Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max review

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is truly the best of everything in the current iPhone world. It has the best design, the biggest screen, the best cameras, and the smartest display. It's not just the most powerful phone on the market. It's also very easy to use thanks to the new dynamic island for displaying notifications and live activity.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is Apple’s biggest and best-featured device, and it’s the top choice in the iPhone family for those looking for an all-around smartphone. The smaller iPhone 14 Pro costs $100 less, but we think the larger screen and longer-lasting battery you get with the Max are worth the extra money. Plus, the Pro Max outperforms the standard iPhone 14 thanks to its more powerful processor, always-on display, and Dynamic Island.

There are a lot of new and better things, but the new iPhone also inherits some old and outdated things, like the Lightning connector and the accompanying cable in the box. If you look at the iPhone 14 Pro Max from the back, you might mistake it for the old model. The only thing that identifies the 14 as the newest iPhone is its namesake purple color. But on the front, it’s unmistakably the new iPhone, thanks to Dynamic Island.

That’s Apple’s clever name for the new notch, which is basically software that combines two physical notches with a small screen and lots of features. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have the same features, but differ in size and battery capacity. The same is true for the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Since the Pro models this year offer a refreshed design and more powerful hardware than their standard siblings, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the biggest and best iPhone.

Design

At first glance, you might mistake the iPhone 14 Pro Max for the iPhone 13 Pro Max – except for the new Deep Purple finish. It is that similar. Nevertheless, there are some subtle differences. Measuring 160.7 x 77.6 x 7.85 mm, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a bit shorter and narrower than its predecessor, and it’s also a bit thicker. None of this is noticeable when you look at the phone or hold it in your hand; perhaps that’s because the weight is unchanged from the iPhone 13 Pro Max at 240 grams.

With the iPhone 14 Pro Max, you get Apple’s premium materials, which means a polished stainless steel frame and frosted glass on the front and back. The display on the front is protected by Apple’s transparent Ceramic Shield, which should keep it safe from damage. The layout of the power/sleep/siri buttons, the volume rocker, and the mute button are identical to those of the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The big difference is, of course, the lack of a SIM slot on our unit. This makes for a cleaner, more pleasing look. Even though the camera layout design is similar to the iPhone 13, the lenses are all slightly larger, the LED flash looks different, and there is a new ambient light sensor to help the cameras better account for bright and contrasting lighting conditions.

Display

The display still measures 6.7 inches, but it’s brighter this year with a peak of 2,000 nits and smarter with its refresh rate that enables an always-on display. And as befits Apple, the implementation, while late, is not like others. The AOD isn’t a completely black screen with a few white indicators for time, date and notifications. It’s basically a toned-down version of the lock screen that takes some getting used to and gives long-time users the impression that the phone’s screen is on.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max’s screen is very, very similar to last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max. The resolution is slightly higher, and the edges of the flat screen are said to be a bit thinner. But these tiny details are absolutely imperceptible to the naked eye. No, what really stands out when you look at the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s screen is the famous Dynamic Island that everyone is talking about. Maybe we have already talked about it too much.

And maybe no one really cares anymore after the initial hype. But it’s clearly one of the smartphone’s most important points. Basically, Apple has replaced its ugly, big notch with an ugly, but smaller, pill-shaped hole that is also interactive. This hole not only serves to house the 12 MP TrueTone selfie camera, but is also integrated into the user interface and serves as a sort of multipurpose widget. The dynamic island displays on-screen animations for notifications, alerts, and other contextual information.

Software

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max runs the latest iOS 16 software. It’s not exclusive to the iPhone 14 models, of course, with compatibility offered on all models from the iPhone 8 and newer. That said, there are plenty of features to go around, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max – and the iPhone 14 Pro, for that matter both have hardware to enhance some of those features. For example, the customizable lock screens on the Pro models allow you to see details on the always-on display, and that offers a dimension you don’t get with the regular iPhone 14 or other compatible iPhones.

Among the highlights is the lock screen. We had fun adding our own custom photo and positioning it so that part of our iPhone 14 Pro Max beauty shot obscured the redesigned time display. This image segmentation disappears in always-on mode. Image segmentation also lets you drag a subject from any image to another app, such as text or notes. Applying different focus modes to one of the many lock screens is useful. For example, we created one for work and one for home.

The new multi-part directions in Maps is also a nice addition, and we edited text messages as we went along. Even something as simple as the new search button on the home screen makes the new iPhone even more useful. Overall, there’s a lot to explore in iOS 16, but our overall impression is that it makes the iPhone 14 Pro Max even better. That’s Apple’s clever word for the new notch, and it’s basically software that combines two physical notches with a small screen and lots of features.

Hardware and Performance

The iPhone 14 Pro Max’s A16 Bionic is Apple’s first chip made using the 4-nanometer process, and it is once again the fastest chip in a phone. While the CPU is only 10% faster than the A15 Bionic, it offers 50% more memory bandwidth, which makes gaming easier. In our tests, the iPhone 14 Pro Max responded wonderfully, whether we were jumping between many apps or playing games like Asphalt 9 Legends.

We experienced smooth action during the race on the Himalayan track, even though several other cars fought for first place on the screen. Aside from the multi-element lenses and larger sensors, Apple’s new A16 Bionic chipset is the engine behind the photo capabilities of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. With 16 billion transistors, this new chip has one billion more transistors than the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. At the unveiling, Apple claimed that the new chip can perform 17 trillion computing operations per second.

It’s also manufactured using a 4-nanometer process instead of the A15’s 5-nanometer process, which should make for a more efficient mobile CPU. Running Geekbench 5 on the new phone reveals a chip that is slightly more powerful than the A15 Bionic. Both have a 6-core CPU, a 5-core GPU, and a 16-core neural engine. Basically, this is not just newly developed silicon, but it has been beefed up for better performance on a number of tasks.

Camera

Apple has made some changes to the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s cameras, offering a 48-MP main wide-angle sensor for the first time. By default, the sensor groups all four pixels into a quad-pixel and optimizes for better light capture in 12 MP photos. However, in Pro-RAW mode, you can select 48 MP if you want the most detail possible, which is ideal for cropping.

The 48 MP camera also allows for a new 2x zoom option that joins the 12 MP lens with 3x telephoto zoom, but you don’t get the higher zoom that the Galaxy S22 Ultra offers with its 10x dual optical setup. The iPhone Pro Max also has a new 12MP Ultrawide camera that’s nearly twice the size, and the 12MP TrueDepth camera now offers autofocus along with a faster f/1.9 aperture for better low-light photos.

Better low-light performance is indeed a big theme with this phone, as there’s a Photonic Engine powered by the A16 Bionic chip that makes for brighter and more colorful photos on every camera. You can take 48MP photos, but you need to enable Apple ProRaw first and set the ProRaw resolution to 48MP in the Settings app. It would be easier to enable this in the camera app first, but once it’s enabled, you can switch between RAW and normal images in the camera app.

Battery Life

Apple hasn’t revealed the size of the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s battery, but if you poke around a bit, you’ll find that it’s only slightly smaller than the previous Pro Max model’s (4,323 mAh vs. 4,352 mAh), although it does provide more than 29 hours of video playback; presumably, battery life has been extended somewhat thanks to the more efficient A16 Bionic chip.

In our somewhat limited testing, we found that battery life was well below expected performance for a full day when using the phone outdoors in bright sunlight and performing a variety of tasks such as taking photos, playing videos, playing games, and browsing the web. It was closer to 13 hours. Depending on what you do with the iPhone 14 Pro Max, you’ll obviously get different results. Also, the new always-on screen, which refreshes at a highly efficient rate of 1 Hz, may consume a bit more power than a screen that is off.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 4,323 mAh battery that allows wired charging at 20 W, wireless charging at 15 W with MagSafe accessories, and 7.5 W with a Qi charger. Unfortunately, we do not have benchmarks to test the iPhone’s battery life like we do for Android smartphones. This is not because these benchmarks simulate realistic usage, but at least you can get a better picture that makes it easier to compare the models.

Price and Availability

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is now available in stores and will launch on September 16. The starting price is $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899, which makes it one of the most expensive flagship phones ever. Storage capacity is 128GB to start, which honestly doesn’t feel very professional. But you can upgrade to 256 GB for $1,199.

Upgrading to 512 GB costs $1,399, and you’ll have to pay $1,599 for 1 TB. The 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899 for the 128 GB model, but you can get it with up to 1 TB of storage. Unlike most Android phones, there are no options for additional storage aside from the base of around 6GB.

Conclusion

We  hope you like this article on iPhone 14 Pro Max review. The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is not only big in shape, but also big in character. The redesign is really impressive, especially in this larger format, coupled with improvements in performance, battery, camera, Always-On display, and Dynamic Island feature. Sure, it’s pretty heavy, it’s very expensive, and it offers the same features as its smaller sibling, but it’s an impressive device for those who want the extra 0.6 inches of display or battery life.

John Brister
John Brister
Meet John Brister, the prolific content writer renowned for his perceptive comparison articles on Bollyinside. Specializing in topics ranging from TVs to headphones and other accessories, John's knack for breaking down intricate details into reader-friendly insights has garnered him a dedicated following. Beyond his literary pursuits, John is an avid swimmer and equally passionate about tracking, often exploring new trails and routes, feeding his sense of adventure.

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The iPhone 14 Pro Max is Apple's biggest and best-equipped device and the first choice in the iPhone family for those looking for an all-around smartphone. The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is not only big in shape, but also big in character. The new design is truly impressive, especially in this larger format, coupled with improvements in performance, battery, camera, Always-On display and Dynamic Island feature.Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max review