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iPhone 14 Pro Max

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Battery Life
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10 Verified Hands-On Reviews

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Expert reviews [10]

95
Total expert reviews: 10
  • with a score: 9
  • without a score: 1
Highest score by Tom's Guide
100
Average score based on 10 reviews
95
Lowest score by Reviews.org
84

Score distribution:

80-100
60-80
40-60
20-40
0-20
100
iPhone 14 Pro Max review
The iPhone 14 Pro Max is the ultimate phone for power users, with its impressive cameras, always-on display, and innovative Dynamic Island feature. Despite its high price and lack of a physical SIM card tray, it offers unparalleled performance and is the best phone on the market.
+ pros
  • Best cameras: The iPhone 14 Pro Max has the best cameras in a phone, with a 48MP main wide sensor and a 12MP ultrawide camera with autofocus and a faster f/1.9 aperture for better low-light photos.
  • Always-on display: The phone features an always-on display that is customizable and can mirror the lock screen, saving time and providing easy access to important information.
  • Dynamic Island: The Dynamic Island is a mini dashboard that provides access to important information no matter what app you're in, making it easier to multitask.
  • Battery life: The phone has extra-long battery life, lasting an average of 13 hours and 39 minutes, making it ideal for power users.
- cons
  • Starting storage: The starting storage of 128GB may not be enough for some users, especially those who use their phone for photography or video.
  • 20W charging: The 20W charging is slower than some rival phones, which may be a downside for users who need to charge their phone quickly.
  • Lack of physical SIM card tray: The lack of a physical SIM card tray may be a downside for some users who prefer to use physical SIM cards instead of eSIM.
100
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max review: big, powerful, and nearly perfect
The iPhone 14 Pro Max is a premium smartphone with a stunning display, excellent cameras, and a luxurious design. It is one of the best smartphones on the market, but its high price and weight may be a drawback for some users.
+ pros
  • Stunning display with a high resolution and 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate.
  • Premium design with a stainless steel frame and frosted glass back.
  • Excellent camera system with a 48MP main camera, 12MP telephoto camera, 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP front-facing camera with autofocus.
  • Utilizes Apple's new Photonic Engine image pipeline for lifelike colors and detailed textures in low light.
  • Impressive battery life that lasts for a full day of heavy use.
- cons
  • Heavy and one of the heaviest phones on the market.
  • Expensive with a high price tag.
  • May not be suitable for users who prefer a lighter phone.
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Expert consensus

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has received positive reviews for its premium design, exceptional camera capabilities, high-resolution display, powerful performance, impressive battery life, and good speakers, making it a top performer in various use cases.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has received positive reviews from experts for its premium design, exceptional camera capabilities, high-resolution display, powerful performance, impressive battery life, and good speakers. The design of the phone is praised for its solid feel and the availability of different color options.

The camera performs well in low light conditions, capturing great colors and detail, and the front-facing camera produces sharper and more detailed selfies. The display offers sharp and detailed visuals, with a wider refresh rate span for smoother scrolling. The A16 Bionic chip provides exceptional performance and processing power, allowing for smooth multitasking and running resource-intensive applications.

The battery life is considered impressive, lasting through a full day of heavy usage, and the speakers offer a solid audio experience. Overall, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a top performer in various use cases, including photography, multimedia consumption, and demanding tasks.

Design

The design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is praised for its premium feel, featuring a stainless steel frame, frosted glass back, and a larger camera housing, but with minimal differences from its predecessors.

Based on expert reviews, the design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is generally praised for its premium and solid feel. The phone features a stainless steel frame and a glass back with a frosted finish, protected by Apple's Ceramic Shield. The dimensions of the iPhone 14 Pro Max are slightly larger and heavier compared to its predecessor, but the differences are minimal and may not be noticeable in hand.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is available in four color options: deep purple, silver, gold, and space black. The deep purple color option is described as a subtle and slightly dusty shade of purple, while the silver and gold options remain unchanged from previous models. The space black option is slightly darker than the previous graphite color.

In terms of camera placement and overall design, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is similar to the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The rear of the phone features a frosted glass panel with a large camera housing in the top left corner, containing three lenses and a LiDAR sensor. The camera bump on the back is reported to be even bigger than the previous model.

The overall design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is described as being similar to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, with very little differentiation from its predecessors.

One notable design feature is the replacement for the notch called the "Dynamic Island" on the front of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. This houses various sensors and encroaches onto the screen in a different way.

However, it's important to note that the design preferences may vary depending on the needs and preferences of the user.

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Camera

The iPhone 14 Pro Max's camera capabilities, including its 48MP main sensor, low-light performance, and zoom capabilities, have received positive reviews for their improved image quality and versatility.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has received positive reviews for its camera capabilities. The main camera features a 48MP sensor, a significant improvement over previous iPhone models. This higher resolution allows for capturing more detail in photos and provides the option for zooming in or cropping without losing image quality.

In low light conditions, the iPhone 14 Pro Max performs exceptionally well. It can capture great colors, fantastic detail, and natural bokeh even in dimly-lit rooms. The camera's 48MP high-res sensor with quad-pixel binning enhances light sensitivity, resulting in brighter photos with reduced motion blur.

The camera's performance in low light is even better than its predecessor, the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The front-facing camera on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a 12MP sensor with a wider aperture of f/1. 9, improving low-light performance and resulting in better low-light shots. The addition of autofocus enhances image quality, producing sharper and more detailed selfies with natural skin tones and better dynamic range.

The new Photonic Engine image pipeline further enhances camera performance, producing lifelike colors and detailed textures in low-light conditions.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max offers a maximum optical zoom level of 3x, with a 2x software zoom mode also available. The quality of zoomed-in images may vary depending on lighting conditions, with near-lossless quality achievable in well-lit situations. The device offers a range of optical zoom options, including 0.

5x, 1x, 2x, and 3x, providing versatility for different photography needs. The 2x zoom, combined with the main camera, provides the equivalent of a 48mm focal length, suitable for capturing portraits with a natural field of view.

Overall, the iPhone 14 Pro Max's camera excels in various scenarios, including low light conditions and zoomed-in photography. It offers improved image quality, lifelike colors, and detailed textures. The camera's capabilities make it a top performer for capturing photos and selfies, making video calls, and providing versatility for different photography needs.

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Display

The iPhone 14 Pro Max's 6.7-inch OLED display with a high resolution and advanced technology offers sharp visuals, smooth scrolling, and vibrant colors for an enhanced viewing experience.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 6. 7-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2796 x 1290 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of 460ppi. Experts praise the sharp and detailed visuals on the screen, thanks to this high resolution. The display technology, called XDR OLED ProMotion, offers a wider refresh rate span of 1-120Hz compared to the previous model.

This means smoother scrolling and more responsive touch interactions. The display also supports Haptic Touch, True Tone color, and HDR, enhancing the overall viewing experience. Whether you're watching movies, playing games, or editing photos, the iPhone 14 Pro Max's display provides vibrant colors, deep blacks, and excellent clarity.

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Performance

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is praised for its exceptional performance and processing power, thanks to its powerful A16 Bionic chip, ample RAM, and storage capacity.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is praised for its exceptional performance and processing power. It is equipped with the Apple A16 Bionic chip, which is considered the most powerful chip in any smartphone. The A16 Bionic is a 4nm, six-core SoC with 16 billion transistors, offering significant performance improvements over previous generations.

It is reported to be faster and more power-efficient than its predecessor, the A15 Bionic, with 10% faster CPU performance and 50% more memory bandwidth.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes with 6GB of RAM, which allows for smooth multitasking and running resource-intensive applications. It is speculated that Apple has used LPDDR5 RAM instead of LPDDR4X, further enhancing the device's performance.

In terms of storage capacity, the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers options ranging from 128GB to 1TB. While the storage capacity does not directly affect the processing power or RAM, it plays a crucial role in storing apps, files, photos, and videos.

When it comes to running demanding applications or multitasking, the iPhone 14 Pro Max performs exceptionally well. It can handle resource-intensive tasks and run demanding applications smoothly, without any lag or stuttering. Reviewers have tested various demanding applications and games, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max delivered fluid and responsive performance.

Overall, the combination of the powerful A16 Bionic chip, sufficient RAM, and ample storage capacity make the iPhone 14 Pro Max a high-performing device. It is capable of handling demanding tasks, running resource-intensive applications, and providing an enhanced user experience.

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Battery Life

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has received positive reviews for its impressive battery life, lasting up to 29 hours and providing consistent screen-on time for heavy users.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has received positive reviews regarding its battery life. Apple claims that it can last up to 29 hours, which is one hour more than its predecessor, the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Real-life tests conducted by various sources have shown varying results, but overall, the battery performance is considered impressive.

Reviewers have mentioned that the iPhone 14 Pro Max can consistently provide seven to eight hours of screen-on time over a 13 or 14-hour day, even for heavy users. It has been praised for lasting through a full day of heavy usage, including downloading apps, playing music, shooting photos and videos, without a significant drop in battery percentage.

In terms of specific use cases, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has been found to perform well during video playback and web browsing tests, with a slight advantage over the iPhone 13 Pro Max. However, the older model performed better in 3D gaming tests. It has also been praised for its long battery life on a single charge, lasting an average of 13 hours and 39 minutes on a battery test conducted by Tom's Guide.

While the iPhone 14 Pro Max's battery capacity is slightly smaller than its predecessor, the efficiency gains in the new A16 Bionic processor make up for it. The battery life is considered to be longer than the iPhone 13 Pro Max, with some sources reporting up to 50 hours on a single charge.

However, it's worth noting that the charging time for the iPhone 14 Pro Max is close to 90 minutes, which is considered slower compared to some of its competitors. The maximum wired charging rate is 20W, and wireless charging is capped at 15W with a MagSafe-compatible charger and drops to 7. 5W with a regular Qi-based charger.

This is slower compared to Android phones that can charge at speeds ranging from 80W to 120W.

Overall, the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers impressive battery performance, lasting through a full day of heavy usage and providing several hours of screen-on time. It is a suitable choice for users who require a smartphone with long-lasting battery life for tasks such as video playback, web browsing, and heavy usage throughout the day.

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Speakers

The speakers on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are generally considered to be good, offering a balanced audio experience with rich bass, but may have limitations at maximum volume.

Based on expert reviews, the speakers on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are generally considered to be good, offering a solid audio experience for multimedia content. The speakers provide balanced highs and lows, with rich and deep bass. At normal volume levels, music and video content sound great on the speakers.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max also offers stereo speakers, with a bottom-firing main speaker and a top speaker sidekick, providing a more immersive audio experience.

However, it is worth noting that the limitations of the speakers become more noticeable when the volume is cranked up to the maximum. For the best sound quality, it is recommended to use headphones or wireless earbuds, especially since the iPhone 14 Pro Max does not have a 3. 5mm audio jack.

Overall, the speakers on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are considered impressive for a smartphone, but may have limitations at very high volumes.

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Position in ranking

We maintain a monthly ranking that sums up expert recommendations for all smartphones.

Rank Change Price Smartphone
Laptop Mag
The Verge
TechRadar
T3
Pocket-lint
Tom's Guide
IGN
Creative Bloq
Digital Trends
ZD Net
1
- $929
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
-
3
4
2
2
2
-
1
-
1
2
+1 Check price
iPhone 16 Pro Max
-
-
1
-
-
1
-
-
2
2
3
+1 $799
Google Pixel 9 Pro
-
-
2
-
-
3
2
5
4
-
4
+9 $0
iPhone 16
-
1
-
-
-
5
-
-
1
-
Show all rows
iPhone 14 Pro Max did not receive any endorsements this month.

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