Category: Technology

The iPhone 14 series is at once controversial and underwhelming. With its latest phones, Apple chose to ditch the physical SIM card slot but continued to avoid adopting USB-C, and on the non-Pro models there’s still the notch. At the same time, the iPhone 14 looks nearly identical to its predecessor — at least on the outside. It has slightly improved cameras, a new high-g accelerometer for crash detection and the ability to connect to satellites for emergency communication.

Apple also decided to revive a larger Plus model this year in lieu of a new iPhone mini, and kept the same A15 Bionic chip instead of upgrading to the A16 Bionic powering the iPhone Pro line. The Plus won’t be available until October and we only have the smaller $799 model in for review right now. So far, save for some controversial changes and emergency applications, the iPhone 14 is the very definition of an incremental upgrade.

Design

The best way to distinguish between the iPhone 13 and 14 is by looking for the SIM tray on the left. The new phone doesn’t have one. Other than that, the only difference this year are the new color options (purple and blue). I like them, but they don’t inspire the same sort of lust in me that the green iPhone 12 or pink iPhone 13 did.

The lack of change isn’t a bad thing, by the way. Apple’s handsets may seem predictable, but they still feel expensive and well-made. They also have the same IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, as well as the same ceramic shield protecting the display from scratches. It feels like the company has settled on a design for the foreseeable future and won’t be deviating from it much.

In fact, the iPhone 14 has nearly the same dimensions as the iPhone 13. Despite being a hundredth of an inch thicker, it’s two grams (or 0.07 ounces) lighter. For comparison’s sake, the iPhone 14 is also heavier than the Galaxy S22, but otherwise the same size.

Although not much on the outside has changed, Apple did say at its ‘Far Out’ event last week that it redesigned the iPhone 14’s internals by separating the aluminum housing and the glass of the phone’s back so they’re no longer one enclosure. This brings two benefits: more efficient heat dissipation and improved repairability. If you crack the iPhone 14’s back glass, you’ll no longer have to get the entire housing replaced. This makes fixing a broken iPhone not only easier, but also cheaper, especially when your phone is out of warranty. Of course, destroying my review unit just to test this out doesn’t make sense, but it’s a welcome change regardless.

Display and audio

I’m kind of upset that Apple still hasn’t upgraded the iPhone 14’s screen. It still runs at 2,532 x 1,170 and a mere 60Hz. What gives? The last generation was already woefully outdated with its slow refresh rate. When I switch between the iPhone 14 and the 14 Pro, I immediately notice how much choppier scrolling is on the regular phone.

The iPhone 14’s display is brighter than before, but only slightly. It now goes up to 1,200 nits when showing HDR content, which makes things easier to see in sunlight. Colors are rich and details are crisp — no surprises here. If you’ve seen one iPhone display, you’ve seen them all. At least in recent years.

The same can be said for the iPhone 14’s speakers. Blackpink’s Pink Venom sounded adequately clear and loud, with a focus on the trebles and mids and lacking in bass. The iPhone 14’s quality won’t wow your more persnickety party guests, but it’s serviceable.

Cameras

The bulk of the improvements on the iPhone 14 have to do with its cameras. Specifically, there’s a larger 12-megapixel sensor with bigger 1.9-micron pixels than before, as well as updated low light processing that Apple is calling the Photonic Engine. This should make for better pictures not just in low light, but also greater clarity in all conditions.

Compared to the previous generation, though, this year’s cameras aren’t a huge step up. Photos I shot with the iPhone 14 and 13 were very similar. A furry plush toy bear on a table looked slightly cooler in the iPhone 14’s picture than on the iPhone 13’s, and its furry paws were slightly clearer on the new phone’s shot.

An unlit neon sign saying in a pitch black room also appeared cooler on the iPhone 14 than on the 13, with both rendering the striped wallpaper in the background equally clearly. These results were the same when I used the ultrawide cameras to capture the scene, too.

In low light, the iPhone 14 was slightly better at showcasing details like my highlights and individual strands of my hair in photos shot with the rear camera. But otherwise, things like brightness and color were about the same between the iPhone 14 and its predecessor. Even the portraits I shot of a glass of liquor in low light looked so similar they were impossible to identify without labels. Oddly, though, the iPhone 14 sometimes took pictures that were less saturated.

The iPhone 14 did produce mildly improved selfies in low light. While autofocus is a new feature this year, it didn’t make my pictures dramatically better. Details like the scarring on my cheeks were clearer in low-light selfies from the new phone, but the two devices were on par in daylight.

The iPhone 14 also features the new Action mode for improved stabilization in videos, and like most of the other updates this year, this provides only a small enhancement. That’s in part because Apple’s video stabilization was already pretty effective, and the benefits brought by Action mode aren’t as obvious. But if you’re into shooting extremely shaky footage with your iPhone 14, Action mode should be handy.

Emergency SOS via satellite and crash detection

Thanks to a new high-g accelerometer and a high dynamic range gyroscope, Apple was able to add a crash detection feature to the iPhone 14 series. This isn’t something I can safely test, unfortunately.

All iPhone 14s, Pro or not, will also be able to connect to satellites so you can send emergency messages when cellular or WiFi signals aren’t available. This feature is rolling out in November in the US, and based on a private demo I saw following the Apple event, it appeared to work.

First, when you’re away from cellular and WiFi networks, you’ll see an SOS graphic that lets you know you can still dial 911 and the iPhone will use any other available network to place your call. But when none of those are available and you want to use Emergency SOS via Satellite, you’ll first have to use the Phone app to dial 911. When the device is unable to connect and you’re in a situation with satellite access (i.e., you’re not surrounded by buildings and are in the wilderness with a clear view of the sky), Apple will prompt you to use satellite communications.

Having to first dial 911 seems unintuitive if your focus is trying to send a text or connect to a satellite, but Apple wants you to think of this feature as more of a last resort when trying to contact emergency services fails. The company has relay centers set up, too, with staff who are trained to help users get in touch with the closest emergency responders in case there aren’t any nearby that accept text messages.

During my demo, an Apple rep showed what it would look like when communicating with one such relay center (presumably aware that we were in a hypothetical situation). After failing to reach 911, the iPhone 14 showed a few multiple-choice questions that the rep answered quickly, describing their condition and environment. The system then sent a report summing up the situation and providing the latitude and longitude of our location. 

While that message was being sent, our demo iPhone 14 appeared to lose connection to the satellite it had first latched on to and we had to wait until another came by to finish sending the report. When that was done, the phone brought up the conversation that it had started in Messages with emergency services.

Texts that were sent over satellite were in gray bubbles, while the responses came back in green. We went back and forth with the responder until a theoretical team had been dispatched to our location.

The satellite communications tool can also be used in the Find My app to share your location with family and friends. I was able to test this out during my demo, and I followed the directions on an iPhone 14 to point at a satellite coming over the horizon behind Apple Park. I was told to stay still while a connection was established, after which my location was sent to a contact on the sample iPhone. The system will tell your friends that your position was shared “via Satellite” — in case those bragging rights are important to you. Then, you won’t be able to send your location via satellite again for 15 minutes.

While I can see some people potentially abusing this as a stunt, I can also imagine how it might be useful to keep your loved ones abreast of your whereabouts as you wander out in the wilderness. This shouldn’t be something that features heavily in your daily life, but it could be very helpful if you’ve lost your signal while exploring.

Farewell, physical SIM cards

Another change to the iPhone 14 line is the removal of the SIM card tray. I’ve long felt that a SIM-less world is a seamless world, and when carriers worldwide support it we will be able to more conveniently roam globally. The problem is, I’m not sure we have the infrastructure yet.

Apple may have been premature in getting rid of the SIM card tray, but it could give US carriers the push they need to adopt the format. Apple has offered eSIM support since the iPhone XR in 2018, and the company states it’s had a lot of adoption growth. With the iPhone 13 last year, Apple started using eSIM as the primary method of activation in all US retail stores, too. In general, setting up my review unit’s service was painless; all I had to do was wait two minutes for Verizon to activate my line. Apple also offered the option of converting my existing physical card to a digital one without having to leave my apartment.

It’s funny that Apple has thrown caution to the wind and fully embraced eSIM before it adopted USB-C, though. The charging standard is more prevalent and would make many people’s lives more convenient. This is one area where the iPhone 14 feels stuck in the past.

Performance and battery life

The iPhone 14 may use last year’s A15 Bionic processor, but it’s still a capable phone that holds its own against this year’s flagships. My feverish rounds of Royal Match while messaging fellow reviewers my thoughts on the iPhone 14 Pro all happened smoothly, and in general the phone stayed cool to the touch. It got warm when I repeatedly tested the selfie camera’s autofocus in low light, but didn’t get alarmingly hot.

It also managed to last an entire day that started with an 8am workout class. At about 10pm, I was down to less than 15 percent and had to activate low power mode before I could get home and charge it. That got me to 12:30pm with 6 percent left, and I was still able to snap some pictures during that time.

Wrap-up

The iPhone 14 is very similar to the iPhone 13, which itself was very similar to the iPhone 12. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad phone — it’s just less of an upgrade for anyone using a phone that’s only two years old. You’ll notice a bigger difference if you’re going to the iPhone 14 from the 11 or older, since new features like Emergency SOS via Satellite and crash detection are hopefully things you won’t need to use much. For those people, the iPhone 14 will be a satisfying daily driver.

For years, Apple has been the lone holdout in a sea of all-screen phones with punch-hole cutouts that house selfie cameras. The black rectangle that sat at the top of its flagships since the iPhone X has drawn some criticism, but mostly ambivalence. Apple has kept it around, in large part because Face ID requires sophisticated cameras that can’t easily be downsized. Meanwhile, Android phones have either used punch-hole cutouts or moved on to under-display cameras, aided by the adoption of in-screen fingerprint scanners.

With the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple is leaving the notch behind and using a pill-shaped cutout instead to house its front cameras. But it’s not just changing up the hardware and calling it a day. The company also uses software and animations to make the cutout feel more useful and better integrated into the interface than on Android phones. In true Apple fashion, the company is also giving the feature a fancy name: Dynamic Island. Leave it to Apple to be late to the party, do things a little differently and slap some grandiose branding on it.

The Dynamic Island isn’t the only example of Apple adopting a feature late but doing it its way. The iPhone 14 Pros also bring a 48-megapixel camera system and Always On Displays that show your entire lock screen, instead of a simplified interface. Add Emergency SOS via Satellites and the removal of the physical SIM tray and the iPhone 14 Pros feel like notable upgrades.

Design

But, giant pill-shaped hole aside, they don’t look that much different from their predecessors. Even that difference is actually fairly minor. When it isn’t doing anything, the Dynamic Island is still a blank space at the top of the screen.

The new models are a teeny 0.01 inches thicker and a hair shorter than last year’s. The smaller Pro also gained a bit of weight – 0.07 ounces (or 2 grams) to be exact. The Max still feels like a massive brick of a phone that could crack your skull open if it fell while you were reading in bed, but if you’ve used previous models, you know what you’re in for. From the back, the iPhone 13 Pro and 14 Pro look basically identical, and you can only sort of tell them apart by the fact that the latest model’s cameras are ever so slightly bigger. 

Living on Dynamic Island

Let’s not pretend that the notch has gone away. It may no longer extend from the top bezel, but the camera cutout here is larger than those on Android phones. When nothing is happening in the space, the hole is still obvious, especially when watching a fullscreen video. In fact, when I was switching between the iPhone 14 and the Pro, I didn’t notice a big difference. Still, by ensuring the camera is always camouflaged by software, Apple isn’t just providing a faux full-screen experience, it’s also giving it an air of usefulness.

When you start a timer or play a song and swipe up to go to the home screen, for example, an animation shows the app jumping into the island. That space stretches a little to make room for a clock or album cover on the left, while a countdown or a dancing waveform sits on the right. Tap the island and it’ll take you back to the app. Long press it, and the box expands further to show more controls.

It’s not much easier or faster than swiping down from the top to access the playback box, but I guess this way there’s an obvious indicator something is happening. The animations throughout this experience are slick, making everything feel polished and thought-through.

The island’s extra width when something is in it causes things like the cellular connectivity symbol to go away, and you’re left with the WiFi and battery icons. In the case of a timer, the island is so long that only the battery indicator is left. For the most part, I didn’t find this problematic, though I’ve yet to be in a situation where I needed to have both a countdown running while keeping an eye on the number of bars I was getting.

Dynamic Island works with apps that use the Now Playing API, CallKit and the Live Activities API introduced at WWDC, so most developers shouldn’t have to edit their code to accommodate. For now, only incoming calls in third-party apps that use CallKit have more controls in the Dynamic Island. Outgoing calls will just show an icon, though this will be fixed in a software update later this year. The Live Activities API isn’t available yet either, but developers can use it later this year as well.

Most apps already avoid the notch area on iOS, but every now and then something trickles through. On Telegram, for example, part of a blue badge peeps out above the pill. When multiple activities are taking place at once, the island splits into two, forming a horizontal exclamation mark. I started a Maps navigation while playing Spotify and running a countdown, and the directions took over the main island while the album cover jumped over to the right, for instance.

I need to spend more than a week with the iPhone 14 Pro to know how much of an impact it would make on my life, but for now, the biggest effect is aesthetic. Seeing the pill change into a square when signing into an app or Apple Pay with Face ID, as well as the turn right arrow appear when I’m navigating somewhere, is a nice touch.

In general, notifications feel neater, too, in part because they happen in a persistent space instead of a translucent box that slides in and out from the top. The fact that it’s a black box with text in colorful font also makes it easier to see.

Display and audio

Dynamic Island aside, Apple hasn’t changed much about the iPhone 14 Pro’s screen resolution. You’ll still find a 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR panel on the Pro and Pro Max respectively, and they support ProMotion for refresh rates of up to 120Hz. Though they both pack slightly more pixels than their predecessors, the Pro still offers the same density at 460 ppi, while the Pro Max is a slight 2 ppi higher than before. But Apple did make the displays brighter. They can hit up to 2,000 nits outdoors, and 1,600 nits indoors when playing HDR video. I did have a slightly easier time reading things off the iPhone 14 Pro than on the 13 Pro, though the difference isn’t significant.

On the surface, the Always On Display (AOD) might not seem like a huge change, but a lot has been done under the hood to make it work well without overtaxing the battery. The AOD runs at just 1Hz, and Apple improved the LTPO (or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) display to ensure graphics and colors still look good. It also made a new low power supply for the AOD and with a dedicated coprocessor that updates the screen without having to tap the CPU. For things that change predictably, like the clock or a countdown, the system prerenders frames and feeds them to the AOD when needed.

Finally, using the proximity sensor, which is now behind the display, the AOD is turned off when it detects occlusion — like when you flip your phone face down or stick it in your purse or pocket. It’ll also be disabled during a Sleep focus, low power mode or when you’re using CarPlay, since Apple believes you won’t need to see your AOD during those times. In some other scenarios, like when you use the Continuity Camera on macOS or if you’re wearing an Apple Watch and leave your phone, the AOD turns off too.

While Samsung and Pixel phones give you a black-and-white screen showing just the clock, date and weather along with a row of indicator icons, Apple actually presents your full lock screen, complete with wallpaper and widget support. As someone who doesn’t use a personalized background, I don’t find that a major plus. But it is helpful that Apple shows you actual notifications instead of just the icon for an app. By the way, if you’re concerned about privacy, or just don’t like this, you can turn off the AOD in Display settings.

Because it’s so similar to the lock screen, I sometimes got confused and would hit the power button in an effort to turn the display off. I also would try to swipe left to use the camera, thinking the page was active, when in fact the phone was in a “sleep” state with the AOD on. Eventually, though, I got used to this and remembered to double tap before swiping to access the camera.

I also used the iPhone 14 Pro to play music in my new apartment as my usual speakers hadn’t been set up yet. As expected, it’s not as loud or clear as a proper speaker, but provided ample volume and decent background noise. The playlist of sing-along songs like Stronger by Kelly Clarkson or Oops I did it again by Britney Spears lacked bass and sounded a bit noisy in the mid levels, but was generally typical of a smartphone.

Emergency SOS and eSIM setup

All iPhone 14s, Pro or not, will be able to connect to satellites so you can send emergency messages when cellular or WiFi signals aren’t available. Thanks to a new high-g accelerometer and a high dynamic range gyroscope, they’re also able to detect if you’ve been in a severe vehicle crash detection. This isn’t something I can safely test, so we’ll have to take the company’s word that the feature works. Meanwhile, Emergency SOS via satellite is rolling out in November in the US, so I haven’t been able to check it out either. But based on a demo I took following the Apple event, it appeared to work.

First, when you’re away from cellular and WiFi networks, you’ll see an SOS graphic that lets you know you can still dial 911 and the iPhone will use any other available network to place your call. But when none of those are available and you want to use Emergency SOS via Satellite, you’ll first have to use the Phone app to dial 911. When the device is unable to connect and you’re in a situation with satellite access (i.e. you’re not surrounded by buildings and are in the wilderness with a clear view of the sky), Apple will prompt you to use satellite communications.

Having to first dial 911 seems unintuitive if your focus is trying to send a text or connect to a satellite, but Apple wants you to think of this feature more as a backup to calling emergency services. Only when you fail to connect to 911 should you consider satellite messaging as a fallback. The company has relay centers set up, too, with staff who are trained to help users get in touch with the closest emergency responders in case there aren’t any nearby that accept text messages.

During my demo, an Apple rep showed what it would look like when communicating with one such relay center (presumably aware that we were in a hypothetical situation). After failing to reach 911, the iPhone 14 showed a few multiple-choice questions that the rep answered quickly, describing their condition and environment. The system then sent a report summing up the situation and providing the latitude and longitude of our location. While that message was being sent, our demo iPhone 14 appeared to lose connection to the satellite it had first latched on to and we had to wait till another came by to finish sending the report. When that was done, the phone brought up the conversation that it had started in Messages with emergency services.

Texts that were sent over satellite were in gray bubbles, while the responses came back in green. We went back and forth with the responder until a theoretical team had been dispatched to our location.

The satellite communications tool can also be used in the Find My app to share your location with family and friends. I was able to test this out at the demo, and I followed the directions on an iPhone 14 to point at a satellite coming over the horizon behind Apple Park. I was told to stay still while a connection was established, after which my location was sent to a contact on the sample iPhone. The system will tell your friends that your position was shared “via Satellite” — in case those bragging rights are important to you. Then, you won’t be able to send your location via satellite again for 15 minutes.

While I can see people potentially abusing this for sheer entertainment, I can also see how it might be useful to keep your loved ones abreast of your whereabouts as you wander out in the wilderness. This shouldn’t be a feature that impacts your daily life, but that could be very helpful if you’ve lost your signal while exploring.

Another change to the iPhone 14 is the removal of the SIM card tray. I’ve long felt that a SIM-less world is a seamless world, and when carriers worldwide support it we will be able to more conveniently roam globally. The problem is, I’m not sure we have the infrastructure yet.

Apple may be a bit premature in getting rid of the SIM card tray, but it could give US carriers the push they need to adopt the format. Apple has offered eSIM support since the iPhone Xr in 2018, and the company says it’s had a lot of adoption growth. With the iPhone 13 last year, Apple started using eSIM as the primary method of activation in all US retail stores, too. In general, setting up my review unit’s service was painless — all I had to do was wait two minutes for Verizon to activate my line. Apple also offered the option of converting my existing physical card to a digital one without having to leave my apartment.

It’s funny that Apple has thrown caution to the wind and fully embraced eSIM before it adopted USB-C, though. The charging standard is more prevalent and would make many people’s lives more convenient. This is one area where the iPhone 14 Pro feels stuck in the past.

Cameras

With a new 48-megapixel primary sensor, updated low-light processing algorithm called Photonic Engine and new features like Action mode for improved video stabilization, the iPhone 14 Pros’ cameras promise a meaty upgrade. But in my testing so far, the changes seem minor.

In fact, most of the photos I took from the iPhone 14 Pro and 13 Pro are basically indistinguishable. Sometimes images from the newer phone were brighter, sometimes they weren’t. The 13 Pro delivers pictures that are slightly cooler with more saturated colors, and I frequently preferred its results. Meanwhile, the Pixel 6 Pro produced pictures that were about the same in terms of quality and split the difference in color temperature.

All three phones were adept at keeping details crisp even in shadows. The lines inside the roof of a shelter were sharp when I magnified the pictures. When I used the telephoto lens to zoom in to 3x, though, the iPhone 14 Pro produced the brightest image. It also delivered the punchiest colors on some graffiti under an overpass.

However, sometimes the iPhone 14 Pro actually does worse than the 13 Pro and Pixel. In my shots of a park, the 14 Pro had the least saturated greens. In general, the quad-binning of the 48-MP sensor doesn’t seem to drastically improve image quality, at least in daylight.

A similar story can be told of the cameras in low light. In one example, the iPhone 14 Pro’s shots had the most accurate color and cleanest details, beating the Pixel 6 Pro at capturing the individual lines on a leaf. But Google’s flagship did a better job with a picture of a bright bar in a dim restaurant. It clearly captured individual leaves on a potted plant on a shelf, while the same part of the picture was shrouded in shadow when shot with the iPhone 14 Pro.

The Pixel also took generally brighter nightscapes of Manhattan, with the iPhone 14 Pro coming in very close behind and differences boiling down to minor variations in color temperature. Both devices rendered the words “Now Leasing” on a faraway building equally clearly — that is to say, slightly mottled but impressive for how dark and distant the lettering was. Compared to the 13 Pro, too, the latest iPhone doesn’t offer a huge improvement. But Apple is definitely closing the gap on Google when it comes to low light performance.

I still prefer the Pixel for portrait shots, though. While the iPhone 14 Pro’s new focal length of 24mm is supposed to be better for portraits, it still isn’t as adept as Google at picking out subjects and blurring out the background. I used all three phones to snap a friend chilling with one leg up on a park bench, and the Pixel was best at keeping the scar on his knee in crisp detail.

In general, most people comparing the iPhone 13 Pro and 14 Pro won’t notice a major difference in picture quality. But advanced users will appreciate the ability to shoot 48-MP images in ProRaw, which will allow them to capture greater detail.

Video is another area that got an improvement too, with support now for up to 4K resolution and 30 frames per second in Cinematic Mode. I don’t usually shoot clips that sharp, but the footage I got of a dog chasing a frisbee came out smooth and vivid.

I also checked out Action Mode by chasing my friend up and down a path, recording both with and without the new stabilization feature. I did notice slight improvements, but frankly, Apple was already delivering impressively stable footage.

The same can be said for selfies taken with the TrueDepth camera up front. In general, the iPhone 14 Pro’s pictures here came out slightly brighter than the 13 Pro’s and, although autofocus is a new feature, I haven’t noticed a big improvement. In selfies where I was headbanging or where a friend was fidgeting, both the iPhone 13 and 14 Pro delivered crisp shots.

So the changes to the iPhone 14 Pro’s cameras aren’t a dramatic jump from last year’s model, but anyone looking to upgrade from an iPhone 12 Pro or older is likely to find the latest flagship a satisfying improvement.

Performance and battery life

As expected, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are smooth, well-tuned machines that can handle any task thrown at them. Apple’s new A16 Bionic chip handled my massive selfie binges while playing Spotify in the background alongside concurrent timers, Maps navigation and more. In the brief time I’ve had the iPhone 14 Pro, it’s gotten warm but not uncomfortably so, which is more than I can say for my Pixel 6 Pro and iPhone 12.

In spite of the AOD I haven’t noticed the battery running perilously low even after a long day starting with a 10am workout, followed by numerous camera test sessions and a night out. I got home at 1am with some juice to spare. One night I forgot to charge the iPhone 14 Pro and had to run to a morning workout with just 19 percent in the tank. It still lasted more than an hour and I was even able to do some testing.

Wrap-up

From the outside, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max don’t look dramatically different from their predecessors, aside from the Dynamic Island. But thanks to the Always On Display and crisis-preparedness features like crash detection and Emergency SOS, the iPhone 14 Pros feel potentially more useful in unforeseen circumstances. Sure, the camera updates feel less significant than I expected. But anyone upgrading from an older phone will appreciate what Apple has to offer. 

These days, the idea of a camera just for “action” feels like a bit of an anachronism. In 2022 social media is king, and action is a just one subsection thereof. You only need to look at the last few GoPros, and the competition, to see that brands with skin in the game are all too aware of that. Enter the Hero 11 Black, where everything feels a bit grown up, in a skate-dad kinda way.

As for what’s new, if you had “physical design” on your bingo card, you’re out of luck. Substantial redesigns seem to come along every three or four years, but for now the Hero 11 looks exactly the same as the 10 just with a 1 replacing the 0 painted on the side.

As usual, though, there are some extra shooting modes. SuperView is now available right up to 5K60/4K120 (previously 4K/60 was the max). Similarly, still images receive a boost from 23-megapixels up to 27. There’s also 10-bit color across the board. The shrewd among you will have spotted that this means there is a new sensor and it’s core to some of the other new features below. Despite the move up from 1 /2.3 to 1 /1.9 those extra megapixels don’t seem to have really translated to improved low light performance (accordingly there’s no such claim). Instead you have more pixels to play with.

In fact, this new, taller sensor is what enables two of the main new features: First is 360-degree horizon lock in Linear mode (up to 5.3K/30). Horizon-leveling was already pretty good on the Hero 10, but now it’s absolute. If your activities involve a lot of tight corners or literal body spinning this can be used for creative effect. If, like me, you’re just prone to wonkily mounting your camera you can really just forget about all that now. Both DJI’s new Osmo Action 3 and the Insta360 offer similar horizon lock features, but GoPro’s is available in frame rates such as 4K/60 and 2.7K/120, whereas DJI’s, for example, tops out at 2.7K/60.

The second, and probably bigger advantage to the taller sensor is the ability to record in “Full Frame.” This isn’t a camera mode per se – although it can be used as such if you like 8:7, 5.3K video. It’s more of a tool for shooting absolutely everything and then “punching out” the aspect ratio you want (or more than one) after the fact. With Full Frame, you can shoot once and pull a 4K,16:9 video out for YouTube and then a 9:16 version for TikTok, for example. Both with completely different framing if you wish. Alternatively, you can kinda set and forget, and then just frame the shot after the fact.

This feature has a lot of potential, especially if you’re not really sure what shooting mode to go for. I tried it out by mounting the camera on my bike perpendicular to the frame (turning the bike into a dolly of sorts). I rode past some interesting scenery and then punched out a conventional 16:9 edit and a mobile-friendly 9:16 version. The landscape clip came out pretty good as I was able to cut out a lot of pavement and focus on the subject. The mobile version still turned out better than if I had to crop it out from a 16:9, and of course there was no loss of resolution, but this particular shot didn’t end up being suitable for portrait. Either way, the Full Frame feature improved both videos and the fact I could frame each of them differently definitely got me thinking about other cool things I could do with this.

If there was a negative, you might find yourself having to think backwards. For example, I did a short intro to camera using the front screen to frame myself, but when I was choosing the aspect ratio I wanted to punch out later, I realized that I was filling the screen so had to settle for a weird crop. Something I would have avoided if I was recording in a fixed FOV like 16:9 from the start.

Keeping things frame-related, there is a new “digital lens” (which is GoPro’s marketing language for Field of View) called HyperView. Way back in 2013 the company introduced SuperView which shoehorned everything on the sensor into a 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s a bit intense, but does make first-person shots feel faster and more immersive. Well, HyperView is essentially that but for the new, taller sensor and it’s a bit bonkers.

You will absolutely not want to use this one for everything, but for certain shots it should be a go-to. I tried it while mounted on my handlebars and it was very noticeable how warped trees and buildings looked as I passed. Worse, those slightly weird angles made the video feel like I was watching a 90s first-person-shooter game.

That said, I did a second shot with the camera hanging low by my board as I skated around town and I can’t stop watching it. The proximity to the floor and the pace and intensity of objects as they passed by made it feel like I was in the cockpit of a tiny FPV drone. Even I felt like I needed to slow down after watching the video, despite knowing in reality I wasn’t going particularly fast.

Now, this might have been a great time to test another flagship feature – automatically generated highlight videos. GoPro has gradually been making it easier to turn the contents of your SD card into an interesting edit for a few years. Now, the company is taking things into its own (AI) hands and will rustle up an edit for you once you get back home and plug the camera in. You’ll need a GoPro subscription to take advantage of this feature, but given it’s effectively cheaper these days to buy the sub with the camera that shouldn’t keep too many people excluded.

Unfortunately, at time of writing this, the feature isn’t available to test.

Something that we can talk about are the new night lapse modes. There are three in total: Star Trails, Light Painting and Vehicle Lights. All three are pretty explanatory and they add some welcome additions to the standard time-lapse options, but I’m going to guess these aren’t really things most folk will be using regularly, though they can make for some good creative B-roll type shots or fun things to share when you’re in a location with low light pollution (or near a crazy motorway intersection at night we presume).

We’ve come this far without talking about how the videos and photos actually look. GoPro image quality has come a long way in recent years. Last year there was a noticeable improvement in sharpness. And while there’s no real change this time around, colors do seem to pop a little bit more, without the slightly over-saturated look of older cameras. That’s likely thanks to the new 10-bit color which will be appreciated by pro users having more data to crunch in post.

HyperSmooth, once again gets some love, with the software-stabilization now in its fifth iteration. Honestly, at this point the stabilization is so good that it’s hard to tell how it’s improved. Mentally I’ve written off any GoPro before the Hero 7 as I just can’t go back to pre-stabilization days. Just know that videos look as smooth and steady as you likely ever need.

Perhaps you haven’t used a GoPro before, or since the dark days when there was only a small monochrome display on the front. In which case, using a modern model can be a bit overwhelming as there are a lot of features and shortcuts crammed into the rear display. To help with that, GoPro introduced “Easy” mode which uses a single preset for each of the three main shooting modes (Time Lapse, Video, Photo).

Easy mode doesn’t make it instantly clear what FOV or framerate you’re shooting in, but it’s 5.3K/30 at 16:9 according to a test video and the small text in the “speed” shortcut menu that I’ll get to in a minute. Time Lapse defaults to Time Warp (stabilized videos made from still images), which is probably the most useful of the lot, so that makes sense. Photos default to SuperPhoto which is GoPro’s own “automatic” mode so that also makes sense.

Despite the lack of menu options, you’ll still find shortcuts to change the “speed” (slow motion) and the amount of Horizon Lock (or not) to use. Likewise, in photo mode you can still change the FOV if you wish and add a self-timer. I’m never going to complain about having a more accessible option for those that don’t want to be bombarded with choice, but regular users probably want to stick to Pro mode.

Whichever option you choose, it’s no good if the battery doesn’t give you time to enjoy it. That cheesy transition is me introducing the regular battery-life section. Last year the company introduced a new extreme weather “Enduro” battery as an additional accessory. Now, that battery is the standard cell for the camera.

Despite the name, the claims are ambiguous, stating a battery life improvement of up to 40 percent. That seems to be specifically tied to the performance under more intense temperatures. The most “extreme” weather I was able to test in was regular 94-degree summer heat. I had a few outings where the camera was on constantly and recording with GPS activated, save a few occasions when I was changing settings and so on. This includes plenty of connecting to the camera with my phone and pulling media wirelessly. On average, the GoPro lasted for about an hour and a half which isn’t quite as long as I’d hoped, but it is a 20 percent increase over last year’s camera in similar testing (minus GPS).

This, of course, is constant use with all the wireless/GPS on. If you’re turning the camera on and off throughout the day, not shooting in maximum resolution and not using the app heavily like I was, you can reasonably expect something decently north of that. Either way, given the new battery comes as standard there’s at least a small saving here over having to buy it as an accessory.

Which naturally brings us onto the overall value proposition. The good news is, the Hero 11 Black costs the same as last year’s flagship: $399.98 with a subscription or $500 without. There’s literally no reason to buy it without the subscription though as far as I can tell. However, even at the lower price, the Hero 11 Black is more expensive than the Osmo Action 3 ($329) and the Insta360 RS 4K bundle ($300).

One hundred dollars (or two, potentially) is a pretty wide spread for competing products. GoPro has the richest ecosystem of the three cameras mentioned above, but the rivals broadly sidestep this with compatible mounts. When it comes down to features, there’s a lot of overlap, but I have found GoPro’s are the better balance of practical-yet-creative. But as noted above with things like Horizon Lock, the specifics can vary from brand to brand.

What’s less in doubt is the dilemma if you were thinking of upgrading. If you’re coming from the Hero 10, there’s maybe not enough of a step forward to make it worthwhile just yet. If you’re coming from an older model, like the Hero 8 and before, the decision is much easier.

As much as this feels like an iterative update in many ways, we’ve had two years of fairly strong revisions with the Hero 9 and Hero 10. In tandem, the competition from DJI and Insta360 has really started to put some serious pressure on GoPro. The result is that it is possibly the best time in history to be buying what was formerly known as the action camera.

Jeep is making good on its commitment to release a “4xe” plug-in hybrid variant of each of its SUV models by 2025 with Stellantis executives taking the stage at the 2022 Detroit Auto Show Wednesday morning to unveil the 2023 Jeep Wrangler Willy 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe 30th Anniversary edition. Both models will be on display through September 25th.

The Wrangler Willy 4xe, named after the venerated first-generation military Jeeps that debuted in WWII, matches a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 with a 17kWh, 400-Volt battery pack to deliver 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque along with 49 MPGe and 21 miles of electric-only range. Its Selec-Trac full-time 4WD system and Dana 44 axles ensure that the Willy 4xe will be just at home at a trailhead as it is a Whole Foods. Yeah, you’re going to need “bougie grocery store” money if you want a Willy, which will arrive with an MSRP of $53,995 (excluding $7,500 tax credit and $1,595 destination). Per Jeep, “LED headlamps and fog lamps, Alpine 9-speaker premium audio, all-weather floor mats, rear limited-slip differential, rock rails, black grille, and 17-inch black-painted alloy wheels wearing LT255/75R17C mud-terrain tires” will all come standard as well as a “Willys” decal on the hood. Order banks for the new model open today with deliveries scheduled to start fourth quarter 2022.

The Grand Cherokee 4xe 30th Anniversary edition (wow, that’s a mouthful) isn’t so much a new model as it is a new optional package. The GC 4xe already offers 56 MPGe and 25 miles all-electric range in addition to the same 375 HP / 470 lb-ft torque that the Wrangler does (unsurprising since the two run identical powertrains), with the 2022 model year Grand Cherokees being available in the Limited, Trailhawk, Overland, and Summit trims. 

The 30th Anniversary package will feature a blacked out exterior — 20-inch black rims, special-edition badging and body-color rear fascia, lower moldings, sill claddings and wheel flares — with dual exhaust and a dual-pane sunroof. The interior offers black capri leather seats, wireless phone charging and a nine-speaker Alpine audio system and Uconnect 5 with a 10.1-inch touchscreen. The 30th Anniversary package will retail for $4,500 on top of the $58,465 you’ll need for the rest of the vehicle. Orders for the Grand Cherokee open later this year with deliveries set for early 2023.

GoPro’s latest Hero Black update is live on the GoPro website and the usual Hero Black is joined by a new Mini model. As expected, there’s the Hero 11 Black but along with it comes the Hero 11 Black Mini. No prizes for guessing that the Mini is a smaller version of the flagship, but how the company has implemented it is a little more interesting than perhaps the “Session” cameras of old (its spiritual predecessor).

First, let’s look at what’s new in the Hero 11 Black. Design-wise there’s no changes at all bar the different number on the side, it even uses the same colors as the 10. Inside there’s only one hardware change, and that’s a new taller sensor. The Hero 11 Black also now comes bundled with the Enduro battery as standard which was previously sold as an accessory.

Intriguingly, the flagship feature GoPro is promoting seems to be the new automatic highlight videos. The idea is, once you get back from your adventure and plug your camera in, it’ll auto upload your new footage and create a spiffy video for you automatically. It’s intriguing because this isn’t a Hero 11 feature at all, it’s something available to owners of any camera back to the Hero 5 as long as you have a GoPro subscription.

There are, of course, some hardware-specific updates that make use of that taller sensor. Not least is the jump from 23 to 27-megapixel photos and the introduction of 10-bit color. There’s also a “Full Frame” shooting mode that captures everything on the 8:7 sensor in 5.3K. The idea here being you can punch out different videos at different aspect ratios – in full resolution – after the fact.

The second benefit of the new sensor is the addition of 360-degree horizon lock right up to 5.3K/30. This is either a practical tool to avoid lop-sided video or can be used for creative effect if your activity involves any kind of spinning – you can keep the subject level and just spin the sky, for example.

The maximum resolution stays at 5K/60 or 4K120, but along with Full Frame, you now have “HyperView” which is the whole sensor view squeezed into a 16:9 format. It’s basically the existing SuperView, just with even more pixels. It’s great for first person view shots as it really dials up the sense of action.

Night owls will find some new tools in the Time Lapse section: Vehicle Lights, Star Trails and Light Paint. The names match popular effects we’ve all seen before and now you can do them right from your GoPro straight from a preset.

As for HyperSmooth, the company’s software stabilization, that’s now in its fifth incarnation and comes with Auto Boost for those extra heavy moments. One other new menu option is the ability to switch between Pro and Easy mode. “Pro” is the current standard menu system while Easy strips out everything but the best click-and-go settings for most situations.

Perhaps the most interesting news for hardware fans is that new Mini model. It’s the exact same camera guts, just without either of the video displays. Instead there’s a limited LCD for seeing what settings are active and two buttons. The party-piece here is that the Mini has two sets of built-in mounting fingers, making it a little more versatile than its bigger sibling. The Mini is also powered by a non-removable Enduro battery.

GoPro is sticking with its funky pricing scheme which means you actually pay less if you choose to include a subscription. The Hero 11 Black keeps the $399/$500 (without a sub) price of the camera it replaces while the Mini comes in at $300/$400. The flagship goes on sale today, while the Mini will ship starting October 25.

DJI has done another 180 on its Osmo action cam lineup. The original Osmo Action had a classic GoPro look, but then with the Action 2 (no Osmo), DJI went to an oddball modular design. It had some interesting ideas – it was nice and small, and you could add storage, a front-facing screen and more with the add-on units. But it suffered from overheating, proved to be somewhat fragile and was overly complex.

Now with the Osmo Action 3, DJI has brought back the action-cam form factor. It also made numerous small improvements from the mount to the displays to the battery – but kept the previous model’s 1/1.7-inch, 12-megapixel sensor and maximum 4K 120p video resolution.

The rival Hero 10 is in a class by itself with its HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization, 5.3K 60p resolution and 240fps 2.7K frame rate – and GoPro has teased a new model (“taking it to 11”) arriving in exactly an hour – quite the interesting coincidence. To see how it stacks up, I tested it on a vehicle, bike and on foot, while getting a face-first look at the improved durability.

Body and handling

Without the battery module, the Action 2 has a fairly weak 60 minutes of battery life. DJI has addressed that with the new “Extreme Battery” on the Osmo Action 3 that lasts up to 160 minutes. It’s also the first action camera with fast-charging (via the Multifunction Battery Case) that allows for an 80 percent charge in just 18 minutes, or a full charge in 50 minutes.

It has a slick new magnetic quick-release mount that lets you connect the camera directly to a GoPro-style mount with or without the case. It also allows for easy vertical mounting, making the Action 3 better for social media.

That lets you detach the camera from a bike, car or other mount without the need to remove it from the case. DJI notes that the mounting system “eliminates loose connections and withstands impact such as a rider falling off their bike,” but recommends not doing that.

So naturally, I executed a perfect face plant on my mountain bike, and can confirm that the camera came away unscathed, unlike my face (yes, there’s video). The camera clearly made some contact with the ground but stayed attached to the mount and suffered no visible damage – so kudos to DJI for that.

You also get a front (1.4-inch, 360×360) and rear (2.25-inch, 640×360) screen that are both touch-enabled, making for easier vlogging or self-shooting. Gorilla Glass on the displays aids in the promised impact resistance. The menu system works in the same way as the Action 2, mainly by swiping. You swipe up to change primary settings like resolution and frame rate, down to access the main menu, left to change the shooting mode and right to play back footage. The menus work in the same way on both the front and rear displays.

It’s not terribly intuitive, but probably the best option for a screen that small. You can also connect the camera to DJI’s Mimo app, which is easier to use and more like what you’ll find on its Fly and Go drone apps. That lets you control video and photo captures remotely, while changing all the key camera settings.The app is also used to update the camera’s firmware.

As before, the Osmo Action 3 can work as a webcam, promising higher-quality video and audio than your typical built-in camera for conference calls and livestreams. This works well, with minimal setup and an easy connection via USB-C, though video is very wide. It also lets you livestream via WiFi at up to 1080/30p.

Video and stabilization

The Action 3 uses the latest version of DJI’s stabilization, Rocksteady 3.0, to eliminate camera shake in all directions up to the maximum 4K/120fps. It’s nearly on par with GoPro’s HyperSmooth 4. I tested it on a vehicle over rough gravel roads, riding a bike on trails and roads with the camera mounted on my helmet, and on foot with the included selfie stick. It smoothed out the video perfectly in all those situations, only letting me down once (when I crashed), for some unknown reason.

It also uses DJI’s Horizon features that first arrived on the Osmo Action to keep the image level. HorizonSteady does a combination of shake reduction and horizon leveling, even through heavy bumps and extreme 360 degree rotations. This could be useful for… I’m not sure? Perhaps skydiving, scuba diving or the like. Note that it only works at up to 2.7K resolution and crops the image, no doubt because it requires the surrounding pixels to compensate for rotation.

HorizonBalancing corrects the tilt horizontally within ±45° and allows for steady recording at 4K/60fps. DJI calls it “a good middle ground between RockSteady and HorizonSteady, where a smooth 4K picture in dynamic movement is priority, such as an obstacle course run.” That feature kept my footage both smooth and steady, even through steep banks on a bike through streets.

The Action 3’s camera offers a 155-degree field of view (equivalent to a 12.5mm full-frame lens), considerably wider than the GoPro Hero 10’s 19mm equivalent in linear mode or about 16mm in fisheye mode. It also offers a standard dewarped (linear) view, along with wide and ultra-wide FOVs, with the latter considerably distorted. The zoom function is digital-only and looks pretty poor – you’d be better off zooming in using your video editing app.

As mentioned, DJI is playing up the vertical aspect ratio, with not just a vertical mount and user interface, but vertical shooting capability. The feature allow for 9:16 vertical shooting so you can post social media content at all the available resolutions with no need for cropping. 

Video quality is excellent, at least on par with the Hero 10 at the equivalent resolution (the Action 3 has a 130Mbps max data rate, while Hero 10 tops out at 100Mbps). As mentioned, it can do 120fps at 4K, or 240fps at 1080p. On top of the video modes, you can shoot 12-megapixel photos.

The Hero 10, meanwhile, supports 5.3K at up to 60fps, 4K at 120 fps and 2.7K at 240fps. It’s nice to have the 240fps option at a higher resolution, but the DJI Osmo Action 3 is arguably a touch sharper at the full 4K 120p resolution. 

The Hero 10 is better in low light, though. Despite the larger pixels, the Action 3’s video can get quite noisy, even in daylight in shaded forest, for instance. By contrast (sorry), the Hero 10 delivers clearer footage in similar situations.

With the new model, DJI has added the D-Cinelike color mode from its drones to boost dynamic range and make editing easier with contrasty footage. It also added a new color temperature sensor that automatically adjusts white balance and exposure in a single shot if you’re moving from shadows to bright sunlight or diving into water, for instance. That usually gave me relatively smooth transitions from shaded to sunlit areas, though again, the Hero 10 does a better job in this regard.

The Action 3 is waterproof at depths up to 16 meters (52.5 feet) without any housing and 64 meters with the optional waterproof case. That makes it ideal for snorkeling, light scuba diving, surfing and other watersports without the case, and deeper diving with it. I didn’t get a chance to test that feature other than splashing some water on it, but it certainly looks tight and solid.

Some users complained about overheating on the previous model, but DJI said that a new heat management system allows for continuous 4K 60p recording “until the battery runs out.” I ran it at that resolution for 60 minutes with no issues, but at 4K 120p, the camera warns that the maximum recording time is nine minutes. GoPro Hero 10 users have reported recording times around 20-30 minutes at 5.3K 60p or 4K 120p. 

Where the Action 2 required the optional display module for extra microphones, the new model has three built-in mics (two on the bottom front and one on top) with wind-noise reduction that offer reasonably high quality sound. You can also plug DJI’s microphone into the USB-C port or use another external mic via a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter.

It offers voice controls and voice prompts that give you the current settings without the need to stop or unmount the camera. Other features include the “Invisistick” feature to hide a selfie stick while skiing, loop recording and quick switching between five custom modes. Finally, it offers a low-power timelapse feature with presets for crowds, clouds and sunsets, along with dynamic timelapse video stabilization that offers smooth exposure and color temperature changes.

Wrap-up

So what to make of the Osmo Action 3? DJI wisely returned to an action cam form, while addressing the overheating and other complaints of users who purchased the Action 2. It also introduced features that trump the Hero 10, like the magnetic clip mount and long-lasting, fast-charging battery.

However, it still doesn’t beat GoPro where it really counts: the footage. Stabilization is nearly comparable, but the $400 Hero 10 (with subscription) has superior low-light powers, smoother scene transitions and higher resolution. Another option is the $300 Insta360 One RS, but the the linear frame rates (with the 4K Boost Lens) are lower than either the Hero 10 or Action 3 at 4K, 2.7K and 1080p resolutions — though it’s a good option if you need 360-degree capture.

The Osmo Action 3 looks like a good option for many folks, though, particularly at the $329 base price. You can also grab it for $439 in the adventure combo, with three Extreme Batteries and the multifunction case, protective frame, a 1.5m extension rod, flat adhesive base, pair of quick-release adapter mounts and more. DJI also offers a large number of accessories including

The sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild finally has a name: Tears of the Kingdom. And it’s finally got a release date, too: May 12th, 2023. This was arguably the big reveal of Nintendo’s Direct live stream, alongside a Pikmin sequel.

We got an all-too-brief teaser showcasing the verticality of the BoTW sequel, and what appears to be a Link that runs faster. Hopefully. We’re excited. We’ve got a lot more gaming news today, from both Nintendo and PlayStation.

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

‘God of War: Ragnarok’ has a new story trailer

Volkswagen ID.Buzz first drive

HBO and Apple TV+ win big at the Emmys

Zero’s DSR/X is an adventure e-motorcycle with 180 miles of range

Twitter whistleblower says company had Chinese agent on payroll

‘Clean Energy Charging’ is coming to iPhones this year

‘Fire Emblem Engage’ will arrive on Switch, January 20th

Watch nearly 8 minutes of ‘Bayonetta 3’ gameplay in a new trailer

What we bought: How the Blue Yeti Nano finally earned a spot on my desk

Sonos’ $429 Sub Mini is a much smaller and cheaper way to add bass

The company is setting it up as a companion for its smaller speakers.

Sonos already offers a wireless subwoofer as part of its home theater. It’s big, and it’s expensive, at $749. Now, for anyone with a smaller room or a smaller budget, it was a bit of a stretch. Sonos is giving bass-lovers a new option today: the rumored Sub Mini is real — and at $429, it costs a lot less than its bigger sibling.

Continue reading.

Amazon’s Kindle refresh closes the gap between its entry-level and premium e-readers

Longer battery life and a higher resolution display.

The 2022 edition of Amazon’s entry-level Kindle has enough new stuff that existing Kindle owners might even consider upgrading. First up, there’s a new 300 ppi display, up from the 167 ppi on its predecessors, giving it the same resolution as the last few Paperwhites. However, unlike those premium e-readers, the price is a more palatable $99.99.

Continue reading.

‘GoldenEye 007’ is coming to Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack

And with online play.

During today’s Nintendo Direct, it emerged that GoldenEye 007 is coming to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service. What’s more, you’ll be able to hop into the iconic multiplayer mode with your friends through online play. Nintendo didn’t say when the first-person shooter will arrive on Switch, other than to say it’s “coming soon.” And GoldenEye 007 will be available on Xbox Game Pass. Rare says the game has been “faithfully recreated for Xbox consoles.”

Continue reading.

Twitter shareholders vote to approve Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition

An October trial will determine if Musk is able to terminate the deal.

A majority of Twitter’s shareholders have voted to approve Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover. During a special meeting of shareholders that lasted about seven minutes, stockholders approved two proposals: one to adopt the merger agreement with Musk, and one related to how the company’s executives will be compensated as a result of the deal. However, the October trial in Delaware’s Court of Chancery will determine whether Musk is able to terminate the agreement. Musk initially cited concerns about bots and spam as reasons for ending the merger agreement, though Twitter’s lawyers argued he was actually concerned about “World War 3.”

Continue reading.