Introduction
Apple recently released its latest flagship smartphone, the iPhone 14 Pro Max. As the top-of-the-line model in the new iPhone 14 series, the iPhone 14 Pro Max comes packed with Apple’s latest technology and features. In this in-depth review, we’ll take a close look at the design, display, cameras, performance, battery life and other key aspects of the iPhone 14 Pro Max to see how it stacks up against both its iPhone stablemates and Android rivals.
Design
At first glance, the iPhone 14 Pro Max looks nearly identical to its predecessor, the iPhone 13 Pro Max. It has the same stainless steel chassis with flat edges, a textured matte glass back and prominent camera bump on the rear. The one small but noticeable change is that the camera lenses now sit flush with the bump rather than protruding out.
The phone retains an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. It measures 160.7 x 77.6 x 7.9mm and weighs a hefty 240g. The increase in weight over last year’s model is likely due to the larger battery packed inside.
Apple has discontinued the iPhone mini line and now offers the 14 Pro Max as the largest option in its flagship series. It’s appreciably bigger and heavier than the regular iPhone 14 Pro.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes in four color options: Space Black, Silver, Gold and Deep Purple. The new Deep Purple is more of a dark gray tone rather than bright purple.
Display
The iPhone 14 Pro Max is equipped with a 6.7-inch OLED display, same as its predecessor. It’s one of the best displays you’ll find on a smartphone with excellent brightness, contrast, viewing angles and HDR performance.
What’s new this year is that the display can reach peak brightness of up to 2000 nits outdoors and 1600 nits when viewing HDR content. This is a big jump over the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s typical brightness of 1000 nits. It makes the display much more visible in direct sunlight.
Apple hasbranded the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s display as a “Super Retina XDR” display with ProMotion technology. ProMotion enables the display to dynamically adjust its refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz depending on the content being viewed. This results in fast 120Hz scrolling when browsing quickly through apps or web pages, while also preserving battery life when screen activity is static.
The display still has a resolution of 1284 x 2778 pixels or 460 pixels per inch density, matching last year’s model. With the improved peak brightness and ProMotion technology, the iPhone 14 Pro Max display remains best-in-class.
Cameras
The iPhone 14 Pro Max features a new 48MP main camera, up from 12MP in previous models. This is the biggest camera upgrade on an iPhone in years.
The higher 48MP resolution enables a new pixel-binning technology that combines four pixels into one large quad pixel when shooting in the standard photo mode. This should improve detail, reduce noise and allow more light to be captured.
You also have the option to shoot full 48MP photos if you want huge high-res images. However, these files will take up significantly more storage space.
Besides the main camera, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 12MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The telephoto camera is particularly useful for portraits or getting closer to distant subjects.
The TrueDepth selfie camera has been upgraded to 12MP, enabling capture of sharper, more detailed selfies, especially in Portrait mode.
New this year is an Action mode for video that applies advanced stabilization to make videos look buttery smooth even with a lot of camera shake. There’s also a new Cinematic mode that can now shoot in 4K resolution at 30fps and 24fps.
Of course, the iPhone 14 Pro Max retains Apple’s Smart HDR 4 technology for optimizing photos. Night mode is improved for ultra low-light photography. Photographic Styles allow you to customize the look of your images. Overall, expect the very best smartphone camera experience from the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Performance
The iPhone 14 Pro Max is powered by Apple’s latest A16 Bionic chip. Built on a 4nm process, it’s the fastest mobile chip yet from Apple.
While Apple doesn’t disclose exact CPU and GPU specifications, the 6-core CPU is rumored to be approximately 15% faster than the iPhone 13 Pro’s, while the 5-core GPU offers around 18% faster graphics performance.
Those are significant performance leaps that should translate into noticeably faster app launches, smoother gameplay and the ability to handle demanding productivity workloads. The iPhone already had industry-leading performance, so the A16 only further cements its status.
The chip is paired with 6GB of RAM, same as last year. However, iOS is very memory efficient so this is more than enough for smooth multitasking.
The base storage option has been upped to 128GB, with 256GB, 512GB and massive 1TB options also available for those wanting more onboard storage.
5G connectivity is present for fast cellular data speeds, provided you have 5G coverage in your area. The iPhone 14 Pro Max supports the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard for maximizing Wi-Fi network speeds.
iOS 16
The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes pre-loaded with iOS 16, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. Key iOS 16 features include:
- Customizable Lock Screen with widgets
- iMessage improvements like edit/undo send
- Focus modes and filters
- Improved Maps app with multi-stop routing
- Apple Pay Later installment payments
- Safety Check for controlling access to your info
- Shared Photo Library for families
iOS 16 allows for personalization while retaining the intuitive experience iOS is known for. It pairs nicely with the powerful A16 chip in the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Battery Life
Battery life has seen a noticeable improvement on the iPhone 14 Pro Max compared to its predecessors. Apple claims up to 29 hours of video playback, which is 5 hours more than the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The boost is likely thanks to the more efficient A16 Bionic chip along with a slightly larger physical battery packed inside the phone (capacity unknown).
In real-world usage, the iPhone 14 Pro Max easily got through a full day of heavy use with over 40% left by the evening. This bodes well for the battery lasting 1.5-2 days with more moderate use.
Fast charging is supported with the included USB-C to Lightning cable. Apple claims you can charge to 50% in just 30 minutes. Wireless MagSafe charging is also supported for cable-free convenience.
For those worried about battery health over time impacting charging speeds, Apple has implemented a new Battery Preservation mode that can limit charging beyond 80% to reduce wear. This kicks in once your battery hits 500 charge cycles and helps extend its overall lifespan.
Conclusion
The iPhone 14 Pro Max represents the pinnacle of Apple’s smartphone lineup with an unmatched combination of performance, cameras, display quality, and battery life. It’s ideal for users who want the absolute best iPhone experience without compromise.
With powerful hardware like the A16 Bionic and 48MP camera system combined with excellent software through iOS 16, the iPhone 14 Pro Max sets the bar for flagship smartphones. Improved battery life addresses one of the few shortcomings of previous models.
Pricing starts at $1099 USD, so it doesn’t come cheap. But for those who rely heavily on their phone and want their device to last years before upgrading, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is one of the best investments you can make in a smartphone today. It’s likely to age gracefully thanks to Apple’s long software support.
If the cost seems too steep, the regular iPhone 14 Pro offers nearly as good of an experience for $200 less. But if you want the no-holds-barred iPhone, the 14 Pro Max lives up to its ‘Max’ name by delivering maximum performance, photography and display tech that no other iPhone can match.