I leave my smartphone sitting face down on my desk most of the day. I hear it vibrate. I pick it up and it shows me my notifications. I didn’t realize quite how ingrained this whole process is in my psyche before I started testing the iPhone 14 Pro Max and its always-on screen display. Now my phone sits face-up so I can see those tantalizing notifications without having to lift the device. I like it.
I’ve been living with Apple’s flagship iPhone as my main device for roughly a week now. And while its new features don’t profoundly shift the overall experience, it feels like a different phone in many small, but impactful ways. Some of that comes from iOS 16, the new iPhone operating system, but the device itself offers a few hardware tweaks that ripple throughout the entire iPhone experience. So far, I like them. And combined with a substantial leap in camera hardware, Apple’s flagship phones offer a bigger upgrade than you might expect based on what you can see on a feature list or spec sheet.
As I mentioned earlier, the new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max offer an always-on screen similar to what you’ll find on an Apple Watch. Even if you’re not touching the phone, a quick glance at the device will reveal all of the notifications piling up at the bottom of the display. Apple claims it can enable this feature by dropping the screen’s refresh rate all the way down to 1Hz, which means the screen only updates once every second as opposed to the typical 60Hz or 120Hz modes.
As with other always-on phone screens, I find myself picking up the device less often. With previous iPhones, I was prone to picking up my phone to see what kind of notifications were waiting for me. Then, because I’m already holding the phone, I might as well just check my apps. Then it’s 20 minutes later and I’ve accidentally watched 13 TikToks about how to go hunting for rare action figures at Target stores in my area. It’s easier to avoid distractions when I can let the phone lie.
On the downside, iOS 16 and the always-on screen have tricked me into thinking my phone was ringing on several occasions. The notifications stack near the bottom of the lock screen where the “swipe to answer” slider would have previously shown up.
Again, it has only been a week, so I may slide back into my same habits after a while, but only time will tell. For now, I’m opening my phone less, which I consider a plus.
Refresh and so clean
The screen’s always-on nature isn’t the only screen upgrade present in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. When you pick between the two, you’re essentially deciding between a 6.1-inch screen on the Pro or a 6.7-inch screen on the Max. I prefer the larger Max model because I figure a flagship should be a flagship, and if I’m going to watch YouTube videos reviewing obscure Russian camera lenses until 2 a.m., I want to do it on the biggest screen possible.