Apple in September released the iPhone 14 models, so it's been three months since launch. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been using the iPhone 14 Pro Max as his main phone since it came out, and he has some long term usage thoughts to share with those still undecided about upgrading.
In terms of durability, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is holding up well, even through several drops. There is a deep scratch on the display, but that tends to happen with no case. The stainless steel coating in black is prone to scratching, but it seems to be more durable than the coating on the 13 Pro Max.
Always on display and the Dynamic Island are nice features to have, especially with iOS 16.2 updates that let you hide wallpaper. Dynamic Island isn't being taken advantage of well as of yet, but Live Activities are still new and haven't been widely adopted by third-party apps.
The 48-megapixel upgrade to the Main camera on the iPhone 14 Pro models makes a major difference in quality, but it's not something that's for day to day use because of the file sizes. The sensor upgrade does bring improvements to all photos, and the new 4K 24fps option for Cinematic Mode results in great videos.
If you're still unsure about upgrading, it's well worth the purchase if you're coming from an iPhone 11 or older, but it's not really worth going for one of the standard 14 models over the Pro models just because of the huge number of features Apple made exclusive to the 14 Pro and Pro Max. To see all of Dan's thoughts on Apple's latest flagship, make sure to watch the video up above.
Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by Juli Clover
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing.
Test Settings
I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 could feature 50% more memory than its predecessor, according to Korea's The Bell.
With its latest iPhone lineup, the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max feature 12GB of memory. This is a significant increase of 4GB more their predecessors, largely driven by the demands of on-device artificial intelligence processing.
The iPhone 17 is the only new...
Monday October 27, 2025 12:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
...
Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android.
The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...
Friday October 24, 2025 7:18 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
At least some new iPhone models launching next year may support full 5G satellite internet, according to a report this week from The Information.
"Apple plans to add support in upcoming iPhones as early as next year for 5G networks that aren't tethered to Earth's surface, which includes satellites," the report said. "That would give the iPhone full internet access over satellite," it added.
...
Honestly, it's the best iPhone Apple has ever worked on. I love my iPhone 14 Pro Max 1 TB in Deep Purple. It’s just incredible and the camera continues to amaze me daily.
I kinda like the 14 PM.. but the forced e-sim ONLY ( US ) has me holding on to the 13PM...
Was looking to upgrade for additional storage and better camera, but there's no way I'm going e-sim only when I switch devices ( iOS <-> Android ) frequently!
Way , way too heavy. I got rid of my iPhone 11 Pro Max as that too was too heavy and the 14 Pro Max is even heavier. A true Porker class phone ! Also, the screen scratch resistance of iPhones is dire. Really dire. Have now started using a screen protector on my 13 pro and that so far has yielded so few hairline scratches compared to the 11 Pro max I had prior with no screen protector. Also… the cost increase in Europe. Not good. When you can get a Pixel 7 Pro for so much less I really have to question how much longer I will stick with Apple. Or will just keep my 13 Pro for a while longer yet I expect.
