phones
Ting Tested: iPhone 13 Pro Max review
kbrummell • February 17, 2022
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to use the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Considering this is currently the ultimate iPhone flagship, my expectations were pretty high. I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. Here’s a little summary of my time with iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Camera
The new Pro Max camera system includes a wide lens, ultrawide lens and telephoto lens. You get 15x digital zoom, 3x in and 2x out optical zoom and HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps. All that technical talk translates into fantastic photos and videos. It focuses on targets quickly and accurately in most light settings. The rear camera captures great detail both indoors and outdoors. Night mode received an upgrade with iPhone 13 Pro Max, making low-light photos clearer than ever. I’m excited to experiment more with the camera; it’s hands down the best I’ve seen in an iPhone.
Display
The largest iPhone display clocks in at 6.7 inches. It offers an impressive 2778 x 1284 pixel resolution and the Super Retina XDR display provides incredibly clear and crisp images. It also features ProMotion, which is Apple’s adaptive refresh rate technology. Maxing out at 120Hz, scrolling looks noticeably smooth. Depending on what the phone is doing, the refresh rate may be lowered, saving battery life.
Feel/Appearance/Build quality
iPhone 13 Pro Max sports an industrial design with a Ceramic Shield front, textured matte glass back and stainless steel frame. The cutout for the microphone and TrueDepth front camera is thinner than previous models and adds to the phone’s good looks. While it’s a larger and slightly heavier phone than my iPhone 11, it actually felt thinner to me when holding it in one hand. The screen size is perfect for streaming movies and playing high-performance mobile games like Genshin Impact.
Performance
Thanks to the new 6-core processor and A15 chip, it felt like I was operating a handheld computer. I was able to switch between apps seamlessly and open the camera without any delay whatsoever.
Battery life
The battery easily lasts all day with my regular usage (plenty of texts, emails, browsing social media and streaming videos). In fact, on many occasions, I almost went two full days without needing to charge the phone.
User experience
The new iOS 15 works seamlessly with the iPhone 13 Pro Max hardware. The new Do Not Disturb and Focus features work perfectly with my lifestyle. I’m a big fan of anything that minimizes distraction and helps me stay in the moment — and these new features do just that.
Overall impression
iPhone 13 Pro Max is a premium smartphone that demonstrates its value in its build quality, camera capability, display, processing speed and user experience. You get a battery that lasts, a professional-quality camera in a smartphone, a large and beautiful display, 5G capability, and an innovative operating system (plus bragging rights of owning the most premium iPhone on the market).
iPhone 13 Pro Max is my top pick from the new iPhone 13 lineup. It’s available now in the Ting Shop starting at $1,099.
If you think I’ve missed any important aspects in my review, drop a comment below and I’ll be happy to give my impressions. Looking for something with a smaller form factor? Check out my colleagues’ reviews of iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini.