iPhone 14 to Apple Watch Ultra, a Deep Dive Into Apple’s ‘Far Out’ Event

On this week's Orbital podcast, we delve into Apple’s new iPhone 14 lineup, the Apple Watch Ultra and Series 8, and the AirPods Pro 2.

Written by David Delima, Edited by Akhil Arora, Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 8 September 2022 18:44 IST

iPhone 14 to Apple Watch Ultra, a Deep Dive Into Apple’s ‘Far Out’ Event

At Apple's ‘Far Out' event on Wednesday, the American giant announced the launch of four new smartphone models — iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Apple's new phones come with crash detection, emergency satellite communication, and improvements to the cameras and overall performance. The company also unveiled the Apple Watch Series 8 and a new Apple Watch SE model, alongside a new rugged Apple Watch Ultra smartwatch. And lastly, the AirPods Pro 2 truly wireless (TWS) earphones were launched as a successor to the 2019 high-end TWS earphones from Apple.

On this week's episode of Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital, host Akhil Arora talks to Executive Editor Jamshed Avari who's currently at Apple's headquarters in California, Reviews Editor Roydon Cerejo and Senior Reviewer Sheldon Pinto. We discuss some of the key takeaways from Apple's latest product launch, from the new iPhone 14 models to the company's TWS earphones.

What does the new iPhone 14 series offer?

While this year's iPhone 14 retained the same price that its predecessor launched with, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max come with higher price tags. Meanwhile in the US, Apple's newest phones debuted with the same price tag as the iPhone 13 lineup last year. According to Jamshed, Apple's decision to keep the iPhone 13 pricing as-is, while the increase in the price of the iPhone SE (2022) may be disappointing for some users.

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But what do you get for that extra money? The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max sport the Dynamic Island, Apple's fancy software integration for a “unified" hole punch and pill-shaped cutout. It is arguably the biggest change to Apple's smartphones since the iPhone X was introduced in 2017. The change may come in handy for users who won't need to access the notification centre as often, Roydon notes on the podcast. Thanks to software, Apple has enabled additional functionality around the cutouts, and developers can make use of APIs to offer more capabilities at the top of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

On the camera front, Apple has added a new 2x Telephoto mode to the camera on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, thanks to the new 48-megapixel camera. Apple says that users will only be able to access this mode in ProRaw mode, according to Jamshed. We'll have to wait and see how Apple's claims of improved camera functionality hold up in our review of the new phones.

Jamshed says the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max feel very fresh and might motivate people on the fence, or those waiting to upgrade from older iPhone models. The new Always on Display (AoD) mode isn't just a minimalist text-only screen like Android phones — it's actually the iOS lock screen refreshing at 1Hz to conserve battery life. It almost changes the paradigm of locking your phone, he says.

iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Compared

Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus come with the A15 Bionic chip that debuted on last year's iPhone 13 models, with a five-core GPU for improved performance. The iPhone 14 Plus is significantly lighter compared to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, Jamshed notes. But the changes are minimal at best — and Roydon feels that it's a good time to buy the iPhone 13 for most in India.

Apple goes Ultra with a new Watch

Apple's first device with the word ‘ultra' was launched at the ‘Far Out' event, in the form of the new Apple Watch Ultra. The company also launched the new Apple Watch Series 8 lineup, along with a new Apple Watch SE model. Sheldon says that the Apple Watch Ultra is a confusing product, while Jamshed — who tried it on after the launch event — says it's a bulky wearable. While features like the dive computer integration is interesting, Sheldon says the 60 hours of battery life isn't comparable to expedition watches that run for several days on a single charge.

Upgraded fancy AirPods

That leaves the AirPods Pro 2 — the second-generation of Apple's high-end TWS earbuds. They feature improved active noise cancellation and audio quality. Apple didn't announce support for Hi-Res audio, but Jamshed says that people who tried out the earbuds at the event said active noise cancellation has been improved considerably. We'll know more about how they work as part of our upcoming reviews.

iPhone 14 vs iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 13: Compared

You can listen to all of that in detail and more in our episode by hitting the play button on the Spotify player embedded above.

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iPhone 14

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Good overall performance
Great camera quality in daylight
iOS ecosystem and ease of use

Bad
Dated design and notch
Very similar to iPhone 13
Relatively slow charging
Expensive

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 review

Display 6.06-inch

Processor Apple A15 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1170x2532 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 14 Plus

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Good overall performance
Great camera quality in daylight
iOS ecosystem and ease of use
Excellent battery life

Bad
Dated design and notch
Same SoC as iPhone 13 series
Relatively slow charging
Expensive

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 Plus review

Display 6.68-inch

Processor Apple A15 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1284x2778 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 14 Pro

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Superb display with always-on mode
Excellent overall performance
Good battery life
All cameras take high-quality stills and video
Regular iOS updates for many years

Bad
Extremely expensive
Relatively slow charging and transfer speed
Gets warm under heavy workloads
Limited customisation for Dynamic Island

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 Pro review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A16 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 14 Pro Max

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Apple A16 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 2796x1290 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

Apple Watch Ultra

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display Size 49mm

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

More Apple Smartwatches

Apple Watch SE (2nd Generation)

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display Size 40mm

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

More Apple Smartwatches

Apple Watch Series 8 GPS

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display Size 41mm

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

More Apple Smartwatches

Apple Watch Series 8 GPS + Cellular

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design and comfort
Tracking accuracy
Software and ecosystem
Battery life

Good
Solid build quality, crisp display
Accurate fitness, sleep tracking
IP6X dust, and 50m water resistant
Fast charging
Useful advanced health and safety features

Bad
Inconsistent SpO2 tracking
No battery life improvements

Read detailed Apple Watch Series 8 GPS + Cellular review

Display Size 45mm

Dial Shape Rectangle

Display Type OLED Retina

Ideal For Unisex

More Apple Smartwatches

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design / Comfort
Audio Quality
Battery Life
Value For Money

Good
Classic design with improved controls
Comfortable fit
State-of-the-art charging case
Very good battery life
Flexible, eager sound quality
Excellent ANC and transparency modes

Bad
Some features only work on Apple devices
Somewhat expensive

Read detailed Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones review

Colour White

Headphone Type In-Ear

Microphone Yes

Connectivity True Wireless Stereo (TWS)

Type Earphones

More Apple Headphones & Headset

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Further reading: iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Series, Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE 2, Apple Watch SE 2022, Apple Watch Ultra, AirPods Pro 2, Far Out, Apple event, iPhone 14 event, Apple, Orbital, Gadgets 360 Podcast, Podcast

David Delima

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As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More