Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: The iPhone 14 Pro Max is no doubt one of the most talked about phones of 2022. Although its starting price is $1099, it’s the best-selling iPhone 14 in 2022. The device featured some new features but before you buy the smartphone you might want to see this review of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

For this Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review article, we did more than just our personal tests. Our team also gathered some real-life tests from other reviewers and compare them with what we already know. The best way to review the iPhone 14 Pro Max is to compare it with other phones. So, in this review, we compared the iPhone 14 Pro Max with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Xiaomi 12S Ultra, and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The result of the review showed that a newly introduced feature in the iPhone 14 Pro Max is also its only weakness.

See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Battery Test: Which Apple iPhone has the best battery in 2022

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review

Note that the difference between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 14 Pro is screen size. So, this review is also the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Review.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: Display, Design, and Durability

Everything about the display of the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is an improved version of what is already available in the iPhone 13 Pro Max. It has a big 6.7-inches LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display that can refresh between 1Hz and 120Hz. The display can also get very bright, especially under sunlight. It’s the brightest display we’ve seen in a flagship smartphone this year. The rear design also looks very similar to previous Apple iPhones.

The front screen however has a dual punch hole on the top screen which Apple named Dynamic Island. The software interaction and animation built around the Dynamic Island punch hole are pretty cool. Aside from housing the front camera and biometric sensor, the Dynamic Island punch hole can also be used for quick notification. The software and user experience built around this punch hole is good but it also has its cons.

For example, it does not look really neat and obstructs users’ view when watching movies. Placed side by side, the single punch hole of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra or that of the Galaxy S22 Ultra looks neat. Over time, you might get used to the Dynamic Island punch hole on the iPhone 14 Pro Max but placed side by side phones with a simple punch hole, it looks rough.

One area that Apple did get right is the build quality and durability. The stainless steel frame looks cool and strong. It is also IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 mins), has Scratch-resistant ceramic glass, and has an oleophobic coating. The display of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is strong, durable, and very bright. But, the Dynamic Island punch hole is not as neat as the punch hole on other phones.

See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Which is better

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: Chipset and Performance

The chipset inside the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is the new Apple A16 Bionic chipset. This 5G chipset is built on a 4nm process technology. It has a Hexa-core CPU (6-core CPU) that is paid with an Apple GPU with 6-core graphics. The A16 Bionic chipset is good on all levels.

It is power efficient, has fast CPU cores, and a very powerful GPU. With the A16 Bionic onboard the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the phone has the best performance of a smartphone in 2022. It loads games faster, plays games more smoothly, and it does not get hot under heavy use. The GPU capability of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is also very impressive.

When rendering graphics, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is about 3x faster than the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. Rendering a 4K video on the iPhone 14 Pro Max takes less time. Playing graphics-intensive games on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is impressively smooth and it does not drop frame rates, throttles, or lag.

So, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the best-performing smartphone of the year. It has a very powerful chipset that has fast CPU cores, a powerful GPU, and is also very power efficient. There is literally no smartphone that is as powerful as the iPhone 14 Pro Max right now (the iPhone 14 Pro has a similar performance as the 14 Pro Max).

See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Pro vs Sony Xperia 5 IV: Which is better

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: Camera

Every year, Apple iPhones are among the best camera phones you can buy and the iPhone 14 Pro Max is no exception. The iPhone 14 Pro Max feature a new 48MP main camera that has a fast aperture, dual-pixel PDAF, and the second generation of sensor-shift OIS stabilization. This main camera is paired with a 12MP telephoto lens that can do 3x optical zoom, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a TOF 3D LiDAR scanner depth sensor. On the front, it has a 12MP wide camera and an SL 3D camera for biometrics.

The 48MP main camera takes incredible photos even in low light conditions. Its portrait mode is also really good and the photo brightness is top quality. The ultra-wide lens and telephoto lens are good too but not so great in low-light conditions. The 12MP front camera is also very impressive and can focus on objects very fast. From our test of the camera, the photography experience on this phone is incredible but the cameras are even better when it comes to recording videos.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max can record videos in 4K resolution 4K@24/25/30/60fps. It also has features such as 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, Cinematic mode (4K@24/30fps), and stereo sound rec. One of the most impressive video features is the new Action Mode. We tested this mode and boy does it leave up to the hype. The Action Mode feature gives users insane stability when recording videos and it’s truly awesome.

To be clear, for still images, some people might prefer the cameras of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Xiaomi 12S Ultra, or even the vivo X80 Pro. But, when it comes to recording videos, the iPhone 14 Pro Max rules supreme. The overall experience using the cameras of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is incredible. Yes, the optical zoom max out at 3x but you’ll sure enjoy the other camera features especially those into Vlogging.

See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: Which is better

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: RAM, Storage, and Software

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max comes with a single 6GB RAM option. The available internal storage option is up to 1TB. It has no space for storage expansion via a microSD card slot. The base model starts with 6GB + 128GB of storage which might be too small considering the sizes of the photos and videos produced by the cameras of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

For example, a single photo shot in the RAW format on the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a size of about 100MB. This means, if you take photos a lot, you might fill up the 128GB storage of the iPhone sooner than you expect. So, we recommend that you buy the 256GB storage model for fair storage space.

iPhone 14 Pro Max boots Apple iOS 16 out of the box and will be getting up to five years of major software updates and six years of monthly security patches. So the phone will be upgraded to iOS 21. You can download and install apps from the Apple App Store. Major software updates can be downloaded from the Apple website or OTA via the phone settings.

See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro Max: Which is better

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: Battery and Charging

Powering the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is a 4323mAh (16.68 Wh) battery. You can charge the battery from 0 to 100% in about 70 minutes. iPhone 14 Pro Max has support for MagSafe wireless charging 15W, Qi magnetic fast wireless charging 7.5W, and USB Power Delivery 2.0. A single charge of the battery can last you for a full day but if you’re a heavy user and always on your phone, you can get up to 9 hours of use.

Other features available in the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max are a Face ID, NFC, Ultra Wideband (UWB) support, Emergency SOS via satellite (SMS sending/receiving), Always-on display, Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified), and eSIM only (for US users only).

See Also: iPhone 14 Pro Max European Pricing kicks off at €1,499

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: Price

The price of the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1099 for the base model with 8GB RAM + 128GB of storage. And this is a pretty hefty amount of money to pay for a smartphone but it’s worth the price. You’ll get the value you’re paying for the phone. However, we advise you to buy the model with 256GB or 512GB because you need more storage for the photo and video size produced by the cameras of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Buy Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 14 Pro Max	Price
Buy on Amazon(UK)	$1099
Buy on Amazon(EUR)	€1,499

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: Conclusion

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is no doubt one of the best phones you can buy right now. It offers all the best features you need in a smartphone. Below are the PROS and CONS of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Our Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review showed that the new feature of the phone is also its only weakness. The Dynamic Island punch hole is good but it looks weird at first, affects the viewing experience, and makes the screen not look neat as phones with a single punch hole. However, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a very powerful chipset, is power efficient, has good animation and user experience, awesome cameras, a smooth and fast display, a bright display, is very durable, and long-lasting battery.