Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 12

85 out of 100

71 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (with Apple A15 Bionic) that was released on September 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone 12, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Comes with 1537 mAh larger battery capacity: 4352 vs 2815 mAh
Has a 0.6 inch larger screen size
Shows 35% longer battery life (43:42 vs 32:27 hours)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Delivers 63% higher peak brightness (1055 against 646 nits)
16% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1226K versus 1061K)
Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
The phone is 11-months newer

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12

Weighs 76 grams less
Better grip in hands – the body is 6.6 mm narrower

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 12 crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	OLED	OLED
Size	6.7 inches	6.1 inches
Resolution	1284 x 2778 pixels	1170 x 2532 pixels
Aspect ratio	19.5:9	19.5:9
PPI	458 ppi	460 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	Yes	No
Max rated brightness	1000 nits	625 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	1200 nits	-
HDR support	Yes, Dolby Vision	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Ceramic Shield	Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio	87.4%	86%
Display features	- DCI-P3	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	99.9%	99.4%
PWM	238 Hz	226 Hz
Response time	8.5 ms	16 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	160.8 mm (6.33 inches)	146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
Width	78.1 mm (3.07 inches)	71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness	7.65 mm (0.3 inches)	7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight	240 g (8.47 oz)	164 g (5.78 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Silver, Gold, Blue, Green	White, Black, Blue, Green, Red
Fingerprint scanner	No	No

Chipset	Apple A15 Bionic	Apple A14 Bionic
Max clock	3230 MHz	3100 MHz
CPU cores	6 (2 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
Lithography process	5 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Apple A15 GPU	Apple A14 GPU
GPU shading units	640	256
GPU clock	1338 MHz	1278 MHz
FLOPS	~1712.6 GFLOPS	~654.3 GFLOPS

CPU	274447	221376
GPU	390073	336882
Memory	190761	136582
UX	363150	363783
Total score	1226350	1061696

Max surface temperature	45.8 °C	41.2 °C
Stability	82%	77%
Graphics test	56 FPS	45 FPS
Graphics score	9446	7603

RAM size	6 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	2133 MHz	-
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 256, 512, 1024 GB	64, 128, 256 GB
Storage type	NVMe	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)	iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
OS size	13 GB	7 GB

Capacity	4352 mAh	2815 mAh
Max charge power	27 W	18 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (7.5 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	No	No
Fast charging	Yes (42% in 30 min)	Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:46 hr	1:30 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	14:55 hr	11:23 hr
Watching video	20:14 hr	12:11 hr
Gaming	07:34 hr	05:05 hr
Standby	140 hr	119 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4032 x 3024	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 3x	Digital
Flash	Dual LED	Quad LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	No	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	240 FPS (1080p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	120°	120°
Lenses	4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.5 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.9 micron - Sensor: 1/1.66", Sony IMX703 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.8 - Focal length: 77 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	-
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Phase autofocus	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/3.6" (CMOS)
Depth lens	- Pixel size: 1 micron	-
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode
Samples	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max from DxOMark	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4032 x 3024	4032 x 3024
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	23 mm	23 mm
Pixel size	1 microns	-
Sensor type	Exmor-RS CMOS	BSI CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.6"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5	5
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	LE, A2DP
USB type	-	No
USB version	2	-
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
NFC *	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Number of SIM *	1	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
eSIM support *	Yes	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat *	18	18
5G support	Yes	Yes

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	September 2021	October 2020
Release date	September 2021	October 2020
SAR (head)	0.99 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	0.98 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
Sensors	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 12

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 12

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion