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iPhone 12 Pro vs. iPhone 12 Pro Max Buyer's Guide

With a new squared-off industrial design, the A14 Bionic chip, a LiDAR Scanner, and MagSafe, Apple unveiled the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max as the successors to the popular iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max this month. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are the most fully-featured iPhones available as the premium flagship offerings from Apple.

The iPhone 12 Pro begins at 999 dollars and the iPhone 12 Pro Max starts at 1.099 dollars. Although the two phones share the vast majority of features, besides just the screen size, there are also a range of discrepancies between the devices. Our guide explains the variations between the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, and helps address the question of how to assess which of these two iPhones is better for you.

Comparing the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max share almost all of the same main characteristics. Both phones are equipped with the same OLED Super Retina XDR display technology, A14 Bionic processor, 5 G networking, 12MP Ultra Medium, Wide and Telephoto lens pro camera setup, LiDAR Scanner, and are available in the same colours. Where the two devices differ is more interesting.

Differences

iPhone 12 Pro

• Super Retina XDR 6.1-inch OLED display, 2532-by-1170-pixel resolution
• Telephoto lens with ƒ/2.0 aperture
• 2x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 4x spectrum of optical zoom
• Digital zoom up to 10x
• Dual optical image stabilization
• Battery life with a video playback of 17 hours
• 6.66 ounces (189 grammes) by weight
• $999, $1099, $1299 for 128GB/256GB/512GB

iPhone 12 pro Max

• Super Retina XDR 6.7-inch OLED display, 2778-by-1284-pixel resolution
• Telephoto lens with ƒ/2.2 aperture
• 2.5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 5x range of optical zoom
• Digital zoom up to 12x
• Optical image stabilisation Sensor-shift
• Battery life with a video playback of 20 hours
• Weight of 8.03 ounces (228 grams)
• $1099, $1199, $1399 for 128GB/256GB/512GB

Apple also added a few more camera enhancements to the Max in addition to the physical dimension. Read on to look at each of these things more closely, to see just where the iPhone 12 Pro compares with its larger sibling.

Display Size

The monitor size is the most significant difference between the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The ⁇ iPhone 12 ⁇ Pro is 6.1 inches in height, and the 12 Pro Max is 6.7 inches in size. This means that with the UI elements of apps spaced further apart, the larger phone will be able to show more content, and things such as the keyboard will be much larger. However, with only one hand, the smaller phone would be much more pocketable and easy to use.

The displays themselves use the very same technology and have the same features, but due to their better fit in the hand and simpler one-handed use, the key reason for choosing the iPhone 12 Pro is. Similarly, those who prefer a larger display, to the point where the 7.9-inch iPad mini will begin to cannibalise, would obviously prefer the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Dimensions and Weight

The iPhone 12 Pro, as a smaller handset, obviously has a lower height and width than the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The iPhone 12 Pro is 14.1 mm shorter than the iPhone 12 Pro Max and 6.6 mm narrower. Both phones, however, have 7.4 mm of the same thickness. The iPhone 12 Pro is also 39 grammes (1.38 ounces) smaller, at just 189 grammes (6.66 ounces) in total, than its larger equivalent.

Cameras

Another main area of differentiation between the devices is the camera. With three 12 MP cameras, including an Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto, and a LiDAR Scanner, and several of the same software features, such as Smart HDR 3, Night mode, Deep Fusion, and Apple ProRAW, the two iPhones have very similar rear camera arrays. However, the larger size of the 12 Pro Max allowed three additional camera features to be added to Apple.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max's Wide Camera has a 47 percent wider sensor with larger pixels, producing for more light than the iPhone 12's Wide-angle Camera. According to Apple, low-light photos taken with the iPhone 12 Pro Max are 87 percent better, with pictures that also feature more detail and better colour.

The Telephoto lens on the iPhone 12 Pro has an f/2.0 aperture, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max Telephoto lens has an f/2.2 aperture, but the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 65 mm focal length and a 2.5x zoom lens that is greater than the iPhone 12 Pro's 52 mm focal length and 2x zoom lens, making a 5x optical zoom range.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max also has optical image stabilisation for sensor-shift on its large lens instead of optical image stabilisation for lens-shift. This implies that, rather than the lens, the camera sensor shifts to counteract shake. Improved optical image stabilisation is the result.

Increased zoom in, improved low-light performance, and optical image stabilisation for sensor-shift are notable, if not particularly revolutionary, improvements to the camera. Nonetheless, if you use your iPhone extensively for photography and videography, the improvement on the 12 Pro Max would probably be appreciated.

Battery Life

When it comes to battery life, the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max vary as well. According to Apple, the iPhone 12 ⁇ Pro will deliver up to 17 hours of video playback. Nevertheless, since the iPhone 12 Pro Max is much bigger, it can handle a larger battery and hence have a longer battery life. This means that up to 20 hours of video playback will reportedly be supported by the iPhone 12 Pro Max. For both devices, real-world battery life is likely to be lower than Apple 's predictions, since mixed use appears to be a little heavier than video playback alone.

If battery life is a priority for you, the iPhone 12 Pro Max provides an iPhone with the highest possible battery life. It will still have a fair battery life if you want to get the iPhone 12 Pro, but it does not meet the 12 Pro Max size.

Other Options on iPhone

At a starting price of $999, if the ‌iPhone 12 Pro‌ is outside your comfortable spending range, you should definitely consider its cheaper counterpart, the ‌iPhone 12‌ ($799/$829), or even the ‌iPhone 11‌ ($599).

• iPhone 12 vs iPhone 12 Pro Buyer's Guide
• iPhone 11 vs iPhone 12 Buyer's Guide

Ultimate Thoughts

The most noticeable decision point for the screen size falls between the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. For photography and videography, the camera improvements of the iPhone 12 Pro Max even make it the best iPhone. Similarly, users of heavy batteries would appreciate the added power.

In all regions, the iPhone 12 Pro Max represents the best you can get out of an iPhone, but for all consumers, that does not necessarily translate into a worthwhile purchase. A big 6.7 inch phone isn't for everyone. Some will consider the size of the iPhone 12 Pro Max disproportionate or uncomfortably huge, whereas others would love the bigger display for media consumption.

Ultimately, screen size is a matter of personal preference, and Apple provides three different sizes of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro lineup to suit the needs of all consumers. Since almost all functions except for some camera hardware are shared by the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, it comes down to individual preference. The added price of $100 seems to be a fair trade for the added size, battery life and features of the camera.