The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max in brief

Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max is available in France since September 16, 2022. It is the most premium smartphone sold by Apple in 2022. It comes in four memory configurations:

• 128 GB: $1099
• 256 GB: $1199
• 512 GB: $1399
• 1TB: $1599

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is identical to the iPhone 14 Pro except for the screen size and autonomy. The two Pro models are clearly the ones in Apples 2022 lineup that bring the most novelty compared to the previous generation of iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. It has many features and components that the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus do not have.

We’ve got a completely reworked 48MP camera module, the new interactive notch called Dynamic Island and Apple’s new A16 Bionic SoC. But it’s also the most expensive smartphone ever sold by Apple and among the most expensive phones on the market, foldable smartphones included

Design

The iPhone 14 Pro Max does not change visually from last year’s models. The only new feature is the interactive notch called Dynamic Island.

What I liked:

• The beautiful Space Black and Deep Purple colors.
• The premium finish with the matte glass on the back and the stainless steel frame
• The Dynamic Island notch is more discreet than the big notch of the previous models
• IP68 rating

What I did not like:

• The rather massive weight and dimensions
• No headphone jack
• Zero risk-taking on the design

Design_iPhone13ProMax.jpg > Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V > Design_iPhone14ProMax.jpg—this is how I could summarize the design section of this review. Apple is a bit like that friend in high school who asks to copy your work and promises you that he’ll modify his enough not to get burned by the teacher to produce a carbon copy of your work. Except that Apple does it with itself.

In short, in terms of form factor, nothing has changed. The iPhone Pro Max still has a glass back protected by Apple’s Ceramic Shield. The matte coating on the back is very nice and pleasant to the touch.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes in four colors: Space Black, Deep Purple, Silver and Gold. I got the Space Black version and I really like this minimalist and sober color. The iPhone 14 Pro model Apple has sent us comes in the Deep Purple variant. That’s my favorite color of Apples new iPhone lineup.

The stainless steel frame still has straight edges and rounded corners. Personally, I prefer the grip of the iPhone 14 Pro with its more compact 6.1-inch form factor than the 6.7-inch Pro Max.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max weighs 240g and measures 160.7 x 77.6 x 7.9mm. In short: For one-handed use is not optimal if you’re a normal-sized human. And the huge island of the triple camera module on the back creates some imbalance when held. Also for the U.S., the iPhone 14 Pro Max omits the dual SIM port and only supports eSIM now. It is also IP68 certified against water and dust.

But the big news is this famous punch hole called Dynamic Island which I will talk about below. But this punch hole in the shape of a pill has the merit of being significantly smaller than the good ol’ notch still found on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.

Screen

The iPhone features a 6.7-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display with a resolution of 2796 x 1290 pixels (between QHD and 2K). The iPhone 14 Pro Max display has a refresh rate of 120 Hz (ProMotion) and can reach a maximum brightness of 2000 nits (peak).

I liked:

• Dynamic Island, which is not a gimmick
• Good brightness
• Faithful colorimetry with the TrueTone mode
• Refresh rate from 1 to 120 Hz with ProMotion

I didn’t like:

• The somewhat low touch sampling rate

The iPhone 14 Pro Max screen is, again, very, very similar to last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max. The resolution is slightly higher, and the flat screen’s bezels are supposed to be slightly thinner. But these minute details are absolutely imperceptible.

No, what really jumps out when you look at the iPhone 14 Pro Max screen is the famous Dynamic Island. Everyone is talking about it. Maybe we’ve already talked about it too much. And maybe after all the initial hype, no one will care. But it’s clearly one of the main points of interest of the smartphone.

Basically, Apple has replaced its ugly, big notch with an ugly, but smaller punch hole that is also interactive. This punch hole is not only used to house the 12 MP TrueTone selfie camera, it also integrates with the user interface and serves as a sort of multipurpose widget.

The Dynamic Island displays animations on your screen for notifications, alerts, and other contextual information, and it can expand, shrink, and even split to display certain background tasks like your Uber driver who’s on his way or the progress of your soccer game (via the Live Actions feature of iOS 16).

The Dynamic Island also allows you to display individual animations when you use Face ID. You can tap on it to enlarge it and display more information such as Apple Music playback controls or commands for calls, messages, directions in Maps, etc.

Personally, I really like this feature, but I can understand if it’s considered just a gimmick. I like the fact that it takes up less space than the classic notch. And I think Apple’s approach is original, especially if third-party app developers play along for better compatibility.

The screen brightness is impressive on paper. But I doubt that we can reach 2000 nits on the whole screen surface. Apple explained in any case that this would only be thought for outdoor use, if you are in direct sunlight. The colorimetry seemed quite faithful to me, especially with the TrueTone mode activated. I found the touch sampling rate a bit too low when I did my gaming session.

Interface/OS

The iPhone 14 Pro Max runs on iOS 16.0.1. We’ve already talked a lot about Apple’s new mobile OS and you can find all the information about iOS 16 in our dedicated article. We also have a whole guide on the
best features of iOS 16 to test on your iPhone.

I’ll just mention a few notable features. Starting with the Always On Display. Apple doesn’t offer the same level of customization that you can get on Android. But you can add up to four widgets under the date and time at the top of the screen.

Another feature of the Always-On Display is the ability to apply a depth effect to your wallpaper. Basically, you can display part of the subject in the foreground of your wallpaper over the clock, giving a depth effect. But this doesn’t work with all photos. There must be enough air at the top of the photo, the subject must not take up too much screen space and you must not place widgets.

Apple does not explain anything. You have to guess these conditions (or watch a tutorial on Youtube like I did). So, this function is pretty lame in my opinion.

I also think it’s a pity that the emergency call functions via satellite won’t be available outside of North America for some time. The deployment in the US and Canada is planned for this November. 

Performance

The iPhone 14 Pro Max packs Apple’s new A16 Bionic SoC, just like the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus retain last year’s A15 Bionic.

I haven’t done enough performance testing yet to make a judgement on this. From the few benchmarks I’ve seen online, the performance between the A16 and 15 Bionic is pretty similar. The A16 Bionic is obviously a bit more powerful. But in actual use, I don’t think the difference is palpable.

In any case, Apple’s chipsets are ahead of the Qualcomm, MediaTek or Samsung chipsets that can be found on the Android market. And I was able to run Apex Legends Mobile with graphics and framerate set to max without any problem.

I ran two very fast benchmarks and didn’t see any overheating issues off the bat either. On the 3D Mark GPU benchmark, the iPhone 14 Pro Max overperformed and maintained a very stable FPS rate of 59 FPS.

Photo quality

The iPhone 14 Pro features a new triple camera module on the back with a 48 MP wide-angle prime lens, a 12 MP x3 optical zoom telephoto lens, and a 12 MP ultra-wide angle lens. The new TrueDepth selfie camera offers 12 MP resolution and finally offers an autofocus.

Liked:

• promising new 48 MP wide angle lens
• x2 digital zoom is interesting for portraits
• versatility brought by the telephoto lens
• autofocus for selfies

I didn’t like:

• zoom of the telephoto lens is not optimal

The new 48 MP lens captures shots via 4-in-1 pixel binning, so the final resolution is 12 MP but with a better detail reproduction. The physical size of the sensor is also larger, allowing the lens to capture more light and offer better exposure and a wider dynamic range, which is very useful for low light shots.

On paper, this new lens is very interesting. Especially since Apple has added a x2 zoom level between the x1 and x3. Basically, it allows to zoom not with the telephoto lens, but with the main lens. The iPhone creates a digitally zoomed photo from a full resolution shot. But due to the higher resolution of the sensor the iPhone can do so by cropping instead of interpolating pixels which should lead to a better image quality, especially for low light photos but also for portraits. But I’ll have to check all this during my full photo test.

The 12 MP ultra wide angle lens has an aperture of f/2.2, and a focal length of 13mm which also allows for macro shots. There is also a dedicated 12 MP telephoto lens with an aperture of f/1.78, a focal length of 77 mm and the well-known OIS Sensor Shift.

Then there’s also the Action Mode for advanced video stabilization. And for the Cinematic mode, you’re now getting full 4K-resolution and 30 FPS instead of 24 FPS. In regular video mode, the iPhone 14 Pro Max can still shoot up to 4K at 60 FPS.

Autonomy

The iPhone 14 Pro Max packs a 4323 mAh battery that accepts 20W of wired charging, 15W of wireless charging with a MagSafe accessory and 7.5W with a Qi charger.

On paper, the battery seems quite small for such a large smartphone with a power-hungry screen. And as always, Apple gives silly estimates for the battery life of its smartphones.

So, according to the manufacturer, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is supposed to be able to last 29 hours in offline video playback, 25 hours in streaming video playback and 95 hours in audio playback.

I will comment on the battery life in my full test since these estimates do not correspond to any typical or real use that a user would be likely to have. On the other hand, I can already say that the 20W wired charging is ridiculously low and as anachronistic in 2022—just like the poor 25 watts that Samsung offers.

Technical data

Conclusion: My first impressions

Among all the models offered by Apple, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is certainly the most premium model. But as much as I will never choose the basic iPhone 14 because it doesn’t bring anything compared to last year’s lineup. I’ll never buy the iPhone 14 Pro Max either. It’s just way too expensive—and I personally find it too huge.

It’s indecent to sell a smartphone that looks the same for three years and offers only incremental innovations at the same price as a foldable smartphone. And like I wrote in the headline: No phone is an island, not even the iPhone 14 Pro Max. There needs to be more, and just an island is not enough. Not if you have to shell out at least $1099 for the small 128 GB version.

In a pinch, the iPhone 14 Pro in 128GB seems like a good compromise to me if you have 1000 bucks to spend on a smartphone. That’s the price of a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Feel free to check out our iPhone 14 (Plus) and iPhone 14 Pro (Max) comparison to make up your own mind. And I’ll let you know if I’ve changed my mind when I publish my full test next week.