The iPhone 14 Pro Max is the best (and most expensive) iPhone yet

As I reported, I had my share of struggles getting my hands on an iPhone 14 Pro Max. But despite the struggle and the eye-watering  price tag, it’s worth the time and money invested. Thankfully, I’ve experienced none of the issues that some other iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max users have faced. More on this below.

Let’s look at the best features of the super-sized iPhone.

The incredible camera upgrades

In Apple’s words, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max 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. 

That’s a bit of Apple hype, true, but it’s hard to argue with results. Photos taken with the iPhone 14 Pro Max are gorgeous. They’re even slightly better than the ones taken with my iPhone 13 Pro Max — and those were incredible pics.

How? Again, in Apple’s words: The Photonic Engine enables an increase in quality by applying Deep Fusion earlier in the imaging process to deliver detail, preserve subtle textures, provide better color, and maintain more information in a photo.

Also adding to the superb photo quality is the rear camera system that can shoot 48-megapixel ProRAW photos. These retain more detail in the image file for more editing flexibility. However, this means you’ll need more storage space. For example, 48-megapixel ProRAW photos are very large files that clock in at around 75MB each, and sometimes even larger.

I ordered the Pro Max with 512GB of storage. I wouldn’t recommend less if you plan to take a lot of high quality photos. Heck, if you can afford it, go with the 1TB model, though that will add an extra $200 to the price tag.

Despite these very large image sizes, MacRumors has confirmed that the Lightning connector on the iPhone 14 Pro models remains limited to USB 2.0 speeds of up to 480 Mbps like previous models, meaning that transferring full-resolution 48-megapixel ProRAW photos to a Mac or other device with a Lightning cable will take a long time.

In addition to the rear camera system that can shoot 48-megapixel ProRAW photos, the iPhone 14 Pro Max boasts three focal lenses: 13mm at 0.5x with ultra wide lens; 24mm at 1x with main lens; 48mm at 2x with main lens; and 77mm at 3x with telephoto lens. Among other things, this allows you to take more details, crisper images when zooming. 

The iPhone 14 Pro Max also boasts a new Action Mode. With its ability take action videos that adjusts to shakes, motion, and vibrations so well that you may consider ditching your GoPro.

iPhone 14 owners can now shoot Cinematic videos in 4K at 24fps and 4K at 30fps. Previously, you could only shoot in Full HD at 30fps. Other camera enhancements:

• A new 12MP Ultra Wide camera with 1.4 µm pixels, which delivers sharper images with more detail, improving already powerful macro photography capabilities.
• An improved Telephoto camera that offers 3x optical zoom.
• A new front TrueDepth camera with an ƒ/1.9 aperture that enables better low-light performance for photos and video. Using autofocus for the first time, it can focus even faster in low light and capture group shots from farther away.
• A new Adaptive True Tone flash that has been completely redesigned with an array of nine LEDs that change pattern based on the chosen focal length.
• Powerful computational photography benefits like Night mode, Smart HDR 4, Portrait mode with Portrait Lighting, Night mode Portrait photos, Photographic Styles to personalize the look of every photo, and Apple ProRAW.
• A new Action mode for incredibly smooth-looking video that adjusts to significant shakes, motion, and vibrations, even when video is being captured in the middle of the action.
• Cinematic mode, now available in 4K at 30 fps and 4K at 24 fps.
• Pro-level workflows for video, including ProRes3 and end-to-end Dolby Vision HDR.

Design and Display Island

The iPhone 14 Pro Max maintains the same 6.7-inch OLED display as its predecessor, but has an Always-on display that’s built to show off your lock screen. I like the Always-on screen, but some folks (such as my wife) don’t. Conveniently, it’s easy to turn the feature on and off.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max uses Face ID. Despite that new pill shape on the 14 Pro Max, it uses the same sensors and technology for face recognition as the 13 Pro Max, so the experience of using Face ID is the same.

The Dynamic Island is a cool feature that surprised a lot of folks. Without impeding content on the screen, it 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. 

With Dynamic Island, icons appear as an expansion on either side of the sensors. Thanks to the way the pixels match the black sensors, the animations look seamless. However, as noted by Trusted Reviews, Dynamic Island can also expand further into the wider iPhone 14 Pro display. Incoming calls and a running stopwatch appear in a banner that stretches out from the sensors, for example.

Dynamic Island is so cool that Android modders are already trying to replicate its behavior on different devices.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max features a surgical-grade stainless steel and textured matte glass design in four colors. It boasts a new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion that features the aforementioned Always-On display for the first time ever on iPhone, enabled by a new 1Hz refresh rate and multiple power-efficient technologies. The iPhone 14 Pro Max also comers with Apple’s Ceramic Shield front cover, which is purportedly tougher than any smartphone glass.

Performance

The iPhone 14 Pro Max offers blazing performance. It packs Apple’s A16 Bionic chip, an upgraded version of the A15 Bionic that powered the iPhone 13 Pro Max. This new A16 Bionic packs a 6-core CPU with 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, as well as a 5-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine.

As noted by Tom’s Guide, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is faster than its predecessor, but not by a huge margin. However, as the article notes, power management is key now that the iPhone 14 Pro Max comes with an always-on display, and the A16 is designed to smartly manage the display and its 1-120Hz refresh rate to conserve power.

What’s more, the iPhone 14 Pro and ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max feature 6GB of faster RAM, which helps make overall device performance faster and more efficient compared to last year’s iPhone 13 Pro.

Finally, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X65 modem for faster 5G speeds, lower power consumption, and improved mmWave support on U.S. models.

Misc.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max also has such intriguing new features as Crash Detection and Emergency SOS Via Satellite. Thankfully, I’ve never had to use either of them, and I hope you don’t either. However, you can read about both by clicking here.

Issues and problems

There have been reports that some users have faced when upgrading to an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max. They include:

° The rear camera’s main lens vibrates uncontrollably in third-party apps with camera functionality, such as Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram, resulting in shaky video. 

° Apple is investigating a bug that may cause iPhone 14 Pro and ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max models to freeze after customers transfer their data from an older iPhone, In the memo, Apple says it is “aware of this issue happening and is investigating.” Apple specifically says that some customers may find their new ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ or ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max models freezing and becoming unresponsive after an iCloud restore or data transfer from their previous ‌iPhone‌ during the Quick Start process.

° Some folks are having problems with the Camera app taking several seconds to load.

° Some folks are unable to use AirDrop with the Contacts app.

However, in my four-day experience with the iPhone 14 Pro Max:

° There’s no shaking at all when using the main lens with Instagram. However, I haven’t tried it with Snapshot or TikTok. (Also, Apple says a software update will be released next week to fix the glitch.)

° Data transferred seamlessly from an iCloud backup to my new phone.

° The Camera app on my iPhone 14 Pro Max launches instantly.

° I’m able to AirDrop Contacts just fine.

What about you? If you bought an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max, are you having issues?