Design and Display

Apple is no slouch when it comes to displays, so we know the 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED capacitive touchscreen on the iPhone 11 Pro Max has not come to play.

We would have loved if Apple experimented with a new type of notch on this top-shelf model, but we still appreciate the almost 84% screen-to-body ratio we have on this unit.

On the front and back, we have scratch resistant glass panels protected oleophobic coating. They are joined together by a stainless steel frame just like the iPhone 11 Pro. With HDR10 imaging to match, this is one of the clearest and brightest – at 800 nits – screens on the market right now.

Lest we forget, the 120Hz touch-sensing with wide colour gamut will provide for some amazing animations and transitions.

Leaving the main screen for a while, the notch is just about the same with the ones we have on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. It also has the speakerphone, dual camera sensors and other relevant sensors embedded in it.

On the sides of the iPhone 11 Pro Max, we have the usual volume rockers and power button, as well as the dedicated mute/ unmute button. Of course, we weren’t expecting a 3.5mm jack, and this is yet another year where we either have to get the AirPods or use earpieces via the Lightning connector port.

Speaking of, the lightning connector is retained with a reversible USB 2.0 technology, and it will be paired on both sides by a speakerphone grille as well as microphone.

Switching over to the back, you could have that beautiful glass panel come in colours of Space Gray, Silver, Gold or Midnight Green – just like the iPhone 11 Pro. Likewise, the iPhone 11 Pro Max offers the same triple camera arrangement in the all-new massive hump, but we might just get used to it soon enough

Camera

If you had taken a look at the iPhone 11 Pro before, there is not much difference between the camera arrangement it brings and that of the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

On the front, all the three iPhone 11 devices have a single 12 megapixels shooter with an accompanying ToF 3D camera to make the dual setup.

The cameras on the back are not different on the two iPhone 11 Pro units either, you get three 12 megapixels snappers. The main camera offers a wide angle lens with phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and Optical image stabilisation (OIS).

The second camera offers a telephoto lens with PDAF, OIS, and 2x Optical zoom, while the third camera offers an ultrawide angle lens.

The back cameras have a quad-LED flash with dual-tone to boost their low light operations, and we will soon see how great they are for the dedicated task.

Hardware, Software and Other Features

Apple is not so big on hardware since they make their chips themselves. Following the development timeline, we have the A13 Bionic chip on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, manufactured with a 7nm+ process.

That is expected to compete against the likes of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 855+ chipset, so you should expect all the power and performance efficiency possible from this one.

Storage options for the iPhone 11 Pro Max are the same as the 11 Pro with 64GB, 256GB and 512GB options on the table. Like the other phones released this year from Apple, the iPhone Pro Max version will carry 4GB of RAM too.

Since Apple devices are known to have better RAM management than most other units, this will not be a problem at all.

We are a little disappointed to see that the same 3969 mAh battery has been slapped on this device. Remember that this has a bigger screen to the iPhone 11 Pro, which means more energy will be consumed.

If the dark mode on iOS 13, chipset, and Apple’s ability to tune its devices are to be factored in, you expect good battery life on the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Speaking of the battery, there is Qi wireless charging technology to take advantage of, as well as 18W fast charging. To put that in context, the phone will reach 50% in just 30 minutes of charging.