Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max vs iPhone 12 Pro
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (with Apple A14 Bionic) that was released on October 13, 2020, against the Apple iPhone 12 Pro, which is powered by the same chip. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
- Has a 0.6 inch larger screen size
- Comes with 872 mAh larger battery capacity: 3687 vs 2815 mAh
- Shows 19% longer battery life (35:25 vs 29:48 hours)
- The rear camera has a 2.5x optical zoom
- Delivers 8% higher peak brightness (872 against 810 nits)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro
- Weighs 37 grams less
- Better grip in hands – the body is 6.6 mm narrower
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| 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 | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 800 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 | 99.4% | 99.6% |
| PWM | 238 Hz | 277 Hz |
| Response time | 8 ms | 3.6 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| 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 | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 226 g (7.97 oz) | 189 g (6.67 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A14 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max clock | 3100 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm
- 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm
- 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Apple A14 GPU | Apple A14 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1278 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS | ~654.3 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 234779 | 235725 |
| GPU | 256839 | 264025 |
| Memory | 153144 | 152158 |
| UX | 181729 | 182343 |
| Total score | 828500 | 838760 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 45 °C | 38.1 °C |
| Stability | 75% | 76% |
| Graphics test | 47 FPS | 44 FPS |
| Graphics score | 7880 | 7430 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256, 512 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) |
| OS size | 16 GB | 14 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3687 mAh | 2815 mAh |
| Max charge power | 18 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 (55% in 30 min) | Yes (59% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:32 hr | 1:30 hr |
| Web browsing | 12:04 hr | 09:54 hr |
| Watching video | 14:25 hr | 12:40 hr |
| Gaming | 07:09 hr | 05:29 hr |
| Standby | 122 hr | 104 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 2.5x | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual 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) | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - 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/2.2 - Focal length: 65 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX613 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/3.6" (CMOS) |
| Depth lens | Yes | Yes |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4290 x 2800 | 4290 x 2800 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | 1 microns | - |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| 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 | No |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, 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 |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | October 2020 | October 2020 |
| Release date | November 2020 | October 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.99 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the battery life is more important to you, then choose the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max . But if the sound is more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone 12 Pro .