Video Review: Three Months With the iPhone 14 Pro Max

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.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
33 months ago
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.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jamezr Avatar
33 months ago
Personally I love my 14 pro Max.

But kinda at a loss how this review can be called "Long Term Review" whewn the phone has only been out for 2 months....
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M5RahuL Avatar
33 months ago

How much does your wrist hurt?

It’s h e a v y
Interesting definition of 'heavy' .. Been using iPhone max iterations for years and it ain't even close to being 'heavy'!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomtad Avatar
33 months ago
How much does your wrist hurt?

It’s h e a v y
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M5RahuL Avatar
33 months ago
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!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lewchenko Avatar
33 months ago
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.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)