There is an additional responsibility on the rather broad shoulders of the iPhone 14 Pro Max this time around. In the past, the Pro series of the iPhone was seen as the more powerful sibling of the new iPhones, the one with better cameras, display, and better battery. This time around, however, the iPhone 14 Pro lineup has a lot more to prove. With the non-Pro iPhone having the same design and even very similar specs to its predecessor (including for the first time in many years, a very similar processor), it has fallen upon the iPhone 14 Pro series to be the "different" iPhone. 


iPhone 14 Pro Max first impressions: Hello, iPhone 13 Pro Max… or rather, iPhone 14 Pro Max


At first glance, the iPhone 14 Pro Max does not seem too different from the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The design is almost exactly the same — Ceramic Shield glass front and back with a "surgical-grade stainless steel" frame in the middle. 


Even the triple rear camera setup seems similar to the one on iPhone 13 Pro Max, it juts out with large lenses. In terms of size, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is very similar to the iPhone 13 Pro Max, with proportions of 160.7mm x 77.6mm x 7.85mm as compared to the 160.8mm x 78.1mm x 7.65mm of iPhone 13 Pro Max. 


ALSO READ: iPhone 14 First Impressions: Did Apple Actually Release An iPhone 13s?


Yes, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is slightly shorter, slightly wider, and slightly thicker than the iPhone 13 Pro Max, but the difference is so slight as to not be noticeable at all. The case we had on our iPhone 13 Pro Max fit easily on the iPhone 14 Pro Max too, although it got a little closer to the edge of the camera enclosure on the back.


On the surface, the iPhone 14 Pro Max looks like a typical iPhone Pro series offering — with an elegant and minimalist design, and a little on the large and heavy side (it is 240 grams). 


We got the Silver variant, which had a subtle, almost greenish shine to it. It has a very reassuringly solid feel to it as well, and comes with an IP68 dust and water resistance, as the 13 Pro series did. 


It runs on iOS 16 out-of-the-box, and comes with crash detection, allowing it to detect when your vehicle has crashed and send out messages for aid — a feature earlier iPhones had lacked and one which we hope no one ever has to use. 


Apple has (unfortunately, we think) resisted the temptation to make any radical changes to the basic design template it adopted for the Pro series two years ago with the iPhone 12. The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a very premium look to it, but it gives us the same visual feel that the iPhone 13 Pro Max and even the iPhone 12 Pro Max did — sleek straight sides, glass front and back, and proof that bulk can be beautiful. 


iPhone 14 Pro Max first impressions: The display is different when on and 'always on'


Switch it on and the difference hits you. The iPhone 14 Pro series comes with a 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display with a resolution of 2,796x1,290 pixels and 120Hz refresh rate, which changes and goes down to even 1 Hz, depending on the content being shown on it. 


But what is different about it is the reimagined notch, what Apple calls the Dynamic Island. This is basically, a capsule-shaped cut-out on the top of the phone, which expands and contracts to depend on the information being displayed on it. 


Unlike the previous notch (still there on the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus), Dynamic Island is capable of displaying information and animations and is also interactive. You can long press it to access a music player, control recordings, and receive and end calls. It is a sort of highly interactive notification area right on top of the phone, and while it is not easy to reach on the rather wide 14 Pro Max, it has a definite cool element to it (especially when animations play on it) and is easily the most distinct feature of the new Pro iPhones. 


You might not be able to tell an iPhone 13 or 14 apart by just looking at their displays, but Dynamic Island makes sure you will never mix an iPhone 13 Pro and an iPhone 14 Pro. 


Turn off that display and another difference between this Pro and its Pro-predecessors hits you. The iPhone 14 Pro series comes with an always-on display (AOD), which means that even when the display is off, you will see some information on it, such as time, a faded-out wallpaper and widgets, depending on how you choose to customise it. 


It has been a feature on Android flagships for quite a while and judging from what we have seen of it so far, Android devices seem to have handled it a lot better — the iPhone 14 Pro Max's AOD actually looks a little too crowded. We are hearing that Apple is already working on tweaking this feature even as we write this. 


iPhone 14 Pro Max first impressions: This Pro gets a new chip and more megapixels 


Those are the visual changes that make the iPhone 14 Pro Max very different from not just the iPhone 13 Pro series but also from its iPhone 14 siblings. There are changes beneath that very similar-looking hood too. 


The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes with the A16 Bionic processor, which Apple claims is the most powerful ever seen on an iPhone. Judging by the fact that we could edit 4K videos effortlessly on a demo video in seconds, that claim seems to have a lot of foundation to it.  


While the cameras on the back might seem similar (if a little larger), there is now a 48-megapixel main sensor, along with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens and a 12-megapixel telephoto sensor. Apple claims that this combination will take mobile photography to new levels, courtesy of a Photonic Engine. 


Speaking of cameras, the 12-megapixel selfie camera now comes with autofocus and also supports the Photonic Engine. There are no dramatic new shooting modes, although you can now shoot cinematic video at 4K at 30fps.


There is one area where the iPhone 14 Pro Max seems to have given ground to its predecessor. Although it is thicker and wider, the iPhone 14 Pro Max's battery life is supposed to be largely similar to that of the 13 Pro Max, even though Apple claims that it will deliver one more hour of video playback (but the same amount of streaming video and audio playback). 


Charging speeds also remain the same — a 20W charger will get the phone up to 50 percent in about half an hour, and a 27W charger will do it a little faster. No, there is still no sign of a charger in the box, but it comes with wireless charging support. 


It might look a lot like the Pros that came before it, but the iPhone 14 Pro Max is still perhaps the most distinct iPhone out there, courtesy of that always-on display and the Dynamic Island that floats at the top of its display. 


Whether it is worth that very stiff starting price tag of Rs 1,39,900 (a very healthy Rs 10,000 more than the starting price of the iPhone 12 Pro Max) will, however, depend more on its more powerful innards than those slightly more distinct display exterior.