The iPhone 12 Pro Max is the biggest iPhone Apple has ever made, and it’s also the best – although you’re only likely to agree if you don’t mind spending R25,500 for the privilege of owning it, and don’t mind keeping a huge phone about your person day to day.
The design of the 12 Pro Max mirrors that of the other handsets in 2020’s iPhone 12: there’s a new flat-sided frame, which looks more industrial, and is a little less comfortable to hold than last year’s model.
It’s decked out in premium-looking, more muted colors though, and we’re fans of the shiny metal rim around the edge (despite the fact that it’s a real fingerprint magnet).
While the iPhone 12 Pro Max is actually only a very small amount bigger than last year’s 11 Pro Max, the bezels around the OLED display have been shrunk to allow Apple to increase the screen size to 6.7 inches – and it’s a compelling reason to pick up the new larger iPhone.
Images are clearer and more visible on the larger display, you can see more of a web page or image in daily use – and as a movie-watching machine it’s the best iPhone ever. It’s one of the best displays on the market, able to render both colorful scenes and more subtle tones with ease.
The headline feature on the new iPhone 12 Pro Max is the camera array: there are three cameras, all upgraded with a better image processor. While the camera block protrudes from the rear of the phone more than on recent iPhones, the main 12MP sensor has been upgraded to capture a lot more light, and enhancements have been made to the image processing too – some of the photos we took were really impressive.
However, the 12 Pro Max wasn’t that far ahead of the iPhone 12 Pro’s camera performance in our tests, which was surprising – images were, on the whole, clearer and brighter from the 12 Pro Max, but not by a huge amount.
If you’re a budding movie-maker, we’d say it’s definitely worth looking at the 12 Pro Max – it’s packing Dolby Vision recording at 4K and 60 frames per second, so if you’re a content creator looking for a phone that can record high-quality footage, the 12 Pro Max can definitely do that.
HDR will also make your movies look better, with improved brightness and color; however, it can look a little artificial, and clips will take up more storage space on your phone. It’s not a feature that most should look to upgrade for.