Yesterday, Apple introduced the 2022 versions of the iPhone, and there is a lot to love about these new models. There are four new iPhones in two sizes. If you want the regular size with a 6.1" screen, you can get either the iPhone 14 or the iPhone 14 Pro. If you want the larger size with a 6.7" screen, you can get the iPhone 14 Plus or the iPhone 14 Pro Max. This is the fourth year that Apple has introduced a "Pro" model of the iPhone, and while I've always enjoyed the extra features, in the past, they may not have been worth the extra expense for many folks. This is the first year that the Pro version has substantially more features, and I suspect that this will result in more folks getting the Pro model even if they didn't do so in prior years. Let's jump right in and talk about the features that lawyers and other professionals are going to love about these new devices.
Safety thanks to satellites
There are two different ways in which the new iPhones can help to keep you safe, and the first safety feature is provided by satellites.
If you find yourself in times of trouble, it has always been comforting to know that you can use Wi-Fi or cellular to send a message to friends or families—or, in a real emergency, to 911. But what if you are "off the grid" and cannot get even a cellular signal? I’ve certainly had situations in the past when I was driving to a remote location to interview a witness or take a deposition and there is suddenly no cell phone coverage, and I find myself wondering what would happen if I had car trouble with no way to call for help.
All four of Apple's new iPhones can communicate with satellites to send an emergency message, should you need it. It works best when you have a clear line of sight to the sky; those emergency messages take about 15 seconds to send. If you are under trees, Apple says that it could take over a minute to send a message (and bigger obstructions might block the satellites completely).
The way that Apple is implementing this feature is interesting. When you use Emergency SOS via Satellite, your iPhone will ask you a series of questions to figure out what is wrong. It can then communicate, in the most efficient way possible, from your iPhone to a satellite to a ground station (that communicates with the satellite) to a relay center. People at the relay center then contact the appropriate emergency services.
If you are stuck in the middle of nowhere, this feature can be a real lifesaver. But you can also take advantage of this feature even if you are not in an emergency. The iPhone already has the ability to share your location with family members or friends that you designate. So long as you are on the cellular grid, this feature works great. But if you are off the grid, the new iPhone will use the satellite feature to communicate your location to Find My. That way, your designated friends and family members will still know where you are located.
Apple hasn't said how frequently your location is updated via satellite, and I have to imagine that it doesn't happen very often. In the example photo (above) provided by Apple, the person's location was as of 4 minutes ago, which is great. Hopefully, the locations are updated frequently enough for this feature to be useful, but I'm sure that Apple took that into account.
The ability to communicate with satellites is a service that costs money. Apple says that the service will be free for the first two years that you use one of these phones. After that, you will have to pay a fee that Apple has yet to disclose. (Currently, satellite communication services from companies like Garmin cost over $100 a year depending upon the features, but who knows what Apple will charge.)
Safety in a car accident
Another safety feature with all four new models of iPhone is that they can use the improved accelerometer and gyroscope to detect when you are in a severe car crash. If the iPhone detects this, it will automatically call emergency services (giving you about 10 seconds to stop this, in case of a false alarm) so that your iPhone can call for help even if you are unconscious or unable to reach your iPhone.
Dynamic Island for improved notifications
If you lead a busy life and are a heavy iPhone user, then your iPhone always has a lot going on. You are dealing with lots of incoming messages, and you have different apps running that sometimes need your attention. One of my favorite features of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max (not available on the other two models) is called Dynamic Island. Apple has taken what used to be a notch at the top of the screen (where a front-facing camera and sensors are located) and turned it into something the size of a pill. But the size of the pill changes dynamically to display different messages.
The best way to understand this feature is to see it in action. Here is a very short, under-one-minute, video from Apple that shows how the Dynamic Island feature works. (You can keep the sound turned off if you want; it is just background music.)
Having useful information displayed at the top of an iPhone seems like a fabulous idea, and I cannot wait to try it out myself. This feature looks amazing. And you have to love that Apple has taken something that used to be considered a hindrance—the notch—and found a way to turn it into a feature for which people will want to pay extra.
Impressive camera improvements
Every year, Apple does something to improve the iPhone camera. There are a few new features that come to the cameras on all four new iPhones. First, Apple is using technology that Apple calls the "Photonic Engine" to improve the quality of low-light images. Second, a new Action Mode will use sensors to improve the stabilization of video when you are recording video as you move around. These are both nice improvements.
For the major improvements, you need to use a Pro model. Instead of the 12-megapixel camera that has been standard in the iPhone for a long time, the Pro models use a 48-megapixel camera. Normally, the iPhone will treat this like a 12-megapixel camera, and the 4x pixels will be used to capture maximize the amount of light that is captured, resulting in sharper pictures. Apple will also use the increase in pixels to offer a true 2x optical zoom using the main camera (which is in addition to the 3x optical zoom using the telephoto camera that is on the Pro model). But if you want to take a 48-megapixel picture (which will be huge!), you can do that as well when you use the ProRAW model on the iPhone. Apple has also improved the lenses, so all of them should produce better pictures even with less light. And there are other improvements too, such as the ability to use Cinematic mode (introduced last year) for 4K video, not just 1080p video.
Thus, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will have very nice cameras that should take great pictures. But the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will have truly incredible cameras, and I cannot wait to see the resulting picture quality. Considering that low-light is always such a problem for taking pictures with a cellphone camera, it is great to see that Apple is doing so much to make pictures look much better even when you are not outside with lots of sunlight.
A display that is always-on, and more
Another feature that only comes to the two Pro models is an always-on display. I've mentioned in the past that the lock screen in iOS 16 will be vastly improved with the ability to display lots of useful information in widgets. With the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, you can see those widgets even when your iPhone is just sitting on your desk. This works similar to the always-on display on the newest models of the Apple Watch; after a short period of time, the image dims and the refresh rate goes down substantially—which means, for example, that a timer will stop displaying seconds, although it will still countdown minutes. I'll have to try this out to see how useful it really is, but I imagine that, in some circumstances, it will mean that you can get the information that you need with a quick glance instead of taking the time to pick up and use the iPhone.
The peak brightness is also improved on the Pro models, going up to 2000 nits when you are outside, twice as bright as the iPhone 13 Pro. This should make it much easier to see the iPhone screen when you are outside on a sunny day. If you are inside, the iPhone 14 Pro can go up to 1600 nits for displaying HDR photos, an improvement from the 1200 nits of the iPhone 13 Pro.
A16 Bionic: a faster processor
Yet another improvement that only comes to the two Pro models is Apple's newest, fastest processor: the A16 Bionic. (The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus use the same A15 Bionic chip that was used in all four of last year's iPhone 13 models.) I'm sure that one of the things that this new processor does is enable some of the features noted above that are unique to the iPhone 14. But in addition, the new processor should make the iPhone even faster and more responsive, which is always nice. Apple says that the biggest improvements that come from the A16 Bionic are in power efficiency, the display, and camera features.
Goodbye, SIM
One interesting change for all four new models is that the devices no longer have a SIM Card slot. Instead, they use an eSIM. I'm sure that not having a SIM Card slot is useful for several reasons: cost, one less point of entry for water, a little extra space for battery, etc. But if you are someone who likes being apple to swap a physical SIM card in and out of your iPhone, you can no longer do that. However, the new iPhone does support up to two eSIMs at a time.
Colors
The iPhone 14 comes in Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and (PRODUCT) Red. The iPhone 14 Pro comes in Deep Purple, Gold, Silver, and Space Black.
Storage and Price
The iPhone 14 starts at $799 for 128GB, which is the same price as the iPhone 13. For an extra $100, you can double the memory to 256GB. Or you can pay $1099 for the 512GB model. If you want the larger iPhone 14 Plus model, each of those price points is $100 more expensive.
The iPhone 14 Pro starts at $999, so you are paying an additional $200 over the iPhone 14 for all of the extra features noted above: Dynamic Island, better cameras, always-on display, and the faster processor. From there, the pricing tier is what you would expect. For an extra $100, you can double the memory to 256GB. Or youc an pay $1299 for the 512GB mdoel. Or you can pay $1499 for the 1TB model. If you want the larger iPhone 14 Pro Max model, each of those price points is $100 more expensive.
International - an update
After I initially published this post, "John" noted in a comment that there are, for now at least, some differences between the new iPhone in the U.S. and in other countries. First, the satellite feature is only available in the U.S. and Canada. That is true for now, but I'm sure that Apple will change that soon. As I understand it, the issue is not the satellite itself but instead what happens here on Earth. Apple has a call center to handle the emergency requests it receives from a satellite. If the appropriate emergency services department can receive messages via text, then Apple forwards the emergency text message to that service. But if not, then Apple has a person call the appropriate emergency services department to explain what is going on. Apple needs time to get a similar service available in other countries. I strongly suspect we will see other countries added soon.
Second, the removal of the SIM Tray is, for now, only on the U.S. phone. There have frequently been differences between the U.S. iPhone and international iPhones on issues like SIM cards, cellular band compatibility, etc.
Pre-pre-order
If you know that you want to get a new iPhone, the new models go on sale for pre-orders starting Friday, September 9, at 8am Eastern. But a nice change is that you don't need to wait until then to start your order. If you use the Apple Store app on your iPhone, you can choose a model (and any accessories) and make most of your decisions now. That way, once pre-orders begin on Friday morning, you should be just a few button clicks away from completing your order.
Conclusion
I'm very excited about the Pro models of the iPhone this year. The improved cameras along would have made this a nice improvement. The Dynamic Island features looks amazing, and the always-on display and faster processor could be quite useful. For folks who are often on the fence between the Pro and the regular models, it is going to be very tempting this year to spend the extra $200. But even if those Pro features don't appeal to you, the safety improvements that come to all new iPhones could be useful to anyone. Plus, the idea that an iPhone can communicate with a satellite in sky is pretty darn impressive. The 2022 models of the iPhone are very impressive. I look forward to using an iPhone 14 Pro soon.