but Korean smartphones do better in this regard.
In low light, the iPhone 14 Pro Max will not be overexposed, unlike Samsung, its images are orange and the tones are very warm. Once again, we noticed the presence of microcontrast in the photos taken by the Apple model, which highlighted the details. Maybe a little too much, considering the white borders that appear in certain areas of our photo scene. But in the end, both photos are very detailed and it is the post-processing that makes them stand out. Unlike Samsung, iPhone prefers to turn to something more natural.
Ultra-wide angle module: 12 megapixels, f/2.2, 14 mm
For ultra-wide angle, our analysis may be the same as wide angle. With this module, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is less sensitive than its opponent, which allows it to keep a "clean" image where the S22 sees digital noise (visible on a black background). Once again, Apple's emphasis on microcontrasts takes advantage of the image's bumps to a certain extent, so it may not be as detailed as Samsung's. To improve the level of detail, Korean models utilized the exposure of images.
However, at night, the rendering of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is much better. Unfortunately, the software processing of iPhone is a bit too radical. Overall, Samsung's smartphone photos are more likable.
3x telephoto lens: 12 megapixels, f/2.8, 77 mm
iphone 14 Pro Max successfully caught up with the telephoto lens. The result is much better than Samsung. Both terminals offer 3x optical amplification, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra's image lacks sharpness. Apple's models are much better here, with good colorimetric and acceptable levels of bumps.
nights are always a bit complicated at night. Few smartphones can brag about the effect of telephoto lenses. Usually, this is because it is just a crop of the image taken with a wide angle module. Fortunately, neither phone is the case, and while the iPhone tends to offer higher quality photos than Samsung, it is still difficult to really take advantage of.
front camera and video
also have changes in front camera. Apple retains the 12mpx module, but offers a better aperture (f/1.9) and adds autofocus. As a result, selfies are brighter, better exposure and, most importantly, clearer. The benefits of autofocus are obvious, and unfortunately, Apple has had to wait so long to integrate autofocus into its front-end module.
These additional features are also suitable for portrait mode. While the iPhone is not the king of this feature yet, we must admit that the company has made progress in this area over time. The trim is not perfect yet and you may have problems with curly hair, hanging out or a little organized hairstyle. In contrast, in the later modules, portrait mode produces a small miracle. The cropping effect is very good, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max can even blur objects in the foreground, leaving only the face exposed (for example, one hand above the mineis). By default, the portrait mode on the back is based on the zoom x2 that Apple reintroduced this year, but can also switch to x3. As a true portable camera, the iPhone has become a reference in this field. Obviously, the 14 Pro Max model isn't a game changer. We started with the movie mode introduced last year and can now shoot 4K HDR at 30 i/s. Another new feature is Action Mode, which turns the iPhone into an action camera. Therefore, earthquakes are largely limited, but not close to real action cameras. That being said, this option does the job to a large extent. For the rest of the video, the iPhone 14 Pro Max can be up to 60 i/s in 4K or up to 60 i/s in 1080p.Recording is also available in Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 i/s. Finally, let's finish shooting in macro, slow motion, or accelerated.
battery
Apple installed a slightly smaller battery on its 14 Pro Max. The battery capacity is 4323 mAh, compared to 4352 mAh in 2021, but it promises a longer battery life. According to our protocol for iOS devices, the 14 Pro Max charges 27 hours and 23 minutes, 11 more minutes than the 13 Pro Max. The benefits are not big, and they can even be ignored. However, this new iPhone is once again one of the longest-lived smartphones on the market.
However, for charging power, nothing changes. Apple still doesn't integrate more charging modules, but the latter still has 30 watts (actually only around 26 watts). From 0 to 100% takes 85 to 90 minutes, which is always slower than the competitors. There are two ways to charge wirelessly: the first is to use a 7.5 W Qi charger; the second uses MagSafe technology, with a maximum load of 15W.
