I have been using the iPhone 14 Pro Max since 2023 and I have not seen any shortcomings in it except Apple intelligence. Apple iPhones are flagship smartphones in India and around the world, but it is not that everyone can afford them. Especially in India, these phones are very expensive, which not everyone can afford. Still, everyone buys it for the Apple status symbol. But the question here is whether there is a need to upgrade the iPhone every year. Since I am an iPhone 14 Pro Max user, I can tell what is so special in the iPhone apart from some new features so far that I should upgrade it.
Key Features of iPhone 14 Pro Max
The iPhone 14 Pro Max was the fastest and most powerful smartphone of its time, competing with Samsung and Google. Even today, it is at a difference of 19-20 from the new smartphones. There is no doubt that the new generation iPhone 16 Pro Max has a faster and powerful processor than the 14 Pro Max and 15 Pro Max. With some new and special features, the iPhone 16 Pro Max becomes more advanced and better than these.
iPhone 14 Pro Max was launched on 2022 September 07 in India at a price of Rs 1,39,000. With a large 6.7-inch display and protection of Ceramic Shield glass, its display works great. Even if used in direct sunlight, its brightness is so good that you can use it comfortably without any problem. Its peak brightness is up to 2000 nits, which does not cause any problem in viewing. But there is a problem that using it in the sun for a long time at full brightness causes heating issue. But it does not happen much, it becomes normal after coming in the shade or room.
Software & Performance
Apple’s iOS is a great example in itself for stability and great performance. It is undoubtedly the software management of Apple iOS is much better than Android. With 120Hz refresh rate and smooth animations, it runs smooth. It has also shown its power in app loading or heavy rendering. In the journey from iOS 16 to 18, I have done many updates and I have done them as per the program.
Due to which I did not face any problem of green screen error or lagging and hanging. On one hand, I have seen many reviews online where everyone has told about the technical problems coming after software update, their statement is also correct but this problem was faced in only a few phones. In the upcoming iOS 19, it is expected to run even better and smoother than before.
Gaming
In terms of gaming, no Android smartphone can compete with it. I have played games with high graphics like Call of Duty, PUBG and Asphalt in it. There was no FPS lag or heating issue anywhere in it. Its battery backup is also good during gaming. It easily lasts for 4-5 hours of gaming which is still giving a very good backup even after 2 years. I played it continuously for 3 hours in the office, even though the temperature was 48 degrees, those days it easily gave 4 hours of backup, and 15-20 per cent of the battery was left. So there is no problem with the battery and neither will it need to be replaced.
Camera Quality
It is still excellent in camera performance and clicks very sharp, clear photos. I had gone to a wedding and I had to take my DSLR there, but I did not feel like taking a DSLR on a journey of 1800 km and I clicked all the photos with this iPhone 14 Pro Max. Certainly, I did not miss the DSLR even 1% there, because its filters and camera apparatus are so good that there was no need to even edit the photos.
When I showed the photos to the relatives, they could not believe that such good and clear photos could be clicked from a mobile. Its clarity increases manifold during the day, and even with 3 optical zoom, the clarity remains quite intact. At the same time, in daylight, it also brings out excellent color contrasts along with clarity in the photos of every event. I clicked photos in a mustard field and the photos came out great in both foreground and background.
Even at night, it was unmatched because at a wedding, a railway employee had a 15 Pro with a slightly advanced configuration but there was not much difference between the two photos. At first glance, no one could tell that both the photos were clicked from different phones, unless it is seen in detail. Even in that, the difference was similar to the norm. However, there is a slight heating issue when clicking photos in sunlight but only for a short while, as long as it is kept in sunlight.
Videography
Talking about videography, it made great videos, in which even the camera man started wondering whether its 1080p will work or not. Because I made videos with it in both kinematic mode and normal mode at night, the result of which was really worth watching. It captured lights equally from all sides and gave good results even in low light. It has impressed me a lot in kinematic mode, before this I had not recorded videos in any special kinematic mode. My first time experience has been very good and I have no complaints with it.
Battery Backup
Now after doing all this, not talking about the battery would be unfair to it because even after doing all this, it has given its full 100% in 2-3 years. Right now the battery life of my iPhone 14 Pro Max is 86% and it has been just a little less than 100%. Because I have never felt that I needed to charge it 2-3 times a day. At the wedding, I watched videos, clicked photos, made videos and cellular data was on for 24 hours and calling was also happening, in all this too it easily gave a full day’s backup. With which I am satisfied.
I chill by watching Netflix on its big display at night and the phone also gets fully charged in 1.3 hours with a fast charger. However, I have kept it on an optimized battery in which it will not charge itself above 80%. The reason for the battery going down to 86% in 2 years is that I did a lot of heavy usage in the beginning and the battery got damaged due to the test. For this you should have a secondary phone, testing should never be done on the primary phone.
Need to Upgrade?
Do I still need to upgrade or will iPhone 14 Pro Max users like me also need to upgrade? I think there will be no need at all, if someone is a tech expert or those who need more features every year, they can do it. And some people who have more money. Because iPhones are designed and manufactured in such a way that they can easily last for 4-5 years. Earlier I had an iPhone XR which my mother is now using, its battery life has reduced from 80% in 6 years and is now at 76%.
The phone lasts the whole day on a single charge even if it is just calling and watching videos. Although it definitely has to be charged twice on heavy use, but even after serving for 6 years, iPhone XR is a great phone and has become the first choice of gamers in 2019.
Coming back to Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max, it seems that there are only 2 shortcomings in its hardware, 1 is the action button and the other is the custom button. Upgrading the phone just for these two features does not seem justified in any way. And if we talk about Apple Intelligence, then this is a special feature and software upgrade too. But in the absence of Apple Intelligence, we also have tools like ChatGPT and Gemini Eye. There is also DeepSik. Microsoft’s Copilot also works very well.
I mostly use Gemini Eye and ChatGPT and if I want to search something on the Internet and see its summary which has only special things, then I use the Arc Browser for that. Arc is the only browser that modifies the search result with its own eye and gives only main results, and it is also accurate. Because it collects data from 10 websites and gives output.
If you are a normal user like me and do official work then you don’t need to upgrade at all. An upgrade is definitely made for gamers and tech enthusiasts who always need to be up to date with the latest technology. It is also a good option for photographers as it has a Capture button which helps in clicking instant photos. Rest it depends on the consumer what is his choice and whether he needs an upgrade or not.
