Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max review: For the love of big screens

Note: This review was first published on 10 Nov 2020.

Is this the real "Pro" iPhone?

When Apple released its first “Pro” phones last year, they were identical apart from the size of their displays. This year, however, the two “Pro” phones have different display sizes and camera systems. This has caused consternation amongst many looking to upgrade to a new iPhone this year. And mainly, this is because of one problem that weighs heavily on their minds.

Is the iPhone 12 Pro Max better than the iPhone 12 Pro?

If you are reading this review, you are probably thinking the same and I can empathise. These are expensive phones and you want to extract maximum value from your hard-earned dollars. There’s a genuine fear that one might be missing out if they opted for the iPhone 12 Pro instead of the supposedly superior iPhone 12 Pro Max. Furthermore, if your budget already allows for an iPhone 12 Pro, what’s another $150 to get the iPhone 12 Pro Max?

First world problems, FOMO, whatever you want to call it, these concerns are very real. So, let’s try to answer this question today.

Design and features

All the new iPhones announced last month share the same aesthetic and design language and I already wrote about it at length in my iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro review so I urge you to read about it there.

Distilled to its essence, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is an iPhone 12 Pro with a larger display, bigger battery, and better camera system (more on the battery and camera later). What’s worth mentioning, however, is that the highly shiny gold finish on the model that I have is created using a special high-power impulse magnetron coating process. It sounds fancy and it’s supposed to create a finish that’s highly resistant to wear. It may very well be tough but the shiny reflective finish is an absolute fingerprint magnet. If you can’t stand the sight of smudges, you’ll need to put the phone in a case. The same is true for all the other Pro iPhones, it’s impossible to keep the finish looking pristine.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max has all the features of the iPhone 12 Pro and here are the highlights:

• 5G-ready
• Stainless steel chassis
• Glass front and back
• Front glass is Ceramic Shield
• Water-resistant up to six metres of water for up to 30 minutes
• Lightning port
• Wireless charging
• MagSafe
• Triple camera system (but with larger sensor + sensor-shift stabilisation)
• Dolby Vision HDR video recording

At 226g, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a hefty phone. It’s also a large phone. And when combined when its considerable weight, it feels like a slab of metal that you could purpose as a weapon if you find yourself in a sticky situation. There are some tricks like the one-handed keyboard to help make the phone easier to use with just one hand, but mostly, this is a phone that’ll operate with both your hands – even reaching the opposite side of the screen with your thumb is a challenge. Admittedly, this can be cumbersome at times – picture trying to key in your passcode to do a SafeEntry check-in while carrying groceries and trying to keep your toddler from running away at the same time – but the same can be said for any other large phone. If you want a large phone, this is something you are going to have to put up with.

Display & sound

The iPhone 12 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch display is 0.2 inches larger than last year’s iPhone 11 Pro Max. It’s only noticeable if you juxtapose the two. It’s a Super Retina XDR display, which means it’s using an OLED panel and that it has a very high resolution of 2,778 x 1,284 pixels (458 PPI). Contrast ratios and brightness ratings are identical to the iPhone 12 Pro and also the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

It’s a great display with outstanding sharpness, clarity, and colours. My only complaint is that refresh rates are limited to 60Hz. This isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker but most flagship Android devices have displays that have a 90 or 120Hz refresh rate and they look and feel noticeably more fluid. Still, the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s display is easily one of the best I have seen on any smartphone.

The large display doesn’t proffer any technical benefits over the smaller iPhones. The home screen still shows only six rows of icons and apps look and function the same whether in portrait or landscape orientation. However, since there’s a lot more real estate, everything is larger. Icons and text are easier to read and the keys of the virtual keyboard enjoy a higher hit rate. And if you like watching your favourite shows and YouTubers on big-screen TVs, then the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the closest mobile equivalent.

The other benefit of having a larger body is a fuller sound from the stereo speakers. With a bigger chassis acting as a sounding board, the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s speakers sound weightier, more wholesome, and less bright and hollow. It’s also noticeably louder. All in all, it’s very impressive for a smartphone’s built-in speakers to be this powerful and usable.

Photography

The iPhone 12 Pro Max has a triple camera system just like the iPhone 12 Pro but with a few enhancements and differences.

• Main wide camera sensor is 47% larger
• Larger 1.7μm pixel size on the wide camera (vs. 1.4μm on the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro.)
• Sensor-shift stabiliser for the main wide camera
• 65mm focal length on the telephoto camera
• Slower f/2.2 lens for the telephoto camera

The highlight is the sensor-shift stabilisation technology used for the main wide camera. The only other phone that employs a similar but not identical system is the Vivo X50 Pro, which uses a mechanical gimbal system to stabilise its main camera.

The sensor-shift system in the iPhone 12 Pro Max works just as it does on mirrorless and DSLR cameras. It works on two axes (X and Y) and can adjust quicker to shakes and vibrations than a typical OIS system can which adjusts the heavier lens. In good light, the system probably won't make a difference, but it could be handy for delivering steadier videos. But where I think it’ll come good is in Night mode, where Apple claims it can deliver stabilised exposure times of up to two seconds. This, coupled with the larger sensor, should deliver better photos in low-light situations and Night mode.

Before we take a look at the sample photos, another thing worth mentioning is the longer focal length for the telephoto camera. The 65mm focal length translates to an optical zoom of 2.5x (up from 52mm and 2x in the iPhone 12 Pro). If you like to shoot with a tighter frame, this is great news.

However, like the iPhone 12 Pro and older “Pro” iPhones, the iPhone 12 Pro Max suffers from the same inability to force the telephoto camera. If lighting isn’t optimal when selecting the telephoto camera, the phone would automatically use the wide lens instead and apply a 2.5x digital zoom to simulate the telephoto camera. You can try it for yourself. Cover the telephotos lens and select 2.5x zoom, and if you still see an image that means the phone is using the wide camera. As I said before, some form of manual override would be welcomed for advanced users who know what they are doing and want to use the telephoto camera.

Ok, let’s take a look at the sample photos and see how it stacks up against the iPhone 12 Pro. We begin with the main wide camera.

In good light, there’s very little to separate the two. In the first set of landscape images, they are practically identical. In the second set of photos, there’s more detail captured in the bark of the plant in the background, but that’s only apparent when you view the image in its original resolution. When sized to fit here (800 x 600 pixels), the two look identical.

Alright, now let's check out the ultra wide camera.

The two have the same ultrawide camera so it’s no wonder the photos look alike. As I mentioned in my earlier review, the ultrawide camera received significant updates this year and images now have a ton more detail, sharpness, and they look less warped around the edges.

Now, let's see what photos taken with the telephoto camera looks like.

As for the telephoto photos, the first image has a tighter framing thanks to the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s longer 65mm focal length. However, examining the EXIF data shows that these two images were actually shot with the main wide camera and then digitally cropped. This is exactly the problem that I mentioned earlier about not being able to force the phone to use the telephoto camera. Even when sized to fit here (800 x 600 pixels), the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s photo looks a little softer, especially in the leaf that’s in the foreground. It shows that even the larger sensor cannot compensate for the more aggressive digital crop.

Now let's check out Night mode shots.

We have three sets of photos taken in increasing darker environments. In the first image, there’s still street light and Night mode called for a 1 second exposure time. The second image was taken in a dark room illuminated by street light and Night mode called for a 2 second exposure time. The third image was taken in the same dark room but shielded away from street lights. Night mode called for a 3 second exposure time for the last image.

There’s not a whole of difference between the two. In the first image, the minaret taken by the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a tad sharper and has more detailed especially around the spire. But in the second and third set of images, there’s little to tell the two apart even when viewed in their full resolution.

Closing thoughts on photography

Are your fingers weary from all the scrolling? I'll save you the agony and say that the short story is this:

I think readers who are hoping to see an observable jump in image quality are going to be disappointed because in most situations, there’s little difference between the photos taken by these two phones. I have had the phone for a couple of days and maybe taken about a hundred photos, but I haven't taken a photo that would have been impossible if not for the iPhone 12 Pro Max's larger sensor and sensor-shift stabilisation technology. Maybe I need to take more photos.

That's not to say that the larger sensor is in vain. Ultimately, the photos that it takes are wonderful and easily top of its class. It's just that I struggle to see any meaningful improvement over the other new iPhones with smaller sensors. So if you are worried that by going with the iPhone 12 Pro you will be missing out on the larger sensor and more sophisticated sensor-shift stabilisation technology, don’t be.

Nevertheless, for those who want the absolute best, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is still arguably the way to go. Though its advantages are not obvious, there were instances where its photos were sharper and had more detail. And if you look at the video below, the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s video looks steadier which points to the superiority of its sensor-shift stabilisation system. This can be beneficial if you have shaky hands or questionable shooting technique.

But all in all, for better or worse, these photos show that clever image processing goes a long way and that means you won’t see a big difference in image quality unless you step up to a sensor that’s many times larger. And even then, the differences will only be apparent if you are viewing it at a high resolution or if you are shooting in very challenging situations. If all you are going to do is take a couple of snaps and then share them on Facebook and/or Instagram, then modern flagship-class smartphones are more than up to the job.

Video

All of the new iPhones announced last month can shoot videos in Dolby Vision HDR. However, the “Pro” models can do so in 4K at 60fps whereas the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini are limited to 4K 30fps. If the 60fps frame rate is a priority for you, the choice is clear.

Play

As you can see from the demo video above, sharpness is outstanding. And even though we are constrained by YouTube’s inability to support Dolby Vision, colours are vibrant and punchy. Additionally, the video looks smoother which points to the advantage of having a stabilised sensor thanks to the sensor-shift stabilisation system.

But of course, the caveats with Dolby Vision still applies. Unless you are viewing it on the phone, sharing it with another device that supports Dolby Vision, or on a video-sharing platform that supports Dolby Vision (YouTube doesn’t, btw) you won’t be watching the video in its full glory. Still, I expect these compatibility issues to fade away with time especially since Apple is now onboard with Dolby Vision.

Performance analysis

The iPhone 12 Pro Max has the same A14 Bionic processor as the rest of the iPhone 12 lineup. In recent years, however, Apple has made significant improvements in performance by maximising the thermal envelope. In layman’s terms, it means larger phones should perform better because the larger chassis means heat can dissipate better, which in turn means that the processor can run harder for longer. So let’s take a look at the results and see if this was the case.

Performance was stellar and it seems like the larger body has helped the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s 14 Bionic processor run faster for longer. In Geekbench, for example, multi-core scores were about 5% to 8% faster than the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. And on Jetstream 2, the iPhone 12 Pro Max outscored the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro by around 8% again. Finally, on AnTuTu and 3DMark Wild Life, the iPhone 12 Pro Max was about 5% faster also. All in all, the iPhone 12 Pro Max consistently scored higher than the iPhone 12 Pro, 12, and 12 Mini.

Against the latest Android metal, the gulf in performance can sometimes induce a double take. But yes, the scores on JetStream 2 and 3DMark Wild Life are not typos – Apple's new A14 Bionic chip is that fast.

Battery life

Our standard battery test for mobile phones has the following parameters:

• Looping a 720p video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
• Constant data streaming through email

Even though the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a smaller battery than last year’s iPhone 11 Pro Max (3,687mAh vs. 3,969mAh), it managed to last 381 minutes (6 hours and 21 minutes), which is about half an hour longer – the longest of any iPhone we have tested yet. But even so, battery life is still a great deal less than flagship Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra and Huawei P40 Pro+. Still, in the real world – where your screen isn't at full brightness and your speakers aren't blaring all the time – you'd have to try very hard to expend all of the battery in a day.

Apple's finest

With prices that rival premium ultraportable notebooks, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is pricey, even compared to other similarly sized flagship phones. But it represents the finest Apple has to offer and it mostly delivers.

But I have to admit I’m somewhat disheartened. I had big hopes for the larger sensor in the iPhone 12 Pro Max and I’m sad to see its on-paper size advantage hasn’t manifested itself in a meaningful way. But if we approach it objectively, there’s little to fault this phone. The build quality is superb, the expansive display is brilliant, it takes wonderful photos and videos, its performance is beyond any phone we’ve seen and yet its battery easily lasts all day.

Chances are, the people who are looking at this phone won’t care if image quality isn’t significantly better. They just want an iPhone that has the largest possible display. And if that’s what they want, the iPhone 12 Pro Max more than delivers.

***Read next***

1) Apple iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro review

2) Apple iPhone 12 Mini review

3) iPhone 12 telco price plan comparison

4) iPhone 12 buying guide

5) 12 cases to consider for your new iPhone 12