The iPhone 14’s Newest Features Have Been on Android for Years – CNET

This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.
The iPhone 14 Pro has three main cameras: the wide angle at 1x zoom, the ultrawide at 0.5x, and the telephoto at 3x. Using the central pixels of the main camera’s 48-megapixel sensor means there’s in effect a fourth camera at 2x zoom.
Shaky video had long been a problem in smartphone videography. While phone makers have gotten better at reducing shaky video over the years, it hasn’t been at that GoPro-style action cam level. Thanks to advances in stabilization methods and post-processing, phones such as 2020’s Google Pixel 5 and Samsung Galaxy S20 have had Active Stability and Super Steady modes that helped people take smooth GoPro-like video while in motion.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus

Android did it before iPhone 14: Pixel binning

When Apple introduced the notch with the iPhone X in 2017, Samsung was quick to make fun of the odd design decision. Quickly, Android makers were looking for ways to limit their own selfie-camera notches by making much smaller incisions into the display or opting for hole-punch cutouts instead. The OnePlus 7 Pro went so far as to add a mechanism that allowed the selfie camera to pop-out of the frame, letting the screen be entirely unobstructed. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 opts for an under-display selfie camera, making the inner display almost obstructionless.

Here’s a breakdown of all the features coming to the iPhone 14 that were first on Android. iPhone 14 camera cutout.
iPhone 14 Action Mode.

Android did it before iPhone 14: Video stabilization

Either way, Apple is years behind in moving away from the notch. The new pill-shaped cutout is also noticeably wide. At least, with the addition of the Dynamic Island, a software feature that better integrates the cutout into the phone’s UI with unique animations, it makes the black trough palatable. 
All iPhone 14 models will get Apple’s new Action Mode, which should make for interesting shots when filming while running. It does look as if the mode will punch the image in for a tighter crop, as is common with other stabilization methods. Either way, Apple is late to the game on this.

Android did it before iPhone 14: Always-on display

Not everything Apple showed off with the iPhone 14 aped prior Android ideas. The A16 Bionic chip on the iPhone 14 Pro is a beast of a mobile processor and will likely remain king in the smartphone world, unless Google upends it with the Pixel 7 later this year. The Super Retina XDR display offers a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, surpassing the Galaxy S22 Ultra at 1,750 nits. The Emergency SOS satellite service feature is something that’s reserved for chunky satellite phones, but gives iPhone 14 users a way to call for help if ever in a dangerous situation in remote US or Canada. And the TrueDepth front-facing camera will give selfies a more natural bokeh effect. 
During Apple’s “Far Out” presentation, product manager Vitor Silva was careful to say that Apple is bringing a “brand new class of camera to iPhone” and not that the company was first to ever use this technique.

Android did it before iPhone 14: Pill-shaped selfie camera cutout

To counteract this, phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S21, OnePlus 9 and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, as well as budget Android phones, will group bunches of pixels together to make them act as one large pixel. This workaround, called pixel binning, allows for sensors to process incoming light while also maintaining a high resolution. 

All that said, whenever a tech company flaunts its wares, it’s always good to have some degree of skepticism.
Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, said the iPhone 14 Pro’s Super Retina XDR display’s LTPO technology allows the screen to run at a slower 1Hz refresh rate and take up less power, although it’s not the first to do so. That honor goes to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra from earlier this year, which featured the same display tech.  Chalk it up to Apple’s much-touted “reality-distortion field.” It’s also a reminder to not take every claim at face value. While reviews for the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro are strong, it’s best to look at any upcoming big purchase decision — the Pro starts at 9 — with proper context.

Apple deserves some credit

iPhone 14 Pro home screen.

Some version of always-on display tech has existed on Android for years. The feature was standard on the defunct line of Lumia Windows Phones when it was introduced in 2013. LG pioneered the feature in its smartwatches even before Samsung. Always-on allows for essential information, such as time or calendar events, to always be visible, without having to tap or touch the device.