iPhone 13 Pro Max: test. A worthy competitor for Android flagships

We would like to thank the Orange network for lending the iPhone 13 Pro Max for testing purposes.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max differs from the 13 Pro model only in the size of the screen and the battery capacity. So you can read our test even if you are interested in a smaller model. And maybe especially then.

iPhone 13 Pro is a photographic sweeper. This camera has almost no weaknesses

Apple boasts that the 12-megapixel main camera now has a larger, stabilized matrix (which was reserved for the Max model in the 12 series) and a brighter aperture. The company emphasizes that the new lens "transmits up to 2.2 times more light", which sounds impressive, but in fact the main camera does not bring a drastic improvement over the previous generation.

This is largely due to the fact that there was not much to be improved. iPhone 13 Pro takes fantastic photos in virtually any lighting conditions. The photos are sharp, with faithfully reproduced colors and very, very little noise.

Apple's flagship is also distinguished by one of the best night modes. When there is a lot of artificial light, it effectively eliminates burnouts and draws out details from shadows in a noticeable, but not exaggerated way. When the light is low, the iPhone 13 Pro can take a good photo even in complete darkness, while maintaining natural colors. Something beautiful.

However, it should be borne in mind that Apple stands in opposition to photographic standards from smartphones. Many producers rely on very aggressive HDR, so the final photos & hairsp; - & hairsp; may like & hairsp; - & hairsp; look as if they were processed in a Lightroom. iPhone 13 Pro focuses on naturalness. And here there is no better / worse approach. It is all based on personal preferences.

Styles are an important improvement to the camera

As I mentioned, by default the camera is calibrated for the most natural effects. However, if someone does not like this approach, you can change it using the Style function.

Styles are about more than just color filters that you apply to your photo. Algorithms change the way the matrix interprets the light entering through the lens. Thanks to this, you can decide to make the iPhone take photos with more saturated colors, higher contrast and / or a warmer or cooler color temperature.

Apple has prepared a few initial settings that work like this:

The software also allows you to play with the sliders and create your own schematic. Once set, the Style is activated in all photos taken from that moment.

It's a very cool thing. If someone does not like the naturalness iconic for the iPhone and prefers Samsung saturation, he can change the specificity of the camera with one click.

Apple prides itself on the fact that the iPhone 13 Style works intelligently and does not interfere with the color of the skin, for example. From my observations, however, it appears that this is just a bummer on the springs, because the filters also modify the color of the skin as much as possible.

The iPhone 13 Pro also has an excellent ultra wide angle lens with a macro mode

The ultra-wide-angle lens was the Achilles' heel of previous iPhones. Apple used microscopic matrices and poor quality lenses. Effect? The camera was qualitatively far behind the main sensor, and in more difficult lighting conditions it was practically useless.

With the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, the improvement is huge. Ultra-wide frames are now sharper and less noisy, even after dark. The difference from the main camera is visible only in deep darkness, although even then the smartphone can generate a nice photo.

Thanks to the addition of autofocus, the iPhone 13 Pro can sharpen from a distance of 2 cm. This makes it great for taking macro photos.

While the main camera brings only slight improvements compared to the previous generation, the additional one is a completely new league.

The iPhone 13 Pro also got a sensible telephoto lens

For many years, Apple stuck to telephoto lenses generating a modest, 2x optical zoom. In the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max models, the zoom value has increased to a more useful 3x level.

The iPhone is finally able to take a good quality photo with a 5x digital zoom, and even 10x photos on the phone screen look tolerable. The software allows you to reach the level of 15x, but then you can already see a lot of pixelosis.

It is worth noting, however, that the Apple flagship retains similar colors from all lenses.

While the telephoto lens has been improved, of course, the iPhone 13 Pro still has no take-off to the competing Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which generates a 10x optical zoom.

The movie mode of the iPhone 13 Pro works surprisingly well

The movie mode & hairsp; - & hairsp; the flagship feature of the iPhones 13 & hairsp; - & hairsp; I have already described in detail in a separate material. Let me just remind you briefly that we are talking about a function that allows you to apply a blur effect and change the focus point on an already recorded movie.

The effects at the early stage of the movie mode development are not super natural, but pleasing to the eye. It certainly works better than I expected, mainly due to the fact that the iPhone 13 Pro can separate several plans completely independently.

After recording a movie, I can, for example, focus on my face ...

... on a wooden squirrel behind me ...

... on the bushes behind the squirrel ...

… Or the background behind the bushes.

Editing a video is fabulously simple, and if the results are not satisfactory, they can always turn them off with a single click.

The only thing missing is the icing on the cake in the form of better stabilization

The iPhone 13 Pro shoots unrivaled video in terms of quality, and the movie mode is a new deal. However, it is a bit worse with stabilization.

Apple's smartphones are great at stabilizing the video when the user tries to limit sudden movements - then the film flows like a gimbal. The iPhone 13 Pro, however, cannot cope with reducing more aggressive movements.

I attached the iPhone 13 Pro Max to the Galaxy S21 Ultra and ran a few meters. The differences in stabilization are as follows:

In terms of overall dimensions, the iPhone 13 Pro has one of the best cameras on the market, which is not much behind the best rivals (mainly zoom and stabilization), and in many respects either outclasses them or matches them.

And all of this requires support for the ProRes format or a LiDAR sensor for precise 3D scanning of the environment.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max has a much improved display, but it could have been even better

Apple has been using very good OLEDs for years and it is no different in this case. The image quality is excellent, the blacks are of course perfect, and the colors do not change their saturation even at a high angle. Apple also took care of high brightness, ensuring very good visibility in the sun.

The novelty is the variable refresh rate reaching 120 Hz, thanks to which the iPhones finally caught up with the Android competition. The animations of the iOS 15 system at 120 fps look phenomenal, and the smartphone has no problems with maintaining high liquidity even under heavy load. During testing, I never caught it even with minimal frame rate.

However, I can see four disadvantages of the iPhone 13 Pro Max screen.

First - indentation. It is true that it is about 20 percent. smaller than in previous generations, but still much larger and more invasive than the small holes used by the competition. In addition, Apple did not use the saved space in any way. There is still no battery percentage in the status bar, although it would fit.

Second - the colors. The screen of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is calibrated for the most natural colors. Most rivals implement alternative modes in the software that allow you to optionally increase the saturation. Personally, I like to use this modes, which makes the iPhone screen seem too faded after switching from the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Third - no AOD. The variable refresh rate in theory allows the implementation of the energy-saving Always On Display mode. However, the iPhone 13 Pro cannot display content on a blank screen, so the potential of such an advanced panel is wasted.

Fourth - no multi-window mode. The big screen begs to be able to use several applications at the same time, but the iPhone 13 Pro Max does not allow it.

So when it comes to the display, it's good, but it could have been better.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max stereo speakers are EXCELLENT

iPhones have for years had speakers that are an unrivaled model for most rivals. This time, Apple has outdone itself.

The sound generated by the iPhone 13 Pro Max is impressively fleshy and deep. It's a sound that rubs against some of the worst Bluetooth speakers. Watching movies, playing games or even listening to music is a lot of fun thanks to it.

The design of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is anti-human

I like big displays. I like flat displays. I like hewn cases with flat edges. I like glass with a matte finish. I don't mind the high weight. However, all these features in one smartphone made the use of the iPhone 13 Pro Max terrible for me.

This smartphone is clunky and heavy, and its angular shape makes it bad in the hand. Matt, smooth glass, which has poor adhesion to the skin, does not help here.

The Orange network lent me a 1 TB variant for PLN 8199 for the purposes of testing, so I tried to handle it like an egg so as not to fall into debt. And so the iPhone 13 Pro Max slipped from my hand within an hour after unpacking and I miraculously caught it before contact with the ground. My youtuber friend Robert Nawrowski was not so lucky and damaged the private copy 3 days after unpacking.

In addition, & hairsp; - & hairsp; as I mentioned before & hairsp; - & hairsp; iOS 15 cannot even make meaningful use of such a large screen. Ba & hairsp; - & hairsp; I dare say that it is unfit for it. When there is only one icon on the desktop, it automatically lands in the upper left corner, which is the hardest to reach place and it cannot be moved.

Here and there, system applications beyond the reach of the thumb also display key interface elements.

I love over 6.5 '' screens, but if I were to buy an iPhone, I would avoid Maks like fire. This is the least ergonomic smartphone I've ever used.

It is also a pity that Apple has not implemented a fingerprint reader

Apple for the fifth time put on the Face ID face scanner, which in the era of a pandemic and masks is not the best decision in itself.

Facial recognition works quickly and efficiently even when the phone is at a high angle, which is impressive. So I would be able to get over Face ID, if it weren't for the fact that I am invariably irritated by the absurd way of implementing this feature.

Unlocking the iPhone requires a finger swipe from the bottom edge, and the payment authorization is required by pressing the power key twice. If I have to click and move something every now and then, why is there simply no fingerprint reader in these places that would abolish the need to stare at the phone with an exposed face at the same time?

The battery of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is brilliant

One day I disconnected my phone from the charger late in the evening. I watched a 1.5-hour movie on Netflix and went to sleep. 7 hours later, the charge indicator showed 90% more.

The battery of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is virtually impossible to cut over in a day. Good work with 10 hours of active screen is easy at your fingertips. Even when I was tormenting it intensively for testing purposes, I used the charger every 2 days.

So if there's one reason why you should consider buying the 13 Pro Max instead of the 13 Pro at all, it might be the battery. Though personally, I'd prefer the smaller variant anyway.

The only downside is that the loading is not the fastest. It takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to charge the battery, which is a poor result. There is also a lack of wireless reverse charging, which is basically a standard in Android flagships.

iPhone 13 Pro does not let you complain about performance

The A15 Bionic chip in combination with 6 GB of RAM is a powerful combination. iPhone 13 Pro has enough power that will be enough for many years of efficient work.

The fact that the iPhone starts applications quickly and displays smooth animations is the norm. This time, Apple has significantly raised the bar for more demanding tasks. Rendering 4K movies or processed RAW photos is incredibly fast.

And at the same time, the smartphone is not prone to reaching high temperatures. Even after a few minutes of recording in 4K, it gets slightly warm at best.

Is it worth buying an iPhone 13 Pro Max?

Is the iPhone 13 Pro Max by far the best smartphone on the market? Probably not. But the distance to the competition has been significantly shortened this year, which is a lot for a company that lives its own life, rarely looking at rivals.

If someone likes iPhones, this year's portfolio gives him little reason to look enviously at the competition's offer. I am completely happy with the lack of a periscope telephoto lens, a screen with a hole instead of an indentation or a fingerprint reader, but these are things that I would personally be able to do without. The previous generation had much larger deficiencies.

It works the other way around. As an Android user, I will miss the movie mode, flawless smoothness, reliability and user-friendly operation of the camera and the very practical MagSafe connector.

Just one more time: I recommend that everyone seriously thinks if they really need a 6.7-inch screen, because for me the iPhone 13 Pro Max with such a design is practically unusable. The smaller iPhone 13 Pro is much, much better in the hand.

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