The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is extremely durable and nearly faultless 2023

Posted on

The iPhone is the 14 Pro Max.

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 14 Pro Max

FROM VERIZON, $1,099

Without a doubt, 2022 will be a thrilling year for Apple’s Pro lineup of iPhones. With the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, there is a lot to ponder thanks to the new always-on screen, Dynamic Island, significant camera enhancements, and A16 Bionic CPU.
But if I had to choose between the two, I’d say you ought to purchase the latter model this year. The 14 Pro Max improves on the iPhone 14 Pro by having a larger screen and a substantially longer battery life. It still has all the same outstanding features.

The Lightning port on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
A lightning port is still present on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.Digital Trends / Joe Maring

The size is the only distinguishing feature of the Pro Max, which is the iPhone 14’s equivalent. The iPhone 14 Pro Max is one of the heaviest phones you can buy, at 160.7mm height and weighing 240 grams. Making the switch to the iPhone 14 Pro Max at first felt pretty frightening for someone who often favors smaller phones and has been using an iPhone 13 Pro for the previous year.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max continues to feel superior.

I’m delighted to report that switching to the phone as my primary handset hasn’t been as challenging as I had anticipated after using it for almost a week. Undoubtedly, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is still a hefty and big smartphone. It will always be too big for some people to utilize comfortably. However, I’ve gotten to the point where I can move it with one hand and am accustomed to its weight.

iPhone 14 Pro Max screen

The iPhone 14 Pro Max.

In exchange for putting up with the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s enormous size, you receive two key advantages. The first is a huge 6.7-inch display. With a resolution of 2796 x 1290, the OLED panel has the same 460ppi pixel density as the smaller iPhone 14 Pro.

The screen of the 14 Pro Max is of the same high caliber as that on the iPhone 14 Pro. The screen is now brighter than ever, the colors are vibrant and lovely, and the text is simple to read. Expect a maximum brightness of 1000 nits in most situations, but the iPhone 14 Pro Max can reach a maximum brightness of 2000 nits when additional light is required, such as in intense sunshine. Despite the

Brightness slider on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate Apple debuted on the iPhone 13 Pro series is also retained in the iPhone 14 Pro Max, providing you with incredibly fluid animations anytime you interact with the device. One of the fastest and smoothest phones I’ve used this year results from this plus iOS 16’s fluid design.

Of fact, one of the first iPhones with an always-on screen is the iPhone 14 Pro Max. A darkened version of your lock screen with alerts, lock screen widgets, and the full color of your wallpaper is now visible when you press the power button to turn off the display on your iPhone. Although I’ve never been a huge fan of always-on screens, I must confess that Apple’s version is among the most attractive I’ve seen.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max with its always-on screen.

Album art is displayed when playing music, and the lock screen feels more alive than ever thanks to the subtle animation that plays when the screen is turned on and off. Even though I wear an Apple Watch every day, I don’t find the entire thing to be particularly useful. Nevertheless, I’m delighted Apple finally made the switch to always-on functionality.
One of the most beautiful screens I’ve seen is Apple’s always-on display.

All of these features are available on the iPhone 14 Pro as well. The display on the iPhone 14 Pro Max isn’t actually any different; it just gives you more space to play with that amazing display. Everything on the iPhone 14 Pro Max feels bigger and more spacious, including playing games, scrolling through Twitter, watching YouTube videos, and surfing websites on Safari. Although the 6.1-inch display on the iPhone 14 Pro is clearly not small, having a 6.7-inch canvas to work with every day has been a pleasure.

iPhone 14 Pro Max Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The Dynamic Island has also been a pleasure to see. Apple’s notch is gone, and its place is now filled with a solid black bar over the top of the display. The Dynamic Island, despite its silly name, is one of the most intriguing iPhone features I’ve seen in a long time, and it makes me want to see what Apple will do with it.

Having a song playing? When you swipe up to go home, your music app floats into the Dynamic Island to display the album cover and a waveform that matches the color of what is now playing. The Dynamic Island lets you set a timer and shows a live countdown so you can easily keep track of it. The Dynamic Island also displays Face ID prompts, device charging alerts, AirPods connection pop-ups, incoming calls and call controls, Apple Maps directions, and more.

The Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

All of these notifications have always been there on the iPhone, but the Dynamic Island offers them a unified home. Along with streamlining iOS’s numerous warnings, this feature also lends them a pleasant, whimsical quality that is just too damn endearing. Even though The Dynamic Island isn’t always active, it’s a treat when an app does use it.

The Dynamic Island has only one flaw in my opinion—I wish it were capable of more. The feature’s present use is limited to a few system notifications and music playback. But at not too distant a time, that ought to change. Later this year, when Apple releases iOS 16.1 with the Live Activities API, third-party applications like Lyft, Uber, ESPN, Starbucks, and others will be able to

iPhone 14 Pro Max cameras

The rear cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Since a few years ago, Apple’s cameras have been top-notch, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max makes things much better. Since the iPhone 6s, Apple has only used 12MP camera sensors, but the new 48MP main camera on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max features an f/1.78 aperture and sensor-shift optical image stabilization. The sensor’s increased resolution enables the 48MP main camera to double as a 2x optical zoom lens.

A 12MP telephoto camera with a 3x zoom and a 12MP ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field-of-view are added to the primary camera. The 12MP front-facing camera, the first with autofocus on an iPhone, is another innovation. And that is all you receive in terms of hardware. Apple’s new Photonic Engine picture pipeline is used by the iPhone 14 Pro Max in terms of software, providing “more lifelike colors and beautifully detailed textures in less light than ever,” according to Apple’s website.

Someone holding the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

iOS 16 is installed by default on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Although there have been a few noticeable changes, Apple’s most recent version of iOS is mostly similar to iOS 15. The lock screen is the greatest change in this year’s release, as we’ve covered in great detail.

Apple now provides you complete power to edit your lock screen in a variety of ways with iOS 16. You can build different lock screens that you can quickly switch between, modify the time font, and add widgets. Although the customization interface may be made better, the extra functionality offered by this feature is excellent, and everything looks stunning when displayed on the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s always-on screen.

The lock screen isn’t iOS 16’s only significant improvement. The Weather app now gives you considerably more information than before when you tap on the weather forecast and other statistics. Additionally, there is a fantastic photo cutout tool, a battery % indicator for the status bar, typing feedback from the keyboard, iMessage edit/unsend choices, and a ton more.

Additionally, the iPhone 14 Pro Max will continue to receive new iOS updates for years to come in classic Apple manner. We anticipate that the iPhone 14 Pro Max will continue to get regular OS and security updates for five or six years after its sale, even if Apple doesn’t guarantee a particular number.

Performance of iPhone 14 Pro Max

Call of Duty: Mobile on an iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Digital Trends / Joe Maring

With the iPhone, performance is rarely a source of complaint. That’s still true with the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which comes as no surprise. The new A16 Bionic chip from Apple is included in the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. The A16 is quicker and more energy-efficient than the A15 since its 4nm design is smaller than the 5nm architecture of the A15.

The phone simply and completely complies with all of my requests.

The A16 Bionic has proven to be a performance powerhouse in my tests for everything task I throw at it. Apps? They operate flawlessly and open right away. Games? Any game I’ve thrown at the iPhone 14 Pro Max has worked flawlessly, from Tetris to Call of Duty: Mobile. And when you add 6GB of RAM to that, multitasking becomes a seamless and dependable experience.

Due to the fact that the iPhone 14 Pro Max has never caused me to consider performance, I almost forgot to include one in my evaluation. The phone simply and completely complies with all of my requests.

iPhone 14 Pro Max battery life

Battery stats on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Digital Trends / Joe Maring

At this point in the review, it should be clear that the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a superb smartphone. But how does the battery life of its extensive feature set differ? While the battery life of the ordinary iPhone 14 Pro has been very disappointing, the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s durability has really amazed me.

With only 4 hours, 17 minutes of screen time, and 15% battery life left after using the iPhone 14 Pro Max from 5:45 am to 11:15 pm, my first day with it wasn’t the best. The always-on screen was turned on at the time. I saw considerably better endurance after a few additional days of use to allow the battery break in. I have used the always-on screen for the entire day, from 7:45 in the morning to 11:40 at night, and still had 37% battery life.

The battery life does, however, improve when the always-on screen is turned off (as expected). I once had a day that lasted from 7:05 am to 11:26 pm with always-on disabled and still had 37% battery life. That included 5 hours, 45 minutes of screen time, plus more than an hour of background Apple Music streaming. With 32% power left after another day without the always-on screen, I made it from 7:55 in the morning to 11:41 at night. Over 7 hours of screen time were spent on that day, including over 40 minutes on YouTube, over an hour and a half on Twitter, over 30 minutes of internet browsing on Safari, and numerous other apps.

I’ve never used the 14 Pro Max down to 15% by the end of the day, and that was even with higher use than usual while reviewing the device. As I write this review, it’s after 5:00 pm, and I still have 77% battery life remaining. If I used the iPhone 14 Pro Max more frequently, I could easily get through a couple of days on a single charge.

Having the iPhone 14 Pro Max since two months

An iPhone 14 Pro Max with the display turned on. We see the Home Screen and Pixel Pals running in the Dynamic Island.
Joe Maring/Digital Trends

I wrote this review after using the iPhone 14 Pro Max for a little over a week. Now that I’ve been rocking the phone as my daily driver for the last couple of months, is it still just as good? You bet.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max still has all the same excellent features that made it so great when it first launched. I haven’t had any performance issues, the display is still amazing, the cameras are top-notch, and I haven’t noticed any battery anxiety. Since then, I’ve taken a transcontinental flight with the iPhone 14 Pro Max from Michigan to California, and throughout a full day of travel, constant music listening, using Uber, etc., I never once worried about battery life. The truly amazing experience has more than made up for the hefty build of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

My attitude toward the always-on screen is one thing that has changed. The AOD initially annoyed and redundant me, especially since I own an Apple Watch. However, after being persuaded by my coworker Andy Boxall, who adores the always-on screen, I’ve come to truly love it. I rely on the always-on screen every single day, whether it’s for Apple Photos or to cycle through the images of an album I’m currently listening to.

Pixel Pals app running in the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Digital Trends / Joe Maring

In comparison, I use Dynamic Island pretty much the same way. I still adore it for managing music playback and providing turn-by-turn directions in Apple Maps, but sadly there is still little third-party app support.The Pixel Pals app is cute and adds a Tamagotchi-like companion to my Dynamic Island, but I’m still waiting for apps like Starbucks, Uber, and ESPN, which could really benefit from Dynamic Island.

But despite the Dynamic Island’s acceptance taking longer than predicted, I still always advise everyone with the means to get an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The big size has necessitated some adjustment, and the beginning price of $1,099 is still exorbitant. But despite having dozens of alternative phones at my disposal, I consistently choose the iPhone 14 Pro Max pound for pound and specification for specification.

Pricing and accessibility for the iPhone 14 Pro Max

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is currently on sale. Starting at $1099 for 128GB of storage, upgrades to 256GB, 512GB, and even 1TB are available. Costs for the variants with more storage are $1199, $1399, and $1599, respectively.

If you purchase directly from Apple’s website, you may mail in your old phone to receive an instant credit from the firm that may be worth as little as $40 or as much as $720. Additionally, if you purchase the iPhone 14 Pro Max directly from Apple and have an Apple Card, you will receive 3% cashback (just under $33).