The wait is finally over — iPhone 12 has arrived. With four great models to choose from, there’s an iPhone 12 for everyone. But today, we’re here to talk about Apple’s 6.7-inch range-topping flagship, the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The iPhone 12 Pro Max release date is scheduled for November 13, with preorders opening up on November 6. Keep reading to learn more about the iPhone 12 Pro Max and how it compares to the rest of the iPhone 12 lineup.
This iPhone 12 Pro Max overview is part of our larger series on the iPhone 12 family. Learn more about the iPhone 12 lineup by visiting our iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 12 Pro overviews.
Table of Contents:
- Hardware Specs
- Camera
- Display
- Size and Colors
- Battery and Charging
- Water Resistance
- Is iPhone 12 Pro Max worth it?
iPhone 12 Pro Max specifications
As Apple’s highest-end smartphone, the iPhone 12 Pro Max features all the best hardware and software Apple has to offer. Packing every feature and advancement Apple has developed since the original iPhone in 2007, the 12 Pro Max is truly a flagship in every sense of the word. In practice, this means the world’s fastest smartphone processor, the best mobile camera setup, one of the best displays, and blazing fast 5G wireless connectivity.
| iPhone 12 mini | iPhone 12 | iPhone 12 Pro | iPhone 12 Pro Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | ||||
| Display | 5.4-inch OLED | 6.1-inch OLED | 6.1-inch OLED | 6.7-inch OLED |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 (476 ppi) | 1170 x 2532 (460 ppi) | 1170 x 2532 (460 ppi) | 1284 x 2778 (458 ppi) |
| Cameras | Ultrawide: 12MP sensor with 13mm, f/2.4 lens and 120-degree FOV Wide-angle: 12MP (1.4μm pixels) sensor with 26mm, f/1.6 lens and OIS | Ultrawide: 12MP sensor with 13mm, f/2.4 lens and 120-degree FOV Wide-angle: 12MP sensor (1.4μm pixels) with 26mm, f/1.6 lens and OIS | Ultrawide: 12MP sensor with 13mm, f/2.4 lens and 120-degree FOV Wide-angle: 12MP sensor (1.4μm pixels) with 26mm, f/1.6 lens and OIS Telephoto: 12MP sensor (1.0μm pixels) with 52mm, f/2.0 lens (4x optical zoom) and OIS | Ultrawide: 12MP sensor with 13mm, f/2.4 lens and 120-degree FOV Wide-angle: 12MP sensor (large 1.7μm pixels) with 26mm, f/1.6 lens and Sensor-Shift OIS Telephoto: 12MP sensor (1.0μm pixels) with 65mm, f/2.2 lens (5x optical zoom) and OIS |
| Storage | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | Battery | 15 hours video playback | 17 hours video playback | 17 hours video playback | 20 hours video playback |
| Dimensions | 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4mm | 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm | 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm | 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4 mm |
| Weight | 135g | 164g | 189g | 228g |
| Water Resistance | ||||
| Release Date | November 13, 2020 | October 23, 2020 | October 23, 2020 | November 13, 2020 |
| MSRP | Starts at $699 | Starts at $799 | Starts at $999 | Starts at $1099 |
A14 Bionic chip
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is powered by the Apple A14 Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine. The A14 packs six CPU cores, four GPU cores, 16 machine learning cores, and an image signal processor to deliver the best performance ever seen in a smartphone. In fact, the A14 is approximately 20% faster than last year’s A13, making it faster than most laptops from just a few years ago. And since it’s the first smartphone processor built using TSMC’s brand new 5nm lithography, it is also incredibly energy efficient.
5G wireless
Speed isn’t just about having a fast processor. In our ever-connected society, we rely on fast internet access more than ever. The iPhone 12 Pro Max supports 5G wireless connectivity on more bands than any other smartphone, including Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband with mmWave spectrum. This means that 5G on the iPhone 12 Pro Max will work faster and in more places than on competing devices.
iPhone 12 Pro Max camera
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max set themselves apart from the rest of Apple’s 2020 lineup in a number of ways — but without a doubt, the biggest differentiator is the camera.
All iPhone 12 models feature powerful camera hardware that seamlessly works alongside the latest iteration of Apple’s computational photography toolbox. This means that the iPhone 12 Pro Max camera supports Portrait Mode with Advanced Bokeh and Depth Control, Portrait Lighting effects, Deep Fusion with Night Mode, Night Mode Time-Lapse, and Smart HDR 3.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max expands on this with additional hardware and software capabilities that elevate the Pro Max’s photographic prowess to levels previously only seen in professional equipment.
Cameras and lenses
Let’s start with the camera modules themselves. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini pack 12MP wide-angle (26mm, f/1.6) and ultrawide (13mm, f/2.4) rear cameras. The iPhone 12 Pro keeps these two cameras, adding an additional telephoto lens (52mm, f/2.0) in order to achieve 4x optical zoom. The iPhone 12 Pro Max keeps the same ultrawide camera found on the rest of the iPhone 12 family, but steps things up a notch by replacing both the wide-angle and telephoto modules.
The wide-angle camera on the iPhone 12 Pro Max sports a 26mm focal length lens with an f/1.6 aperture. Its sensor is significantly improved compared to the rest of the iPhone 12 family, thanks to its larger 1.7-micron pixels and Sensor-Shift OIS. The larger pixels and improved image stabilization make for low light performance that’s nearly a full f-stop better — meaning that the iPhone 12 Pro Max can take pictures of equivalent quality in about half as much light. And when combined with Deep Fusion and Night Mode, you’ll be taking night-time photos that you’d swear came from a much larger camera and tripod.
The telephoto camera on the iPhone 12 Pro Max is mated to a 65mm, f/2.2 lens with OIS, giving you a whopping 5x optical zoom range. To top it all off, the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max also feature a LiDAR sensor that is able to detect the position of nearby objects in 3D space. This not only improves augmented reality, but it also helps deliver faster autofocus in challenging lighting. And to top things off, the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max will eventually support Apple ProRAW to capture the lossless sensor data so you can perform better image processing after your image has already been taken. Learn more about exactly what makes the iPhone 12 Pro Max camera great in our Best iPhone Cameras Roundup.
iPhone 12 Pro Max Video
As impressive as the iPhone 12 Pro Max is at taking stills, it’s even better with video. Just like the rest of the iPhone 12 family, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is capable of 4k video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps. But unlike the iPhone 12 and 12 mini, the iPhone 12 Pro Max can capture HDR video with Dolby Vision at up to 60 fps. It also supports optical image stabilization during video recording when using the primary (wide-angle) lens, and can deliver a 5x optical zoom range and up to 7x digital zoom.
iPhone 12 Pro Max display
The next thing you’ll notice about the iPhone 12 Pro Max is its massive 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is a multimedia powerhouse that gives you one of the largest, sharpest, and most vibrant displays on any smartphone available today. And thanks to its relatively high 87.4% screen-to-body ratio, the iPhone 12 Pro Max screen size is noticeably larger than the iPhone 11 Pro Max despite having similar external dimensions.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max has a resolution of 1284 x 2778 resolution, which equates to a razor-sharp 458 ppi. And since it’s powered by OLED technology, colors will be vibrant and lifelike. And just like the rest of the iPhone 12 family, the iPhone 12 Pro Max supports true HDR with 1200 nits peak brightness and 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio. This enables it to play HDR video content encoded in Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG formats.
Finally, the iPhone 12 Pro Max display is extremely durable thanks to a new type of hardened class called Ceramic Shield. This innovative, new glass technology uses a high-temperature crystallization step to grow nanoceramic crystals within the glass matrix, leading to four times the durability compared to previous models.
iPhone 12 Pro Max size
Make no mistake — with a 6.7-inch display, there’s really no getting around the fact that the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a big phone. But thanks to its tiny bezels and high 87.4% screen-to-body ratio, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is able to fit this gargantuan screen into an enclosure that’s roughly the same size as the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The iPhone 12 Pro Max dimensions are 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4 mm, and it tips the scales at 228g.
iPhone 12 Pro Max colors
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is available in four colors: Silver, Graphite, Gold, and Pacific Blue. You may have noticed that unlike Apple’s previous flagships, there is no Space Gray option. But don’t worry — Graphite is a suitable alternative for those looking for an understated appearance.
iPhone 12 Pro Max battery life
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is a massive phone, and it packs an equally massive battery. It also features an incredibly power-efficient chip A14 Bionic chip and OLED screen. Because of this, the iPhone 12 Pro Max offers fantastic battery life. Apple officially rates it to have up to 20 hours of local video playback, 12 hours of streaming video playback, and a whopping 80 hours of audio playback.
MagSafe Wireless Charging
In addition to offering great battery life, the iPhone 12 Pro Max changes the way you charge. It supports USB Fast Charging via Lightning Port and fast wireless charging through the all-new MagSafe wireless charging system. MagSafe Wireless Charging uses a magnet array to automatically align wireless chargers and accessories to the back of your iPhone 12 Pro Max. This enables it to charge at up to 15W, making it nearly three times as fast as traditional Qi standard wireless charging.
Is the iPhone 12 Pro Max waterproof?
Although no phone is truly waterproof, most modern smartphones offer some degree of water resistance. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is rated IP68 under IEC Standard 60529. This means that the iPhone 12 Pro Max is fully dustproof and able to withstand submersion at a maximum depth of 6 meters for up to 30 minutes. Even though the iPhone 12 Pro Max is water-resistant, you shouldn’t take it in the shower or go swimming with it. But if it happens to get splashed or if it falls in the sink, you’ll be fine.
Is the iPhone 12 Pro Max worth it?
With its incredibly fast processor, class-leading camera, phenomenal display, and 5G wireless connectivity, it’s no stretch to say that the iPhone 12 Pro Max is one of the very best smartphones of 2020. But with a starting price of $1099 for 128GB and $1399 for 512GB, the iPhone 12 Pro Max isn’t cheap. Luckily, used iPhone 12 Pro Max prices are lower than they’ve ever been, meaning that now’s the perfect time to buy!
Here’s how you can save money on your iPhone upgrade:
‣ iPhone 12 vs iPhone 12 Pro Max
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is a wonderful phone, but the $1099 MSRP starting price is a tough pill to swallow. On the other hand, the iPhone 12 is nearly as good and offers the majority of the benefits of the Pro lineup for several hundred less. So what do you get on the Pro Max that you don’t get on the 12? The benefits really boil down to camera capabilities, a bigger screen, and a slightly more premium design.
As we covered above, the iPhone 12 Pro Max simply offers the best mobile photography experience available today. It also packs one of the biggest and most vibrant screens on any smartphone. Finally, it ditches the aluminum band that surrounds the iPhone 12 and 12 mini in favor of a more premium stainless steel frame. Whichever iPhone you choose, buy on Swappa to make sure you get the best deal. Learn more on our iPhone 12 vs iPhone 12 Pro Max Comparison page.
‣ Pick up an iPhone 11 Pro Max for half the price
Not everyone needs an A14 Bionic chip or 5G wireless connectivity. What if you just want a high-end iPhone with a class-leading camera, gigantic screen, and excellent battery life? That’s where last year’s iPhone 11 Pro Max comes in. At roughly half the price when buying gently used on Swappa, the 11 Pro Max offers the majority of the benefits found on 12 Pro Max for less. Keep reading on our iPhone 12 Pro Max vs iPhone 11 Pro Max Comparison page.
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‣ Sell your used phone on Swappa
Regardless of whether or not the iPhone 12 Pro Max ends up being your next phone, make sure to sell your old phone to help fund your upgrade. And since phones lose value over time, the sooner you sell, the better. Swappa is the best place to sell your used iPhone. Selling on Swappa will get you more than twice as much. So what are you waiting for? Sell your used phone today!
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