If you own an iPhone 11 Pro Max and want to upgrade, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is, unsurprisingly, your best option. Is it worthwhile to take the risk? So, let’s take a look at what — and how much — has changed! The iPhone 13 Pro Max introduces many new features, the most notable being a ProMotion display for smoother scrolling and, perhaps most impressively, a battery life increase over the already long-lasting iPhone 11 Pro Max. Of course, there are new, improved cameras with larger sensors that can capture more light and a few truly “Pro” features such as ProRaw photos and ProRes video recording.
In this article, we’ll go over everything in greater depth: the design differences between the two iPhones, the benefits of the newer Apple A15 processor, everything new with the cameras, and finally, the actual battery life numbers.
iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 11 Pro Max differences in a nutshell:
- New design with flat edges on iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 Pro Max is quite a bit heavier
- Larger screen at 6.7″ vs 6.5″ on older model
- 120Hz ProMotion, HDR support, higher brightness on newer model
- Apple A15 vs Apple A13
- 128GB base storage (vs 64GB on 11 Pro Max)
- Triple camera system on both, but new and larger sensors on 13 Pro Max
- ProRaw and ProRes support only on newer model
- Bigger battery size, slightly faster charging, MagSafe support
- New color options
iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 11 Pro Max: Specs Comparison
And here is a detailed specs comparison between the iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 11 Pro Max.
| iPhone 13 Pro Max | iPhone 11 Pro Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Size and Weight | 160.8 x 78.1 x 7.65 mm, 240g | 160.84 x 78.09 x 7.39 mm, 228g (8oz) |
| Display | 6.7″ OLED, 120Hz Pro Motion 1284 x 2778 pixels | 6.5″ OLED @60Hz 1242 x 2688 pixels |
| Processor | Apple A15 Bionic | Apple A13 Bionic |
| RAM | *6GB | *4GB |
| Storage | 128G / 256G / 512GB / 1TB, non expandable | 64GB / 256G / 512GB, non expandable |
| Cameras | 12MP wide camera, f/1.5, 1.9-micron pixels 12MP ultra-wide camera with faster, f/1.8 aperture 12MP 3X zoom camera | 12MP wide camera, f/1.8, 1.4-micron pixels 12MP ultra-wide camera, f/2.4 12MP 2X zoom camera |
| Battery size | 4,352mAh 25 hours of video streaming | 3,969mAh 12 hours of video streaming |
| Charging speeds | 20W wired, 15W MagSafe wireless | 18W wired, 7.5W wireless |
| Prices | starting from $1,100 | after iPhone 13 launch, iPhone 11 Pro Max is no longer available at Apple.com (but will remain on sale at carriers) |
Apple has not changed the pricing of the 13 Pro Max, and the base model remains at $1,100, as with previous generations. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is no longer available on Apple.com but is still available at discounted prices from some carriers.
Display and Design
If you have an iPhone 11 Pro Max, you will notice that the iPhone 13 Pro Max is larger, heavier, and chunkier. The 13 Pro Max has this new boxy styling with flat edges, unlike the 11 Pro Max’s curved edges. The newer phone’s flat sides look great, but they also make the phone a little harder to grip, especially if you have a smaller hand, and we actually find the 11 Pro Max a little more comfortable to grip.
In terms of display quality, the iPhone 13 Pro Max has a slightly larger screen: 6.7 inches vs. 6.5 inches on the 11 Pro Max, but they both use the same OLED technology for similarly vibrant colors, have roughly the same resolution, and look plenty sharp. You’ll also notice that the newer model has a smaller notch (20% smaller, to be exact), which is fantastic.
For more comfortable outdoor use, the iPhone 13 Pro Max has a higher peak brightness (1,000 nits vs 800 nits on the 11 Pro Max). The newer model also includes an extremely exciting upgrade: ProMotion 120Hz for smooth scrolling! Apple has optimized iOS, and the screen automatically switches from 10Hz with static content to 120Hz when smooth scrolling is required. View our display measurements for both phones below:
Display measurements and quality
| MAXIMUM BRIGHTNESSHIGHER IS BETTER | MINIMUM BRIGHTNESS (nits)LOWER IS BETTER | COLOR TEMPERATURE (Kelvins) | GAMMA | DELTA E RGBCMYLOWER IS BETTER | DELTA E GRAYSCALELOWER IS BETTER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max | 1051 (Excellent) | 1.9 (Excellent) | 6445 (Excellent) | 2.23 | 1.02 (Excellent) | 1.56 (Excellent) |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max | 802 (Excellent) | 1.9 (Excellent) | 6897 (Excellent) | 2.24 | 1.9 (Excellent) | 5.6 (Average) |
Finally, the 13 Pro Max comes in various colors, including Sierra Blue, a light shade of blue, and Graphite, Silver, and Gold, whereas the older 11 Pro Max comes in Midnight Green, Silver, Space Gray, and Gold. Both phones have frosted glass on the back, which is more resistant to fingerprints than glossy glass. Read Also; Apple iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max News and Features
Battery and Charging
Will this be the biggest upgrade to iPhone battery life?
If you’re coming from an iPhone 11 Pro Max, you’re probably used to long battery life. The iPhone 11 Pro Max wowed us with its large battery and long battery life when it was released, but the iPhone 13 Pro Max takes things a step further. Much further.
Apple does not specify the exact battery capacity for its iPhones, but teardowns reveal that the iPhone 13 Pro Max has a 4,352mAh battery cell versus the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s 3,969mAh cell. That’s a nearly 10% difference in favor of the newer model.
But we don’t have to rely solely on size. Apple has released official battery estimates, and this is where things get crazy. According to Apple, the iPhone 13 Pro Max can stream videos for up to 25 hours straight, compared to just 12 hours on the 11 Pro Max, which is twice as long! The difference is insignificant for videos on your device; the 13 Pro Max can play back 28 hours straight versus 20 hours on the 11 Pro Max. Still, those are significant improvements, and we couldn’t wait to put them to the test.
These are significant changes! Specifically, in the browsing test, we see that the iPhone 13 Pro Max delivers nearly 19 hours, while the 11 Pro Max only manages about 13 hours, representing a nearly 50% improvement! Interestingly, the difference in YouTube video streaming was quite small, but there was a larger difference in our gaming test, where the newer Pro Max scored 10 hours and a half vs 7 hours and a half on the 11 Pro Max.
Cameras
The iPhone 11 Pro Max introduced new camera features such as Night Mode, and the iPhone 13 Pro Max pushes the envelope even further with larger sensors and faster apertures.
There will still be three cameras on the back: a primary, an ultra-wide, and a slightly longer zoom lens (3X zoom on iPhone 13 Pro Max vs 2X zoom on iPhone 11 Pro Max).
Here are the differences in camera hardware:
- Wide camera — 26mm, f/1.5 aperture on 13 Pro Max vs f/1.8 aperture on 11 Pro Max, 1.9µm vs 1.4µm pixel size
- Ultra-wide camera — 0.5X, 13mm, f/1.8 aperture vs f/2.4 aperture
- Telephoto camera — 3X zoom vs 2X zoom on 11 Pro Max, f/2.8 aperture on 13 Pro Max vs f/2.0 aperture
Simply put, the 13 Pro Max can capture a lot more light thanks to the wider aperture on the main camera and its new capabilities.
It’s interesting to note that Apple has changed the processing with Night Mode, which activates for shorter periods of time (the 13 Pro Max frequently took just 1 second to capture a night photo vs 3 seconds on the 11 Pro Max). The picture is darker and has a more genuine “night” feel. We like the more balanced look; if you look closely, you’ll notice the sharper detail and improved dynamic range.
When it comes to low light performance, there is a huge gap between the ultrawide cameras simply because the 11 Pro Max does not support night mode for that lens, whereas the newer 13 Pro Max does. And what a difference it makes, as the resulting photo from the older phone will go straight to the trash folder, whereas the 13 Pro Max actually looks quite nice despite the extremely dim lighting in the room.
Performance: Apple A15 vs A13
When the iPhone 11 Pro Max first became available, it was the fastest phone on the market, and Apple has only continued to expand its lead in chip performance. The new Apple A15 Bionic chip inside the iPhone 13 Pro Max should improve CPU, GPU, AI performance, and camera ISP.
Benchmarks that compare the performance of the 13 Pro Max with its A15 chip to the 11 Pro Max with its A13 processor are provided below.
Performance Benchmarks
| Geekbench 5 SingleHIGHER IS BETTER | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max1734Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max1332 |
| Geekbench 5 MultiHIGHER IS BETTER | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max4818Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max3446 |
| 3DMark Extreme (High)HIGHER IS BETTER | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max2990Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max2103 |
| 3DMark Extreme (Low)HIGHER IS BETTER | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max2266Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max1617 |
The A15 is built on 5nm technology, as opposed to the A13’s 7nm technology, and it has nearly double the number of transistors: 15 billion on the A15 vs 8.5 billion on the A13. The speed gains are definitely noticeable in benchmarks.
The 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress test results are shown above, showing what you can expect regarding gaming performance. While other tests only measure initial performance, this test runs a graphically intensive 3D game for 20 minutes straight to see if the GPU throttles after the first few minutes, which is a much more realistic scenario. You can see that two years have allowed for significant improvements in graphics performance, and the newer iPhone maintains far higher frame rates and is the ultimate gaming machine at the time of its release.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max has a significant upgrade in connectivity, as it has 5G support with a plethora of bands, whereas the 11 Pro Max only has 4G LTE connectivity. Read More; Nothing Phone 1 vs Apple iPhone 13: Android takes on iPhone
Conclusion: Is it time to upgrade to the iPhone 13 Pro Max?
Of course, it depends on how you feel about the features and distinctions we’ve discussed. If you’re still satisfied with your iPhone 11 Pro Max in 2022 and see no reason to upgrade, that’s perfectly fine! No worries, your phone will continue to receive updates for years, and if the battery is still holding up just fine three years later, that’s fantastic!
However, if you’re looking for reasons to upgrade, we can’t ignore the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s improved cameras and camera features, larger display, snappier processor, and faster charging. As previously stated, it includes double the base storage, allowing you to store more apps, photos, and videos. And, in terms of design, the newer iPhone 13 Pro Max has that lovely flat-edged body, which is a nice way to change things up if you’ve grown tired of the old curved-edge iPhone design.
