For years, people who are power users, have extra money to spend, or are enthusiasts of huge screens have been gravitating towards Apple’s larger Max phones.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max from 2021 was among the best models the company has produced, boasting an incredible camera, excellent battery life, unmatched power, and a super-fluid display. The iPhone 14 Pro Max is now available, and it pushes boundaries in areas like performance and photography.

What is the best deal on any of these two Apple super-sizers? Based on the specifications, here are our opinions on how this most opulent improvement compares to its predecessor.

This is how Apple improved the Pro Max phone in preparation for the arrival of the iPhone 14.

Even if the iPhone 13 Pro Max wasn’t bad at all, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the greatest phone Apple has ever produced. However, the phone’s 48MP primary camera, always-on display, and new A16 Bionic chipset make it clear that there are many more features to enjoy as well. If you want to tame one, just be ready to shell out a lot of money.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is still a powerful phone, even with the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s faster processor and improved cameras. Even though it added variable refresh rates to the iPhone series, it managed to get a top time during our battery test. The iPhone 13 Pro Max also receives several features from the iOS 16 software.

When the iPhone 14 Pro Max was released in September of last year, all of the distinctions between it and the iPhone 13 Pro Max were evident.

The greatest iPhone available at the moment is this one, the new top dog in the iPhone 14 family. More significantly, for our purposes here, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a big upgrade over the previous greatest phone in Apple’s series, the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 14 Pro Max

We explore all of these changes in detail, so if you want to learn whether the iPhone 14 Pro Max is really a worthy upgrade over the 13 Pro Max, read on!

Here is a detailed comparison of the main features of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro Max, based on information provided directly by Apple and our extensive use of the most recent iPhone.

iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro Max design

Both the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the iPhone 14 Pro Max have rounded corners and flat surfaces, similar to the iPhone 12 Pro Max that came before them.

Some sources have speculated that Apple might replace the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s stainless steel chassis with a more durable titanium alloy for the iPhone 14 Pro Max. That hasn’t turned out to be the case, though, as both have extremely identical polished frames.

These are two heavy devices: the iPhone 14 Pro Max weighs 240g and has dimensions of 160.7 x 77.6 x 7.85mm, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max measures 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.65mm and weighs 238g. As you can see, the updated Pro Max is slightly thicker and heavier, but also somewhat shorter and slimmer.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is available in Sierra Blue, Graphite, Gold, and Silver. Along with Gold, Silver, and Space Black, Apple has updated the iPhone 14 Pro Max with a new Deep Purple color.

But the display’s notch is the primary area of design variation in this case. The iPhone 14 Pro Max drastically changes things up, even while the iPhone 13 Pro Max has Apple’s recognizable “widow’s peak” notch that extends into the top edge of the screen.

This time, the proximity sensor is situated behind the display, while the front camera and Face ID technology are hidden behind a punch-hole cutout that Apple has named the “Dynamic Island.” As a result, it occupies 30% less space, and the screen flows between and around the pieces that are visible.

Additionally, Apple has updated Dynamic Island’s user interface (UI) to offer a variety of context-sensitive notification animations that resize and contract based on the work at hand. In the meantime, there are fewer bezels surrounding the display of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Despite having a largely similar appearance, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has an even larger camera module. This is another design distinction. As we talk about the camera system itself, the rationale for this will become evident.

iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro Max display

Due to LTPO technology, the 6.7-inch OLED screens on both of these phones can achieve a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz and feature a resolution of 2778 x 1284. These panels are better suited to managing dynamic refresh rates.

On the other hand, the iPhone 14 Pro Max can drop as low as 1 Hz, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max can only go as low as 10 Hz under specific circumstances. This makes it possible for the more recent phone to have an always-on display, which uses less battery power to continuously show the time, widgets, and live activities on the lock screen.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max’s display can also get significantly brighter than the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s, up to a remarkable 2,000 nits in ideal outdoor lighting—double the brightness of the former.

iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro Max cameras

One of the greatest phone camera experiences out there is still offered by the iPhone 13 Pro Max. With its three-camera configuration, you get a 12MP ultra-wide, a 3x telephoto, and a huge 12MP primary sensor with an f/1.5 aperture and sensor shift stabilization.

But Apple seems to have outdone itself with the iPhone 14 Pro Max in a big way. This is because of a brand-new 48MP primary sensor that produces larger effective 2.44µm pixels (as opposed to 1.9µm pixels) by using 4-in-1 pixel binning processes.

Furthermore, in addition to the separate dedicated 3x telephoto camera, the 14 Pro Max can now provide a genuine 2x telephoto zoom because of the extra pixels that are now available from the primary sensor.

The upgraded phone also has a 12MP ultra-wide camera with 1.4µm pixels, which is significantly larger than the 1.0µm pixels seen on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Especially for low-light ultra-wide photos, this should yield excellent results.

In fact, all four of the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s cameras now work at least twice as well in low light, thanks to Apple’s new Photonic Engine.

The selfie camera on the iPhone 14 Pro Max has also been improved. Instead of using the fixed-focus camera seen in the iPhone 13 Pro Max, Apple has included autofocus functionality. When coupled with a larger f/1.9 aperture (as opposed to f/2.2), this ought to produce excellent group photos from a distance and better low-light focus for your selfies.

iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro Max:: specs and performance

Thanks to the A15 Bionic chip’s 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is still among the quickest phones available.

But the iPhone 14 Pro Max seems to have given Apple the upper hand. With a GPU that has 20% more efficient performance cores and 50% more memory bandwidth, Apple’s new A16 Bionic chip adds even more power.

We’ll have to wait and see how this performs in practical application. Interestingly, Apple hasn’t made any audacious performance promises when contrasting the A16 with the A15 Bionic of the iPhone 13 Pro Max; this suggests that efficiency and computational photography improvements between generations may be more important here.

Regarding storage, both phones provide four options: 1TB, 512GB, 256GB, or 128GB of inbuilt memory

iPhone 14 Pro Max vs. iPhone 13 Pro Max design and display

The iPhone 14 Pro Max initially seems similar to its predecessor, with flat sides encircling a 6.7-inch display that occupies a large portion of the phone’s front. Once you notice it, the significant change isn’t that significant at all. The phone’s camera array is now housed in a new pill-shaped cutout in the middle of the top of the display, which replaces the smaller notch from the phones from last year.

This oblong cutout has been named the Dynamic Island by Apple. It has a front-facing camera, Face ID sensors, and an animable design that makes notifications and status updates appear through the cutout. The Dynamic Island is the focal point of iOS 16’s Live Activities feature, which notifies you of constantly shifting circumstances such as the score of a game you’re following.

In terms of appearance, the iPhone 14 Pro Max retains the same 6.7-inch OLED display as its predecessor, but it has an always-on display that highlights your lock screen, which is now even more customizable with iOS 16.

Unfortunately, it looks like Apple has dropped the blue and green color options that were available on the model last year. However, the graphite, silver, and gold hues from the iPhone 13 Pro Max are still available on the new model, along with a new deep purple shade.

With the same adaptive refresh rate technology as its predecessor, the new iPhone 14 Pro Max can go from 120 Hz to as low as 1 Hz, whereas the iPhone 13 Pro Max could only go from 120 Hz to 10 Hz. This contributes to the always-on display’s battery conservation, matching a feature found on Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Display Measurements:

The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes in four color options: space black, gold, silver, and deep purple. There are five color options available for the iPhone 13 Pro Max: graphite, silver, gold, sierra blue, and alpine green.

The contents of the packaging remain the same, containing merely a lightning cord and no charger.

However, what about the screen? The 6.7-inch OLED screen on both phones has almost the same resolution.

On the other hand, the edges of the iPhone 14 Pro Max are thinner, giving it a more refined appearance. For a more comfortable outdoor viewing experience, Apple has also increased the maximum brightness of the 14 Pro Max even higher, up to an amazing 2000 nits. We found this to be much more significant than it seems; it greatly facilitates viewing the new iPhone outside.

Since they are both Pro models, they both have 120Hz ProMotion for buttery smooth scrolling. However, the 13 Pro Max stops at 10 Hz, while the 14 Pro Max can plummet to barely 1 Hz.

The two utilize Face ID as their biometric. The 14 Pro Max has a redesigned pill shape, but it retains the same face recognition sensors and technology as the 13 Pro Max, so Face ID works the same way.