iPhone 13 Pro Max Review, Price, Specs, Camera, Battery
Best Camera Phone Right Now. Best 5G Phone. Best Battery Life Phone
iPhone 13 Pro Max: If you've been after the best iPhone Apple has been after for a long time, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is it - mostly due to having a really long-lasting battery. You'll need deep pockets, both literally and figuratively, to own this phone, as it's big and expensive—but you're getting a decent amount for your money. Some of the upgrades seem pretty minor – we struggled to get a lot out of the new 120Hz ProMotion display and Cinematic Mode will be quickly forgotten – but the low-light camera is excellent, powering any phone on the market for heavy tasks. Onboard does and it's tied together by a cohesive user interface and app experience. If you want a big iPhone that you'll enjoy for years, this is it.
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Best cameras in a phone
- Cinematic video mode
- Brighter display
- Excellent battery life
Cons
- 120Hz screen is a minimal upgrade
- Cinematic mode capped at 1080p
- Could use faster charging
iPhone 13 Pro Max Review
The iPhone 13 Pro Max is when you've got practically everything you want in one phone. This premium flagship (from $1,099) packs a 120Hz refresh rate display, the fastest performance of any handset, and truly epic battery life.
But it's the iPhone 13 Pro Max's cameras that top this phone, as they're by far the best I've tested on a phone. You can shoot Cinematic Mode video with an eye-catching bokeh effect, choose your own photographic styles, and take super close-up shots with the new Macro Mode that takes advantage of the ultra-wide camera.
The camera bump of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is more prominent this time around, thanks to the larger sensor, and the overall design is heavier than that of the iPhone 12 Pro Max. But I like that the notch is small on the 6.7-inch display. If you want all the same features in a more compact and slightly less expensive phone, check out our iPhone 13 Pro review.
If you're looking for something more affordable and don't need a telephoto lens or 120Hz display, check out our iPhone 13 review and iPhone 13 mini-review.
While I wish Apple offered faster charging and Touch ID, as you'll see in my full iPhone 13 Pro Max review, it's the best iPhone out there—and the best phone period.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Price
128 GB of Storage Price | |
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iPhone 13 Pro Max Price | $1099 |
256GB Of Storage Price | |
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iPhone 13 Pro Max Price | $1199 |
256GB Of Storage Price | |
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iPhone 13 Pro Max Price | $1399 |
iPhone 1TB Storage Price | |
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iPhone 13 Pro Max Price | $1599 |
All iPhone 13 Official Price: Check Now
The iPhone 13 Pro Max is available for purchase now, starting at $1,099 for 128GB of storage. Going up to 256GB costs $1,199, 512GB costs $1,399 and the 1TB option costs $1,599.
On the other side of the Atlantic in the UK, the 128GB iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at £1,049, £1,149 for the 265GB model, and £1,349 for the 512GB version. If you have a lot of money to burn and want a lot of storage, the 1TB iPhone 13 Pro will cost £1,549.
Note that you can save on the iPhone 13 Pro Max if you trade in your old iPhone or other phones. And we're keeping an eye on the best iPhone 13 deals to help you save some money on Apple phones at this price.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Design and colors
iPhone 13 Pro Max Display: 6.70-inch (1284x2778)
iPhone 13 Pro Max Colors: Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue
The iPhone 13 Pro Max retains the flat edges of the iPhone 12 Pro Max but looks a bit different. For one, the camera array is bigger than before, so it takes up a bit more real estate on the back of the phone.
Weighing in at 8.46 ounces, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is also noticeably heavier than its 8.03-ounce predecessor. But I will allow that given the bigger battery in the new iPhone Pro.
On the plus side, the iPhone 13 Pro Max's notch is a bit smaller on the display, as Apple has reduced it by 20% while maintaining the same key Face ID technology. It's not the full-screen look, but it's an improvement over recent iPhones.
My only real complaint with the iPhone 13's design is that it doesn't offer a Touch ID on the power button or under the display. At a time with so many people still wearing masks in public places, it would be nice to have an alternative way to easily unlock our iPhones.
There have been some user complaints that the iPhone 13 series is having problems unlocking with the Apple Watch, which is supposed to work while wearing a mask. Luckily, Apple says a fix is coming.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max comes in four colors: Graphite, Gold, Silver, and Sierra Blue. If I pay with my own money I will opt for the blue model. The Graphite model I tested has a sleek professional vibe, but it's not as playful.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Display
iPhone 13 Pro Max Display: 6.70-inch (1284x2778)
The biggest upgrade to the iPhone 13 Pro Max's display — and the biggest upgrade overall — is the new Promotion Display. This 6.7-inch panel can dynamically increase its refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz, resulting in better overall performance and animations.
For example, when scrolling through the iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro Max as well as The New York Times homepage, I could read text smoothly on Apple's new phone when scrolling quickly on both displays. It just seems more responsive.
These benefits also apply to other activities, such as swiping between apps or returning to the home screen. But I'm more excited by apps that take advantage of ProMotion. This includes Catalyst Black, a frenzied online combat game that lets me shoot in all directions and turn into monsters. And the whole experience was surprisingly fluid.
Another plus for the iPhone 13 Pro Max's screen is its increased brightness. We measured an average of 837 nits with the Adaptive setting off and 1,038 nits with the Adaptive on. The iPhone 12 Pro Max averages 654 nits with Adaptive Off. The Galaxy S21 Ultra max is 821 nits.
The display of the iPhone 13 Pro Max delivers great detail even in low-light scenes. While watching the James Bond No Time To Die trailer, I could see every creepy crack in Rami Malek's changed face.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Cameras
Front Camera: 12MP
Rear Camera: 12MP + 12MP + 12MP
While we think battery life is the real selling point of the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the second one is the camera offering – while the improvements here are just tweaks from the iPhone 12 Pro Max, those tweaks are useful and impressive in many ways and make it one of the best camera phones out there. Make one out of
Let's go through the changes quickly: The main camera (which Apple calls the Wide Camera, confusingly) consists of a 12MP sensor, with the largest 1.9μm pixels placed on the largest sensor Apple has ever made. Combined with the f/1.5 aperture, you'll be able to capture some seriously impressive low-light images, as you'll see in the samples below.
The ultra-wide sensor (which zooms out from the main image) has also been upgraded - the megapixel count here is also 12MP which is the same as last year, but now packs Apple's Night Mode functionality, which includes Capable of taking something breathtaking. Photos in near-pitch black conditions, as long as you can hold the handset completely still for the required amount of time.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Performance
Processor: Apple A15 Bionic
Thanks to its new A15 Bionic chipset, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is ridiculously fast and holds the title of the fastest phone in the world. I got completely lost in the warp drive racing game, which delivers fast frame rates and silky-smooth action even when I zoom (and sometimes teleport) around the track.
And I also got a kick out of Seek, which flexes the iPhone 13 Pro Max's machine learning muscles by instantly identifying the many plants around my abode, from coleus to New Guinea impatiens.
In terms of benchmarks, the iPhone 13 Pro Max once again destroys the Android competition. In Geekbench 5, which measures overall performance, the iPhone 13 Pro Max scored a multi-core score of 4,549 and a single-core score of 1,720. The Galaxy S21 Ultra hit 3,440 and 1,123, respectively, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max peaked at 4,111 and 1,603.
Interestingly, the iPhone 13 scored a slightly lower 4,436/1,668, which we think could be due to the Pro Max having more RAM. (Apple doesn't specify how much memory it holds in its various iPhone models.)
You should expect a graphics boost on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, as it outperformed the competition in the 3DMark Wildlife Unlimited test. It recorded a frame rate of 68.4 frames per second, compared to 54 fps for the iPhone 12 Pro Max and 34 fps for the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Video editing should be a quick job for this phone too, as it took only 25 seconds for the iPhone 13 Pro Max to transcode a 4K file to 1080p in the Adobe Premiere Rush app. That's slightly faster than the iPhone 12 Pro Max at 28.5 seconds but faster than Samsung's 1:02 time.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Battery life and charging
Quick Charging: Yes, Fast, 20W: 50 % in 30 minutes
Battery life (hours: mins): 12:16
Battery: Li-Ion 4373 mAh, non-removable (16.75 Wh)
Now we come to one of the best parts of the iPhone 13 Pro Max review: the battery life. Thanks to the bigger battery and other enhancements, the iPhone 13 Pro Max lasted a whopping 12 hours and 16 minutes on the ProoWix battery test, surfing the web continuously on 5G at 150 nits of screen brightness.
Last year the iPhone 12 Pro Max lasted 10 hours 53 minutes and the Galaxy S21 Ultra lasted 11:25. Anything over 11 hours is great, so the iPhone 13 Pro Max earns a spot on our best phone battery life list.
Visit our iPhone 13 battery life results page to see how the iPhone 13 Pro Max compares to other new iPhones and the best Android phones.
The news on the charging front isn't that good, as the iPhone 13 Pro Max reaches just 50% capacity after 30 minutes using a 20W UBC-C charger, while other phones like the OnePlus 9 Pro and Xiaomi 11T Pro get 100%. could. in 30 minutes or less. MagSafe charging, while convenient, is even slower at 15W.
There is some good news. If you use a high-powered 30W charger, the iPhone 13 Pro Max can reach 100% in a fairly quick 90 minutes. It costs $49 from Apple.
iPhone 13 Pro Max iOS 15
iOS 15 isn't the leap iOS 14 was in terms of adding widgets, but it does offer some smart and fun upgrades. FaceTime gets some much-needed audio and video improvements and a future iOS 15 update will let you listen to music or watch movies or TV shows with friends or family. And the Messages app has a new With You section for easy access to shared photos, articles, and more.
I especially like the new Focus feature in iOS 15, which lets you filter notifications based on what you're doing. Notifications are also more streamlined, thanks to a new summary view so you don't get overwhelmed.
Other iOS 15 goodies include a redesigned Safari (I don't really like the address bar at the bottom, but you can change that), a more full-featured weather app, with more detail, and better street views. An advanced map app. Last but not least, Live Text gives you Google Lens-like powers by recognizing text in real-time through the camera to help you see things.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Problems and Issues
Thus far, iPhone 13 owners have faced some problems. For example, some iPhone 13 users are finding that the phone won't unlock with the Apple Watch, although a fix is on the way. Also, some iPhone 13 owners are complaining about the touch display not being responsive enough in some cases, which could be an iOS 15 issue.
On the iPhone 13 Pro, in particular, there are complaints that the cameras are automatically switching between lenses without warning, and Apple will release an update that will enable users to turn it off. And Promotion displays on iPhone 13 Pros not running at 120Hz with some apps Apple will address in an update. Of course, developers need to optimize their apps as well.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Decision
The iPhone 13 Pro Max is the rare phone that gets a 5-star rating from us. You get superior cameras and video recording capabilities - including the very compelling Cinematic Mode and Macro Mode - with blistering performance and a very responsive 120Hz display. Plus, this time around the battery life is even better and among the best, we've seen from a 5G flagship.
I also appreciate the slightly better 3x optical zoom and 15x digital zoom on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the brighter screen, and the slightly smaller notch. But I wish Apple could charge faster, and I'd like to see the iPhone 14 next time with a sleeker design with a lesser camera bump and maybe a full-screen look.
Some may prefer the iPhone 13 Pro simply because it is smaller and lighter, as there are no other functional differences between the two handsets. But if you prefer a bigger screen, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the closest thing you can get to a phone.
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