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The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the biggest iPhone you can get – and it shows (Metro.co.uk)
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is unashamedly for those wanting the biggest and most powerful phone Apple has to offer.
And when I say big, I mean big. With a display measuring 6.7-inches, it’s the biggest iPhone Apple has ever made.
The camera sensor is bigger than on any previous model and then there’s also the battery and the fact it’s 5G compliant.
If you want a lot of iPhone for your money, this is where you need to look.
Specifically, there’s a choice of three different storage configurations at three different prices:
- 128GB for £1,099 SIM-free
- 256GB for £1,199 SIM-free
- 512GB for £1,399 SIM-free
Given that everything about this phone is geared towards the maximum Apple has to offer, you’re going to want to get as much storage as you can. Even though it costs more than a MacBook.
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iPhone 12 Pro Max – Design
What do you think of the new design? (Apple)
There’s no doubt that having a large, vibrant 6.7-inch smartphone is wondrous for watching movies, editing photos or playing games. But for me, the 12 Pro Max is just a bit too big to use comfortably.
Like the other models in the iPhone 12 line-up, the Pro Max adopts the flat-sided, boxy aesthetic that makes it feel more slab-like in the hand than a phone with curvier edges.
I know that many, many people like larger phones but I am almost always using my phone one-handed and the iPhone 12 Pro Max was tricky to maneuver this way. It’s also pretty heavy at 228g and the 7.4mm thickness may well be increased with the addition of a case.
Sizing aside, the design of the iPhone 12 range, including the Max, is spectacular. The iPhone has always had the feeling of a premium product and this is no different. It’s a blend of stainless steel and glass with many parts of the phone made from 100% recycled rare earth elements as Apple looks to commit to reducing its carbon effect on the planet.
There’s still the physical slider for muting the phone on the side, alongside volume buttons and the power switch. You’ve got a choice of four different colours: Graphite, Silver, Gold and Pacific Blue. For my money, the Pacific Blue is the best looking.
The edge of the phone is shiny stainless steel while the back is matte glass (Credits: PA)
For those hoping the notch would be diminished this time around, I’m afraid it’s still here and it’s still just as prominent. If you’ve used an iPhone since the iPhone X, then you won’t really notice or care that it’s still here. Same goes for the 3.5mm headphone jack – still absent and likely never to be seen on an iPhone again.
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Less forgiving is the decision to stick with Lightning over USB-C. Apple will point out that charging can be done faster and more efficiently with MagSafe but I would still like to have seen a switch to USB-C similar to the iPad Pro. I have varying amounts of accessories, ranging from gamepads to projectors to multi-port dongles that run from a USB-C connector and having one on the iPhone 12 Pro Max would have been so, so much simpler.
One day, of course, everything will just be perfectly wireless. But that day has not yet come.
iPhone 12 Pro Max – Screen
The iPhone 12 Pro Max screen is rich in detail and colour reproduction (Apple)
The screen on the iPhone 12 Pro Max is bright, beautiful and brilliantly crisp. The resolution is a punchy 2,778 x 1,284 with a 458 ppi density. Brightness can go all the way up to 1,200 nits although the typical amount is around 800.
Because it’s an OLED screen (as Apple calls it: Super Retina XDR) the contrast and colour palette is excellent. You’ll notice the difference between this and a regular LED particularly when watching movies with lots of shadows and contrast in it.
Unfortunately, the refresh rate is a mere 60Hz. When compared with the likes of the OnePlus 8 Pro or even Apple’s own iPad Pro, which both have a 120Hz refresh rate, it’s a letdown. Given this is Apple’s all-singing, all-dancing top flight iPhone, it seems that having a 120Hz screen on there would be a given.
No 120Hz refresh rate – but the screen holds up really well to bumps and knocks (Credits: PA)
At least you can feel a little more confident about the durability of the screen. Apple has implemented a ‘Ceramic Shield’ construction that infuses nano-crystals into the glass to make it even stronger. During my day-to-day usage sans case, the iPhone 12 Pro max emerged unscathed from trips out loose in my bag and being dropped from desk-height onto the floor. Solid build quality should be a given at this price, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is up to the task.
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iPhone 12 Pro Max – Power and battery
The iPhone 12 Pro is powered by the A14 Bionic processor (Metro.co.uk)
In terms of raw power, the iPhone 12 Pro Max isn’t hugely different from the other iPhone 12 models. It runs the same A14 Bionic processor with a 4-core Apple GPU to handle the graphics. The only difference is that there’s a bump in RAM from 4GB to 6GB when you move up from an iPhone 12 mini or iPhone 12 to an iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 12 Pro Max.
This is just about the most powerful smartphone out there. And the power combined with the big screen means you can do a lot of things on the 12 Pro Max that you may usually do on an iPad. You can edit photos or videos with Apple’s or Adobe’s apps, you can shoot video in 4K at 60fps or hook up a game controller and use it as a mobile game console.
One of the best reasons to opt for the larger iPhone is the bigger battery. Apple says you’ll get an extra 3 hours of use from the 12 Pro Max and I found I would easily get through the day with battery life to spare. Streaming a full two-hour movie to the iPhone 12 Pro Max will drop about 25% of the battery life.
Given the amount of power under the hood and the quality (and size) of the screen, I think the battery life here is really commendable. It’s probably one of the best reasons to upgrade to 12 Pro Max over the smaller models.
Like the other iPhone 12 phones, you also get the MagSafe magnetic charging on the back which is effective and simple. You’ll just have to pay a bit more to get it – which you may want to do because the iPhone 12 Pro Max doesn’t come with a charging brick in the box.
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And lastly, yes – it’s got 5G. Which is probably not vital this year, but will certainly become more of an issue over the next several.
iPhone 12 Pro Max – Camera
There’s a sizable camera bump on the back of this phone (Apple)
If the battery life and screen were two reasons you may want to go for the iPhone 12 Pro Max over the smaller devices, then the camera is the hattrick.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max has all the camera extras the other iPhone 12 models lack. Although be warned – the three-lens camera bump on the back of this device is extremely noticeable without a case to disguise it.
You get three 12-megapixel cameras here: a standard wide, an ultra-wide and a 2.5x telephoto lens that improves on the regular iPhone 12 Pro. There’s also a bigger sensor inside, meaning the camera can absorb more light and spit out brighter, clearer pictures. Night Mode is available on the ultra-wide mode as well as just the regular camera this time around.
Three cameras – but the bump is noticeable (Metro.co.uk)
Also new is something called Smart HDR 3, which mixes things up while the photo is being taken. It grabs multiple exposures and stitches them together using computer smarts to try and give you the best possible picture. As we’ve mentioned in our iPhone 12 Pro review, you also now get LiDAR which uses lasers to accurately map distance. It’s mostly used for AR apps but it also improves the photography, giving you access to Portrait Mode in the dark.
While the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a clear step up in terms of ability over last year’s iPhone 11 Pro, I couldn’t see a great deal of difference between it and the regular iPhone 12 Pro. Even though the larger phone has all the smarts, apart from the zoom quality, it didn’t seem overly superior to me.
The photos still look great – there’s colour and vibrancy aplenty. And thanks to the new Apple ProRAW format (coming later this year), photographers will have much more opportunity to edit and tweak without degrading the image.
Video continues to be a really strong part of the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s feature set. You can shoot at 4K 60fps with HDR and Dolby Vision. Just be prepared for those videos to suck up a lot of storage space.
A bright daytime shot, taken with the iPhone 12 Pro Max without editing (Metro.co.uk) 
The iPhone 12 Pro Max picks up plenty of detail and colour in this picture (Metro.co.uk)
If you’re wanting the best iPhone for photography then this is certainly it.
iPhone 12 Pro Max – Verdict
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The iPhone 12 Pro Max is quite simply the biggest and best iPhone you can buy right now.
The size is just a little too big for my tastes, but for many people who want the biggest screen they can find – this will be their number one option.
Considering the price, there’s nitpicks to be raised about the lack of a 120Hz screen, USB-C and the rather hefty camera bump. But then again – the battery is stellar, it’s got 5G on board and it’s ridiculously powerful.
For those that want the best Apple has to offer, this is it.
MORE : iPhone 12 review: Apple’s all-rounder for 2021 and beyond
MORE : iPhone 12 Pro review: New design, 5G and a great camera
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