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Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max smartphone review – Powerful, large, and full of features

A giant, updated. Apple again positions the iPhone 13 Pro Max as the spear head with absolute top technology in 2021. Keywords are: a 120-Hz ProMotion display, improved cameras, a new Apple A15 chip, and optional 1 TB storage. We take a detailed look at the top model.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

More iPhone than the iPhone 13 Pro Max is currently impossible. Apple's largest smartphone from the 2021 generation brings everything in terms of new technologies the Californians could think of. The Apple smartphone includes a huge 120-Hz display with a 6.7-inch diagonal, one of the fastest SoCs that is available at the time of this test, and up to 1 TB of storage space.

While Apple's top model is of course not very affordable, we take a detailed look whether it is worth its price.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (iPhone Series)
Processor
Apple A15 Bionic 6 x 2 - 3.2 GHz
Graphics adapter
Memory
6 GB 
Display
6.70 inch 19.5:9, 2778 x 1284 pixel 457 PPI, capacitive touchscreen, OLED, Super Retina XDR display, HDR10, Dolby Vision, glossy: yes, HDR, 120 Hz
Storage
128 GB NVMe, 128 GB 
, 115 GB free
Connections
Audio Connections: audio via Lightning port, NFC, Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass, barometer
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/ax = Wi-Fi 6/), Bluetooth 5.0, 2G (850/​900/​1800/​1900), 3G (B1/​B2/​B4/​B5/​B8), 4G (B1/​B2/​B3/​B4/​B5/​B7/​B8/​B12/​B13/​B17/​B18/​B19/​B20/​B25/​B26/​B28/​B30/​B32/​B34/​B38/​B39/​B40/​B41/​B42/​B46/​B48/​B66), 5G (n1/​n2/​n3/​n5/​n7/​n8/​n12/​n20/​n25/​n28/​n38/​n40/​n41/​n48/​n66/​n77/​n78/​n79) , Dual SIM, LTE, 5G, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 7.7 x 160.8 x 78.1 ( = 0.3 x 6.33 x 3.07 in)
Battery
4352 mAh Lithium-Ion, charging: 20W (Lightning), 15W (MagSafe), 7.5W (Qi)
Charging
wireless charging, fast charging / Quickcharge
Operating System
Apple iOS 15
Camera
Primary Camera: 12 MPix f/​1.5, phase comparison AF (dual-pixel), OIS, dual LED flash, videos @2160p/​60fps (camera 1); 12.0MP, f/​2.8, phase comparison AF, OIS, telephoto lens (camera 2); 12.0MP, f/​1.8, wide angle lens (camera 3); ToF (LiDAR) (camera 4)
Secondary Camera: 12 MPix f/2.2, 23mm, 1/3.6", videos @2160p/​60fps
Additional features
Speakers: stereo speakers (hybrid), Keyboard: virtual keyboard, USB-C-to-Lightning cable, 12 Months Warranty, SAR: 0.99W/​kg (head), 0.98W/​kg (body); dual SIM; IP68 certified, fanless, waterproof
Weight
238 g ( = 8.4 oz / 0.52 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
1249 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Possible Competitors in Comparison

Rating
Date
Model
Weight
Drive
Size
Resolution
Best Price
90.5 %
10/2021
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
A15, A15 GPU 5-Core
238 g128 GB NVMe6.70"2778x1284
88.7 %
12/2020
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
A14, A14 Bionic GPU
228 g128 GB NVMe6.70"2778x1284
90.4 %
02/2021
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14
227 g128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash6.80"3200x1440
87.2 %
07/2021
Sony Xperia 1 III
SD 888 5G, Adreno 660
186 g256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash6.50"3840x1644
89.2 %
06/2021
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
SD 888 5G, Adreno 660
234 g256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash6.81"3200x1440
88.6 %
06/2022
OnePlus 9 Pro
SD 888 5G, Adreno 660
197 g256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash6.70"3216x1440

Case – With an elegant stainless steel frame

Due to its slightly wider build, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is a smartphone for large hands. With its 238 grams (~8.4 oz), it feels hefty in the hand. While this goes along with a high-quality impression, you have to be a fan of heavier phones to fully appreciate the Pro Max.

As we are used to from Apple, the material choices and workmanship are very good. The shiny stainless steel frame around the edges looks elegant but is also a first-class fingerprint magnet.

At the same time, there will hardly be anyone who uses their expensive iPhone without a case, even if it uses Apple's Ceramic Shield glass again, which survives falls fairly well. Of course this only goes up to a certain fall height, so it makes sense to get some additional protection for your expensive Apple smartphone.

On this note, the camera sticks out from the case by 2-3 mm (~0.08 - 0.12 in), so the camera lenses are fairly unprotected despite the sapphire glass being used. The bulge also means that the iPhone 13 Pro Max will wobble considerably when you try to operate it while it is lying on a table.

The notch in front continues to be large, but at least it is smaller than that of the predecessor.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is of course also protected from harmful environment influences according to IP68. Apropos environment: Apple uses many recycled materials for its large iPhone and also publishes a detailed environment report.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Size Comparison

165.1 mm / 6.5 inch 75.6 mm / 2.98 inch 8.9 mm / 0.3504 inch 227 g0.5 lbs165 mm / 6.5 inch 71 mm / 2.8 inch 8.2 mm / 0.3228 inch 186 g0.4101 lbs164.3 mm / 6.47 inch 74.6 mm / 2.94 inch 8.38 mm / 0.3299 inch 234 g0.516 lbs163.2 mm / 6.43 inch 73.6 mm / 2.9 inch 8.7 mm / 0.3425 inch 197 g0.4343 lbs160.8 mm / 6.33 inch 78.1 mm / 3.07 inch 7.7 mm / 0.3031 inch 238 g0.525 lbs160.8 mm / 6.33 inch 78.1 mm / 3.07 inch 7.4 mm / 0.2913 inch 228 g0.503 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Equipment – Up to 1 TB of storage in the iPhone

At this point, you can spend up to 1,829 Euros (~$2,124) on the most expensive member on the iPhone 13 family - a new record. Even though Apple left the prices for the storage variants the same compared to last year, the new option with 1 TB of storage adds a hefty premium.

In detail, the cost of the devices at their introductions is as follows:

  • iPhone 13 Pro Max with 128 GB of storage: 1,249 Euros (~$1,451)
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max with 256 GB of storage: 1,369 Euros (~$1,590)
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max with 512 GB of storage: 1,599 Euros (~$1,857)
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max with 1 TB of storage: 1,829 Euros (~$2,124)

The working memory is 6 GB again.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is sold as dual-SIM, even though it actually only has a single physical slot for one Nano SIM. However, you can use one eSIM in parallel and thus also benefit from two different tariffs or use SIM cards from different countries.

Of course the iPhone 13 Pro Max also offers MagSafe again, the magnetic ring on the back that allows you to attach some accessories or charge the device.

Left: notification slider, volume keys, SIM slot
Left: notification slider, volume keys, SIM slot
Right: standby key
Right: standby key
Top: no connections
Top: no connections
Bottom: microphone, Lightning port, speaker
Bottom: microphone, Lightning port, speaker

Software – iOS 15 with a data security report

Apple has always used its own iOS operating system for the iPhones. If you come from Android, you first have to get used to several new things. In addition, iOS also limits some choices in order to protect the security of inexperienced users.

With iOS 15, Apple introduces numerous changes again, but they concern less the underlying structure but more the preinstalled apps, which offer a fairly extensive set of tools at no additional cost. For example, it is easier now to use FaceTime for video conferencing or streaming or listening to music together with a close one.

One extensive change is the Focus Mode, which you can activate when you have to concentrate on specific tasks and want to completely block some distractions. The new text recognition in photos is another interesting feature that allows you to copy texts from photos and immediately paste them into a document.

In terms of security, there are also some smaller improvements. For example, the iPhone now limits apps more in terms of how they deal with user data and it also automatically creates a data security report for the users.

iPhone 13 Pro Max software
iPhone 13 Pro Max software
iPhone 13 Pro Max software

Communication and GNSS – A really world-wide phone

WiFi 6 and 5G are of course a matter of honor for a high-end smartphone in 2021, and the large iPhone also does not disappoint here. It even goes one step further and offers quite a lot of 4G and 5G bands, allowing you to use it almost anywhere in the world.

However, for an absolute top piece of equipment, the new tri-band WiFi 6E standard together with 5G mmWave support are a must. Even though neither of these two is currently much in use, they would have helped in making the smartphone more future proof.

In combination with our Netgear Nighthawk AX12 reference router, our test unit achieves good transfer rates, but in the end there are also some high-end smartphones that are even faster. The signal quality and stability of the transfer are very good.

In the 4G net, the smartphone also shows a good signal quality even indoors. With this, it is at the level of other high-end smartphones.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
1190 (1121min - 1230max) MBit/s +36%
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
A15 GPU 5-Core, A15, 128 GB NVMe
875 (836min - 889max) MBit/s
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
A14 Bionic GPU, A14, 128 GB NVMe
848 (822min - 881max) MBit/s -3%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
803 (437min - 889max) MBit/s -8%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
633 (523min - 703max) MBit/s -28%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
680 (649min - 703max) MBit/s -22%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
676 (632min - 694max) MBit/s -23%
iperf3 receive AX12
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
922 (904min - 928max) MBit/s +28%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
169 (156min - 180max) MBit/s -76%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
839 (806min - 865max) MBit/s +17%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
799 (635min - 854max) MBit/s +11%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
779 (363min - 824max) MBit/s +8%
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
A15 GPU 5-Core, A15, 128 GB NVMe
718 (707min - 724max) MBit/s
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
A14 Bionic GPU, A14, 128 GB NVMe
575 (364min - 613max) MBit/s -20%
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
376 MBit/s -48%
04590135180225270315360405450495540585630675720765810855Tooltip
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø718 (707-724)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø875 (836-889)

When you step outdoors, the location is determined fairly quickly with an accuracy of up to 3 meters (~10 ft). In terms of satellite networks, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo are used.

In our practical test, we go for a bike ride, comparing the large iPhone with the Garmin Edge 830 professional navigation device. The Apple smartphone does very well here, locating us accurately even in some small alleyways. There are some smaller deviations when crossing the bridge.

Garmin Edge 830 locating – overview
Garmin Edge 830 locating – overview
Garmin Edge 830 locating – turning point
Garmin Edge 830 locating – turning point
Garmin Edge 830 locating – bridge
Garmin Edge 830 locating – bridge
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max locating – overview
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max locating – overview
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max locating – turning point
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max locating – turning point
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max locating – bridge
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max locating – bridge

Telephone Functions and Voice Quality – A slightly quiet earpiece

The earpiece of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is sufficiently loud for everyday operation. However, when there is a lot happening in your surroundings, it can become difficult at times to understand your conversation partner, even at maximum volume. The microphone also records our voice well, when we speak quietly.

Via speaker phone, you also get a voice reproduction that is easily understandable but probably too quiet in noisy surroundings using the speaker. Our own voice is transferred clearly to our conversation partner here as well.

Cameras – Very bright and with strong colors

Picture taken with the front camera
Picture taken with the front camera

At first glance, there are no changes in the camera equipment compared to the older iPhone Pro Max models, but Apple has made multiple smaller refinements. For example, according to the specifications, the manufacturer uses new sensors, and the aperture numbers in the main and wide-angle lenses have also dropped significantly. On the other hand, the tele lens now has an aperture that is even further closed than in the iPhone 12 Pro Max, so it initially records even less light. But there is now a 3x zoom with the tele lens, and the option to zoom in or out in small steps between the three lenses now also results in a 6x zoom overall.

While there were still some differences to the smaller Pro model in the previous generation, the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max have exactly the same camera equipment.

The 12-Megapixel main camera takes really good pictures in daylight that offer strong colors, and the details are also very exact within the focal range. On the other hand, the evening ambiance is captured better by the automatics of the OnePlus 9 Pro and the SLR camera, whereas the iPhone probably tries to get the picture as bright as possible. Under very little light and with high contrasts, the iPhone 13 Pro Max scores with a good illumination and many details.

The wide-angle lens also takes very sharp pictures with punchy colors, but details that are further away also continue to be hardly recognizable.

8K video recording is not supported, either. On the other hand, there is a complete workflow for 4K videos beginning with the recording and up to cutting them in Apple's ProRes professional codec. However, here you should be aware of the limitations of the 128 GB model, which is only able to record 1080p ProRes video at up to 30fps.

While you can use all the cameras on the back to record a video, Apple is cheating here. Most of the time, there is no switching between the cameras, and the device selects the best lens before making the recording. This means that it could possibly only use the digital zoom of the ultra wide-angle lens, for example, which would of course limit the quality of the recordings. Or if the recording was started using the main lens, you cannot use the wide-angle lens during the recording.

It continues to be the case that those who prefer to adjust all the parameters for their pictures themselves should avoid using Apple's inhouse camera app, since that is focused mainly on automatic functions that allow anyone to take decent pictures. For professionals it is therefore recommended to try out some of the numerous other camera apps in the App Store.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Hauptkamera BlumeHauptkamera UmgebungHauptkamera Low LightWeitwinkelkamera

In the controlled light conditions of the studio, the test chart appears very sharp and the colors look strong. At an illumination of only 1 Lux, the object is brightened well, but areas appear spotty.

In good light conditions, the color reproduction is clearly too bright, which we already noticed in the pictures of the surroundings.

ColorChecker
16.4 ∆E
14.8 ∆E
14.8 ∆E
19.4 ∆E
13.2 ∆E
12.1 ∆E
12.4 ∆E
10.6 ∆E
12.8 ∆E
7.9 ∆E
12.6 ∆E
11.2 ∆E
11.9 ∆E
16.1 ∆E
11.7 ∆E
9.1 ∆E
10.6 ∆E
13 ∆E
6.7 ∆E
8.1 ∆E
11.6 ∆E
11.4 ∆E
5.5 ∆E
3.9 ∆E
ColorChecker Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: 11.57 ∆E min: 3.85 - max: 19.41 ∆E
ColorChecker
7.1 ∆E
5.9 ∆E
3.6 ∆E
5.6 ∆E
2.8 ∆E
3.5 ∆E
2.6 ∆E
3.6 ∆E
7.1 ∆E
7.9 ∆E
5 ∆E
2.7 ∆E
7.9 ∆E
4 ∆E
3.2 ∆E
2.9 ∆E
6.6 ∆E
12.9 ∆E
6.5 ∆E
5.4 ∆E
6.4 ∆E
10.3 ∆E
14.5 ∆E
12.8 ∆E
ColorChecker Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: 6.28 ∆E min: 2.57 - max: 14.45 ∆E

Accessories and Warranty – An extensive market of accessories

The box of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is very slim, and indeed we only find the device itself, a USB-C-to-Lightning cable, a SIM tool, and some paperwork inside. You have to purchase the charger from Apple for an extra 25 Euros (~$29). Apple says that it wants to help the environment with this, since many users already have a charger at home. But of course the company also saves a lot of money by not including a charger with the phone.

Due to the fact that there are only relatively few models available at the same time, the market for iPhone accessories is gigantic. Third party manufacturers offer any accessories you can think of, starting from additional lenses to put on top of the camera, continuing with iPhone holders for your bicycle and special drones that can hold your iPhone, and up to crazy covers in the shape of a chocolate bar.

Apple's own offerings range from the corresponding covers with MagSafe in numerous colors for 55 Euros (~$64) up to a MagSafe charger for 45 Euros (~$52) or a magnetic card holder for 65 Euros (~$75), for example.

You only get a 12-month warranty from the manufacturer, but many European countries also require a 24-month vendor warranty for the customers. Those who want to expand their warranty can do this by purchasing some special smartphone insurances, such as AppleCare+ offered by Apple itself. However, Apple's offer still only covers one year and only protects from accidental damage. In addition, you continue to have to pay a deductible.

Input Devices and Operation – FaceID with support for infrared

The touchscreen responds very accurately and quickly to inputs. Thanks to the new ProMotion technology, which is the name of the adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate, it can also be operated very smoothly.

The smartphone can be unlocked using Apple's FaceID, which is a type of face recognition that is supported in front by an infrared and depth sensor and is considered very secure. However, it is a little bit annoying, that FaceID only works if you hold the smartphone in portrait orientation.

Keyboard - portrait
Keyboard - portrait
Keyboard - landscape
Keyboard - landscape

Display – Introduction of ProMotion

Subpixel grid
Subpixel grid

Together with the iPhone 13 Pro, the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is one of the first Apple smartphones to feature ProMotion. This is an adaptive refresh rate that is adjusted by the system between 10 Hz (for example when reading a static document) and 120 Hz (fast scrolling) depending on the usage scenario. However, this also means that the user cannot adjust the refresh rate.

At 2,778 x 1,284 pixels, the resolution is slightly higher than that of the iPhone 13 Pro to make up for the larger display and still end up at about the same pixel density per inch. The Super Retina XDR display is an OLED panel that is certified for HDR and Dolby Vision.

In terms of brightness, it does similarly well as the display in the iPhone 13 Pro. At more than 1,000 cd/m² when necessary, it also achieves a very high brightness in larger areas, and with the OLED technology it is also able to display an almost completely black color.

1059
cd/m²
1060
cd/m²
1067
cd/m²
1059
cd/m²
1049
cd/m²
1059
cd/m²
1064
cd/m²
1066
cd/m²
1058
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 1067 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 1060.1 cd/m² Minimum: 6.9 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 98 %
Center on Battery: 1049 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 0.78 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 0.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
99.9% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.181
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
OLED, 2778x1284, 6.70
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
OLED, 2778x1284, 6.70
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3200x1440, 6.80
Sony Xperia 1 III
OLED, 3840x1644, 6.50
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
AMOLED, 3200x1440, 6.81
OnePlus 9 Pro
AMOLED, 3216x1440, 6.70
Screen
-33%
-73%
-266%
-59%
-36%
Brightness middle
1049
855
-18%
910
-13%
537
-49%
891
-15%
733
-30%
Brightness
1060
857
-19%
913
-14%
539
-49%
888
-16%
746
-30%
Brightness Distribution
98
98
0%
98
0%
95
-3%
99
1%
97
-1%
Black Level *
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
0.78
1.1
-41%
2
-156%
4.78
-513%
1.9
-144%
0.95
-22%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
1.72
2.51
-46%
3.1
-80%
7.83
-355%
3.7
-115%
2.01
-17%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
0.8
1.4
-75%
2.2
-175%
5.8
-625%
1.3
-63%
1.7
-113%
Gamma
2.181 101%
2.187 101%
2.06 107%
2.363 93%
2.3 96%
2.21 100%
CCT
6559 99%
6337 103%
6512 100%
7982 81%
6527 100%
6591 99%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 238.1 Hz

The display backlight flickers at 238.1 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) .

The frequency of 238.1 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

As usual for OLED displays, we notice a flickering. However, at the same time the amplitude flattens and the frequency drops at low brightness. This means that Apple probably integrated DC Dimming, which becomes effective at a low brightness, into its panel control. Although when in doubt, you should still try out the display before making a purchase decision, we are confident that the annoyance turns out lower than with other OLED displays without DC Dimming.

We measure the display's color accuracy with the spectral photometer and CalMAN software. Apple's display achieves very good values here, so that you can also use the display to evaluate colors in the professional area. However, to be on the safe side you should then turn off TrueTone, since that sensor adjusts the colors depending on the surrounding light.

CalMAN Grayscale
CalMAN Grayscale
CalMAN Color Accuracy
CalMAN Color Accuracy
CalMAN DCI P3 Color Space
CalMAN DCI P3 Color Space
CalMAN AdobeRGB Color Space
CalMAN AdobeRGB Color Space
CalMAN sRGB Color Space
CalMAN sRGB Color Space
CalMAN Saturation
CalMAN Saturation

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
7 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 4 ms rise
↘ 3 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 15 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
10 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 5 ms rise
↘ 5 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 18 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Thanks to the display being very bright if necessary, the iPhone 13 Pro Max hardly has any problems even in very bright sunlight. However, the reflections of the surroundings are still strenuous for the eyes.

There are no complaints about the viewing angles, so even from very steep angles, you can still recognize the image easily.

Viewing angles
Viewing angles
Using the smartphone outdoors
Using the smartphone outdoors

Performance – One of the fastest smartphones

With the new Apple A15 Bionic, the iPhone 13 Pro Max also uses one of the most powerful SoCs currently on the market. In contrast to the iPad Mini, you get the full clock speed of up to 3.2 GHz, and in contrast to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini, there is even a GPU with 5 cores, so there should be even more power in the graphics here.

In fact, the iPhone 13 Pro Max achieves top values in practically all the benchmarks. At the same time the Apple smartphone also proves itself to be lightning fast in everyday operation, even while multitasking with video overlays and demanding apps, such as for Augmented Reality or controlling drones.

Geekbench 5.5
Single-Core (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
1742 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
1326 Points -24%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
1106 Points -37%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
1134 Points -35%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
989 Points -43%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
1129 Points -35%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (1590 - 1755, n=9)
1723 Points -1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (119 - 2138, n=212, last 2 years)
902 Points -48%
Multi-Core (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
4914 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
3476 Points -29%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
3583 Points -27%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
3629 Points -26%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
3462 Points -30%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
3666 Points -25%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (4559 - 4914, n=9)
4755 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (473 - 6681, n=212, last 2 years)
2950 Points -40%
Metal Score (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
13897 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
7252 Points -48%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (10572 - 14115, n=8)
12625 Points -9%
Average of class Smartphone
  (12441 - 20198, n=6, last 2 years)
14886 Points +7%
3DMark
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
5782 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
7294 Points +26%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
8345 Points +44%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
6110 Points +6%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
8347 Points +44%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (5713 - 6175, n=5)
5870 Points +2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (317 - 20131, n=175, last 2 years)
6514 Points +13%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
16202 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
11824 Points -27%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
10794 Points -33%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
10037 Points -38%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
11050 Points -32%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (9878 - 16221, n=5)
13743 Points -15%
Average of class Smartphone
  (267 - 33376, n=174, last 2 years)
9281 Points -43%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
1902 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
3115 Points +64%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
4651 Points +145%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
2579 Points +36%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
4497 Points +136%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (1852 - 2307, n=5)
2027 Points +7%
Average of class Smartphone
  (938 - 8480, n=174, last 2 years)
4150 Points +118%
Wild Life Score (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
9680 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
5756 Points -41%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
5851 Points -40%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
5689 Points -41%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
5736 Points -41%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (8357 - 9680, n=6)
9139 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone
  (394 - 9839, n=131, last 2 years)
2586 Points -73%
Wild Life Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
11688 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
5873 Points -50%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
5850 Points -50%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
5734 Points -51%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
5737 Points -51%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (8909 - 11779, n=8)
10800 Points -8%
Average of class Smartphone
  (392 - 20068, n=194, last 2 years)
6058 Points -48%
Wild Life Extreme (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
3080 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
1871 Points -39%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
1497 Points -51%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
1552 Points -50%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (2243 - 3080, n=8)
2759 Points -10%
Average of class Smartphone
  (22 - 5226, n=199, last 2 years)
1628 Points -47%
Wild Life Extreme Unlimited (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
2817 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
1758 Points -38%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
1423 Points -49%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
1498 Points -47%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (1877 - 2864, n=8)
2528 Points -10%
Average of class Smartphone
  (109 - 5248, n=194, last 2 years)
1635 Points -42%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
60 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
60 fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
104 fps +73%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
120 fps +100%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
60 fps 0%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (59.8 - 60.1, n=8)
60 fps 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (22 - 165, n=178, last 2 years)
83 fps +38%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
409.6 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
313.8 fps -23%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
154 fps -62%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
281 fps -31%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
258 fps -37%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (358 - 447, n=8)
413 fps +1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (19 - 791, n=178, last 2 years)
244 fps -40%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
60 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
59.8 fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
69 fps +15%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
98 fps +63%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
60 fps 0%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (59.8 - 60.2, n=8)
60 fps 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (6.8 - 165, n=179, last 2 years)
71 fps +18%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
227.9 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
170.4 fps -25%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
117 fps -49%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
177 fps -22%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
151 fps -34%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (165.9 - 253, n=8)
221 fps -3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (9.2 - 363, n=179, last 2 years)
138 fps -39%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
60 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
59 fps -2%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
51 fps -15%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
62 fps +3%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
57 fps -5%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (59.8 - 60.1, n=8)
60 fps 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (3.7 - 158, n=179, last 2 years)
59.9 fps 0%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
144 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
106 fps -26%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
74 fps -49%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
121 fps -16%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
69 fps -52%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (60 - 172.4, n=8)
139.6 fps -3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (6.2 - 279, n=179, last 2 years)
96.7 fps -33%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
53.2 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
42.9 fps -19%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
30 fps -44%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
35 fps -34%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
36 fps -32%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (53.2 - 60, n=8)
57.8 fps +9%
Average of class Smartphone
  (5 - 117, n=179, last 2 years)
42.9 fps -19%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
92.9 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
75 fps -19%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
58 fps -38%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
71 fps -24%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
59 fps -36%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (68.8 - 105.2, n=8)
92.9 fps 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.9 - 166, n=179, last 2 years)
58.6 fps -37%
on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
59.1 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
53.5 fps -9%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
37 fps -37%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
53 fps -10%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
44 fps -26%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
55 fps -7%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (59.1 - 60.1, n=7)
59.8 fps +1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (3.6 - 123, n=219, last 2 years)
43.2 fps -27%
1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
108 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
85 fps -21%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
69 fps -36%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
66 fps -39%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
85 fps -21%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
63 fps -42%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (95.9 - 122.2, n=8)
110.1 fps +2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.3 - 229, n=219, last 2 years)
63 fps -42%
on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
54.8 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
40 fps -27%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
26 fps -53%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
37 fps -32%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
26 fps -53%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
42 fps -23%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (49.4 - 60, n=8)
55.6 fps +1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.8 - 105, n=219, last 2 years)
32.2 fps -41%
2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
37.9 fps
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
30 fps -21%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
28 fps -26%
Sony Xperia 1 III
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
27 fps -29%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
30 fps -21%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
28 fps -26%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (34.6 - 41.2, n=8)
38.4 fps +1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (0.85 - 94, n=219, last 2 years)
25.1 fps -34%
Antutu v9 - Total Score (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
800222 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
749520 Points -6%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
801983 Points 0%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (722973 - 832548, n=8)
788523 Points -1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (102602 - 1650926, n=148, last 2 years)
741274 Points -7%
AImark - Score v2.x (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
107460 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic, A14 Bionic GPU, 6144
92533 Points -14%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
241222 Points +124%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
262983 Points +145%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
  (104532 - 107460, n=5)
105796 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1043 - 139804, n=55, last 2 years)
22126 Points -79%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
8124 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
6247 Points -23%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
6365 Points -22%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
6959 Points -14%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
 
8124 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (411 - 11438, n=158, last 2 years)
5704 Points -30%
System (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
19657 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
10936 Points -44%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
9696 Points -51%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
11774 Points -40%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
 
19657 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2376 - 16475, n=158, last 2 years)
9621 Points -51%
Memory (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
3612 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
6588 Points +82%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
7453 Points +106%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
9044 Points +150%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
 
3612 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (670 - 12306, n=158, last 2 years)
6230 Points +72%
Graphics (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
25642 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
14362 Points -44%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
12776 Points -50%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
13463 Points -47%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
 
25642 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (697 - 58651, n=158, last 2 years)
13900 Points -46%
Web (sort by value)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple A15 Bionic, A15 GPU 5-Core, 6144
2392 Points
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14, 12288
1471 Points -39%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
1782 Points -26%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G, Adreno 660, 12288
1633 Points -32%
Average Apple A15 Bionic
 
2392 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone
  (10 - 2145, n=158, last 2 years)
1487 Points -38%

The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is also extremely fast when surfing the Internet. Most of the time, the images are already loaded when scrolling a page, and HTML 5 also hardly brings the smartphone close to its limits.

Jetstream 2 - Total Score
Average Apple A15 Bionic (173.5 - 189.9, n=8)
182.1 Points 0%
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (Safari 15)
181.8 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (Safari 14)
158.3 Points -13%
Average of class Smartphone (13.8 - 351, n=167, last 2 years)
104.5 Points -43%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (Chrome91)
94.3 Points -48%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Chrome 88)
76.6 Points -58%
OnePlus 9 Pro (Microsoft Edge 46)
63.2 Points -65%
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (Safari 15)
402.9 Points
Average Apple A15 Bionic (383 - 414, n=6)
401 Points 0%
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (Safari 14)
375.2 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 414, n=3, last 2 years)
194.9 Points -52%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (Chrome91)
160.9 Points -60%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Chrome 88)
127.3 Points -68%
OnePlus 9 Pro (Microsoft Edge 46)
124.5 Points -69%
Speedometer 2.0 - Result
Average Apple A15 Bionic (228 - 347, n=8)
266 runs/min +10%
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (Safari 15)
242 runs/min
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (Safari 14)
188 runs/min -22%
Average of class Smartphone (14.9 - 445, n=151, last 2 years)
105.7 runs/min -56%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (Chrome91)
98 runs/min -60%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Chrome 88)
84.1 runs/min -65%
OnePlus 9 Pro (Microsoft Edge 46)
56 runs/min -77%
WebXPRT 3 - Overall
Average Apple A15 Bionic (219 - 279, n=8)
254 Points +2%
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (Safari 15)
248 Points
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (Safari 14)
191 Points -23%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (Chrome91)
141 Points -43%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Chrome 88)
132 Points -47%
Average of class Smartphone (37 - 304, n=119, last 2 years)
131.8 Points -47%
OnePlus 9 Pro (Microsoft Edge 4689)
103 Points -58%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (Safari 15)
63831 Points
Average Apple A15 Bionic (57143 - 65969, n=8)
63305 Points -1%
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (Safari 14)
58632 Points -8%
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=202, last 2 years)
33525 Points -47%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (Chrome91)
33423 Points -48%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Chrome 88)
27275 Points -57%
OnePlus 9 Pro (Microsoft Edge 46)
26829 Points -58%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
OnePlus 9 Pro (Microsoft Edge 46)
1808 ms * -336%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Chrome 88)
1786 ms * -331%
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (Chrome91)
1782 ms * -330%
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years)
1653 ms * -299%
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (Safari 14)
467 ms * -13%
Average Apple A15 Bionic (414 - 507, n=8)
456 ms * -10%
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (Safari 15)
414.8 ms *

* ... smaller is better

Games – ProMotion doesn't offer any advantage yet

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is very well-suited for gaming, but not (yet) at more than 60 fps, since most of the games have not been optimized or enabled for this.

However, in the fast Armajet shooter, you can reach very stable 60 frames which is also true for most of the PUBG presets except Ultra HD. We measure the frame rates using GameBench.

Game developers and Apple alike have repeatedly pointed at the battery life as the problem when running games at 120 fps, so the SoC performance is probably not the reason behind their hesitance to enable high frame rate gaming on iPhones.

The notch and the rounder corners can become a problem if games are not optimized for them, since game content can get cropped at the corners or hidden behind the notch. You can easily see in the screenshots that most app programmers have moved the operation elements more towards the image center in order to avoid this problem.

Asphalt 9
Asphalt 9
PUBG Mobile
PUBG Mobile
051015202530354045505560Tooltip
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; Armajet; 1.61.6: Ø59.1 (46-60)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; Asphalt 9: Legends; 3.1.2: Ø33.6 (27-55)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; PUBG Mobile; Smooth; 1.6.0: Ø59.5 (58-60)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; PUBG Mobile; HD; 1.6.0: Ø59.4 (58-60)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; PUBG Mobile; Ultra HD; 1.6.0: Ø41 (37-51)

Emissions – A slight but noticeable throttling

Temperature

After longer loads, the case of the iPhone 13 Pro Max warms up noticeably, but this is neither critical nor uncomfortable. However, this could change if you operate the smartphone and put it under load in very hot surroundings.

In terms of performance stability, the largest iPhone behaves about the same as the smaller iPhone 13 Pro: There can be a performance drop by up to 10%. However, even after that, the performance capabilities are still high enough for this not to create any problem.

Max. Load
 37.7 °C
100 F
36.6 °C
98 F
34.2 °C
94 F
 
 41.3 °C
106 F
38 °C
100 F
34.7 °C
94 F
 
 43.1 °C
110 F
38.4 °C
101 F
34 °C
93 F
 
Maximum: 43.1 °C = 110 F
Average: 37.6 °C = 100 F
35 °C
95 F
38.1 °C
101 F
33.7 °C
93 F
35.7 °C
96 F
40.1 °C
104 F
41.7 °C
107 F
35.5 °C
96 F
42.9 °C
109 F
44.5 °C
112 F
Maximum: 44.5 °C = 112 F
Average: 38.6 °C = 101 F
Power Supply (max.)  42.3 °C = 108 F | Room Temperature 21.5 °C = 71 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated), Voltcraft IR-260
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 37.6 °C / 100 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43.1 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 44.5 °C / 112 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25 °C / 77 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

3DMark Wild Life Stress Test

3DMark
Wild Life Stress Test Stability
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
92.5 (5288min) % +15%
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
A15 GPU 5-Core, A15, 128 GB NVMe
80.1 (44.5min) %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
64.7 (22.3min) % -19%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
64.4 (3633min) % -20%
OnePlus 9 Pro
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
60.3 (3461min) % -25%
Wild Life Extreme Stress Test
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Adreno 660, SD 888 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
93.5 (1404min) % +21%
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
A15 GPU 5-Core, A15, 128 GB NVMe
77 (12.3min) %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
61.3 (1197min) % -20%
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash
59.8 (7.01min) % -22%
0510152025303540455055Tooltip
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max A15 GPU 5-Core, A15, 128 GB NVMe; Wild Life Extreme Stress Test; 0.0.0.0: Ø13.1 (12.3-16)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash; Wild Life Extreme Stress Test; 1.0.5.1: Ø8.98 (7.01-11.7)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max A15 GPU 5-Core, A15, 128 GB NVMe; Wild Life Stress Test Stability; 0.0.0.0: Ø47 (44.5-55.5)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Mali-G78 MP14, Exynos 2100 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash; Wild Life Stress Test Stability: Ø25.4 (22.3-34.4)
Heatmap - front
Heatmap - front
Heatmap - back
Heatmap - back

Speakers

By using the earpiece as a second speaker, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is able to create stereo effects in landscape format. In our measurements with the ARTA software, we determine that the sound spectrum has become more balanced than that of the predecessor. Particularly at medium volume, the sound appears quite full and we can also hear some bass in the sound spectrum.

However, when you increase the volume to the maximum, the sound flattens noticeably and some frequencies become muddled. Overall, the iPhone 13 Pro Max offers decent speakers for a high-end smartphone but hardly stands out compared to other devices.

The Lightning connection serves as the audio port for wired headphones. This means that simultaneous charging and listening to music is only possible with some special accessories. But of course you can also use Bluetooth for wireless audio reproduction. However, Qualcomm's aptX codecs continue to be missing here, so you have to be make sure that your wireless headphones support the Apple codecs.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2034.738.92535.637.93133.9334033.436.75033.7376328.930.38022.925.710021.532.412521.441.716016.248.620013.850.125012.253.531510.754.54008.658.450010.461.963011.962.980013.365.7100010.266.912509.269.516009.269.920009.771.3250010.770.8315012.669.1400014.267.2500015.358.3630014.663.6800015.767.41000016.571.81250015.8651600016.455.5SPL25.280.2N0.647.3median 13.3median 63.6Delta2.87.635.941.833.737.7253029.329.83331.825.626.120.826.122.634.115.342.514.249.31248.21147.110.8509.351.99.857.1116111.26012.86113.66712.86912.772.413.872.214.372.61569.615.76516.760.417.667.418.47419.36820.149.166.326.981.219.50.746.5median 14.2median 60.4median 63.83.41117.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseApple iPhone 13 Pro MaxApple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80.2 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 16.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.1% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 90% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 24% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 70% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (81.2 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 63.8% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(-) | nearly no mids - on average 63.8% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(-) | nearly no highs - on average 63.8% lower than median
(+) | highs are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (121.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 88% of all tested devices in this class were better, 10% similar, 2% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 96% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 1% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Battery Life – A larger battery for a great battery life

Power Consumption

The iPhone 13 Pro Max shows again that Apple knows how to optimize the power efficiency of its smartphones by designing the system itself. Due to the new SoC, the smartphone is even slightly more efficient in our tests than its predecessor.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0.1 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.6 / 1.5 / 1.6 Watt
Load midlight 3.5 / 4.8 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
4352 mAh
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
3687 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5000 mAh
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
5000 mAh
OnePlus 9 Pro
4500 mAh
Average Apple A15 Bionic
 
Average of class Smartphone
 
Power Consumption
-9%
-48%
-52%
-91%
-21%
-36%
Idle Minimum *
0.6
0.8
-33%
1.06
-77%
1.13
-88%
1.6
-167%
0.66 ?(0.51 - 1.1, n=8)
-10%
0.891 ?(0.42 - 2.37, n=157, last 2 years)
-49%
Idle Average *
1.5
1.5
-0%
1.19
21%
1.67
-11%
2
-33%
1.303 ?(0.8 - 2.2, n=8)
13%
1.448 ?(0.69 - 4.26, n=157, last 2 years)
3%
Idle Maximum *
1.6
1.9
-19%
1.2
25%
1.69
-6%
2.4
-50%
1.748 ?(1 - 4.2, n=8)
-9%
1.63 ?(0.79 - 4.45, n=157, last 2 years)
-2%
Load Average *
3.5
3.4
3%
6.46
-85%
5.17
-48%
6.2
-77%
4.85 ?(2.65 - 6.7, n=8)
-39%
5.57 ?(2.4 - 16.5, n=157, last 2 years)
-59%
Load Maximum *
4.8
4.7
2%
10.76
-124%
9.9
-106%
11
-129%
7.77 ?(3.56 - 11.4, n=8)
-62%
8.27 ?(4.32 - 20.8, n=157, last 2 years)
-72%

* ... smaller is better

Power Consumption: Geekbench (150 cd/m²)

012345678910Tooltip
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Ø4.63 (0.728-10.5)

Power Consumption: GFXBench (150 cd/m²)

0123456789Tooltip
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; 1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Offscreen: Ø8.75 (8.24-9.27)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max; Idle 150cd/m2: Ø0.773 (0.705-0.881)

Battery Life

Apple has increased the battery size massively. It is now 4,352 mAh compared to 3,687 mAh in the previous-gen model, which is a capacity increase of almost 20%.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max continues to be a smartphone with a very long battery life, lasting for almost 18 hours when surfing the Internet on the WLAN. Under full load and at full brightness, the smartphone still manages 7:32 hours. However, since it has a brighter display, at maximum brightness the differences compared to the predecessor are not quite as large as in other scenarios with fixed brightness.

Just like the previous-gen model, iPhone 13 Pro Max can be charged at up to 20 watts with a wall charger. A full charge takes just over an hour. You can also charge at 15 watts via MagSafe or at 7.5 watts using the Qi standard.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
47h 26min
WiFi Websurfing
17h 47min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
25h 22min
Load (maximum brightness)
7h 32min
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
4352 mAh
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
3687 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5000 mAh
Sony Xperia 1 III
4500 mAh
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
5000 mAh
OnePlus 9 Pro
4500 mAh
Battery Runtime
-9%
-33%
-50%
-43%
-23%
Reader / Idle
2846
2611
-8%
1408
-51%
1108
-61%
2113
-26%
H.264
1522
1356
-11%
1310
-14%
1006
-34%
1076
-29%
WiFi v1.3
1067
961
-10%
702
-34%
534
-50%
650
-39%
1002
-6%
Load
452
423
-6%
304
-33%
276
-39%
316
-30%

Pros

+ high-quality case
+ extreme amount of optional storage
+ fast WLAN
+ many 5G and 4G frequencies
+ accurate locating
+ very fast 120-Hz display
+ very high performance
+ long battery life

Cons

- only 12 months of warranty
- significant camera bulge
- slight throttling under longer load
- relatively mediocre charging speed
- large notch

Verdict – A high-end smartphone with 120 Hz

Testing the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Testing the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max has turned out to be a great piece of high tech again, also bringing some real innovations, for example, with the 120-Hz display. There already was a design update last year, so the iPhone 13 Pro Max can hardly be distinguished from the iPhone 12 Pro Max in this regard.

However, things look different inside. The new A15 Bionic once again offers a significant performance jump, the battery size increased noticeably, and the smartphone lasts longer in everyday operation. The display is again brighter, continues to display excellent colors, and now offers some sort of DC Dimming for brightness control. The new storage option of a gigantic 1 TB of storage is great but also expensive.

We already know from Android smartphones that the 120-Hz display (still) makes no difference in games. Apparently there is some worry about the battery life of the smartphone. The significant camera bulge might also annoy some users, but it might be hardly avoidable with the current technology.

With sharp cameras, a lot of performance, and a high-quality case, the iPhone 13 Pro Max has turned out to be a great smartphone again that now even brings a 120-Hz display.

The iPhones continue to be hardly suited for those users who want to have as much control as possible over their system. Rooting it is fairly difficult, while some Android manufacturers such as OnePlus or Sony even offer active support for this. In addition, many settings such as the refresh rate are controlled by the system and cannot be changed by the user. While this might be sensible for inexperienced users, it can be frustrating at times to experienced users. On the other hand, Apple makes some effort in providing data security and offers updates for its iPhones for a long time. So you have to weigh what is more important to you.

Those who want to save some money can still get the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max from some vendors, which still represents a very high-quality smartphone in 2021. With the iPhone 13 Pro, you get the same features in a more compact format. And high-quality Android smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra present an alternative if you don't want to get involved in iOS and the Apple cosmos.

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Price and Availability

The iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at $1,099 in the Apple Store. The smartphone is also available from many vendors such as Amazon.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max - 08/30/2022 v7
Florian Schmitt

Chassis
93%
Keyboard
68 / 75 → 91%
Pointing Device
98%
Connectivity
60 / 70 → 86%
Weight
87%
Battery
93%
Display
94%
Games Performance
65 / 64 → 100%
Application Performance
95 / 86 → 100%
Temperature
88%
Noise
100%
Audio
80 / 90 → 89%
Camera
81%
Average
85%
91%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max smartphone review – Powerful, large, and full of features
Florian Schmitt, 2021-10-27 (Update: 2021-10-31)