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Top iPhone 14 Pro features to check out and customize

Just get a new iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max? Read on for a look at some of the best features to test out and customize on your new device including the always-on display, enabling the full 48MP camera, Dynamic Island, and more.

If you were able to get an iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max for the holidays, consider yourself lucky as the device has seen low availability.

The Pro models set themselves apart from the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus with the new Dynamic Island, 48MP main camera, always-on display, and more.

Top iPhone 14 Pro features

Always-on display

iPhone 14 Pro is Apple’s first smartphone to offer an always-on display. It’s customizable with Lock Screen widgets, and starting with iOS 16.2 you can also choose if you want a colored background and notifications to show up or not for the always-on mode.

Check out our full guide on how to customize the always-on display:

And here’s our round-up of great apps to try with Lock Screen widget support:

Use the full power of the 48MP main camera

Shooting with the full 48MP resolution main camera on the iPhone 14 Pro isn’t something you’ll want to do all the time with a single image ranging from 75 to 100MB+ in size. That’s why the default is set to taking 12MP images.

But when you want to capture the most amount of detail possible – allowing for impressive crops – using the full power of the main iPhone 14 Pro camera is key.

Here are some additional great camera tips to help you get more out of your photos and videos:

Seeing rough battery life?

Particularly when you’ve got a new device you might see what feels like worse battery life than expected. However, that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with your iPhone 14 Pro. Here’s what could be happening and some tips to reduce the battery drain without having to buy a power bank.

Dynamic Island

SmartGym with Live Activities and Dynamic Island

The Dynamic island supports a wide range of native iOS 16 features along with third-party support. Here’s what’s supported directly through iOS:

System alerts and notifications:

  • Incoming call
  • AirPods connected
  • Face ID
  • Apple Pay
  • CarKey
  • AirDrop
  • Watch unlock
  • Low battery
  • Charging
  • Silent switch ON/OFF
  • NFC interactions
  • AirPlay
  • Focus changes
  • Shortcuts
  • Airplane mode/no data alert
  • SIM card alerts
  • Accessories connect
  • Find My

Live Activities: 

  • Ongoing call
  • SharePlay
  • Music/Now playing apps
  • Timer
  • Maps directions
  • Voice memos
  • Screen Recording
  • Personal Hotspot
  • Microphone indicator
  • Camera indicator
  • Support for third-party apps via API

Now Playing:

  • Spotify
  • Stitcher
  • Audible
  • Amazon Music
  • NPR One
  • Overcast
  • Pandora
  • YouTube Music
  • SoundCloud

CallKit:

  • WhatsApp
  • Google Voice
  • Instagram
  • Skype

And check out our round-up of some of the early third-party apps to offer Dynamic Island support and Live Activities:

Emergency SOS via satellite

Hopefully, this is something you’ll never need, but it’s worth testing out the new safety feature on iPhone 14 in case you ever do:

Run into trouble with your new iPhone?

In case you run into an issue where you need to force restart your iPhone 14 Pro, we’ve got a detailed guide on what to do.

Or bookmark the article below so you have it handy when you need it:

Thanks for checking out our guide on the top iPhone 14 Pro features! Have a feature you love that we didn’t mention? Share your ideas in the comments!

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Avatar for Michael Potuck Michael Potuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.