iPhone 11 Pro Max Review

Brady Meyers Avatar

Written by:

Updated 11:24 pm

Expert Rating

93

New iPhones are always a treat, but which one should you take—the Apple iPhone XS Max, or maybe the base iPhone 11? Perhaps going with last year’s model. We’re going to make the argument that you should take the iPhone 11 Pro Max, especially if you love taking photos. It’s triple camera system comes with 12MP, ultra wide, and plenty of features to fiddle with, making it the best iPhone for pseudo-photographers, and to some, the best smartphone.

Why We Like It – iPhone 11 Pro Max Review

When you spend this kind of money on an iPhone, you hope features can back it up—and it does, with a 12MP triple camera system, 6.5-inch display, and the A13 Bionic Chip running the show.

Pros
  • Excellent 12MP ultra wide camera
  • Uses a triple camera system
  • Comes bundled with fast charger
Cons
  • Very expensive
  • 64GB is a bit low for base model

Performance

Yes, you heard that right—the iPhone 11 Pro Max has a triple camera system, one for different situations. With 12MP to use, you’re getting highly detailed images. One of the lenses is actually a telephoto lens, a feature the base model, the Apple iPhone 11, lacks. Another lens can take ultra-wide photos. Any of the lenses can then take advantage of different settings such as Night Mode for low light shots, or Portrait Mode for, well, portraits.

All of this power is backed up by the A13 Bionic Chip processor. It doesn’t just help the camera, but it is a powerful asset when using your favorite applications. As for battery life, it’s the same 11 hours—which is great, but expected it to be a little more.

Design

As far as design is concerned, Apple hasn’t changed its formula that much. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, as the saying goes. New colors are introduced such as midnight green, silver, space gray, and gold. However, improvements have been made internally, aside from aesthetically. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is tough, with a water and dust resistance rating of IP68, a better rating of the Apple iPhone SE 2020. A rating of IP68 means the 11 Pro Max can withstand depths of 4 metres up to 30 minutes (under IEC standard 60529). In case you like compact phones that are powerful and lightweight, check out our Apple iphone 12 mini review.

Value

Now let’s talk value. Is the iPhone 11 Pro Max worth the price? If you aren’t making use of its camera often, then no. But for those of you who want 4K videos and plan on using the camera frequently, then absolutely. It has an excellent camera, one that can rival Samsung Galaxy Note. Given that its performance and design continue their high-quality tradition, it’s worth the price. Even better, it comes bundled with a fast charger, which are typically sold separately.

However, like the Apple iPhone 11 Pro, it suffers from having lackluster storage capacity with the base version. To be frank, in this day and age 64GB of storage is simply not enough anymore. For nearly $1100, we hoped for twice that.

iPhone 11 Pro Max Review Wrap Up

Apple continues to release incredibly powerful, sleek, and innovative iPhones—and the iPhone 11 Pro Max is simply the latest in a long line. You can bypass its weakness by swapping for a cheap SD card (128GB should be plenty). Then you’re left with a powerful 12MB triple camera system that can also record in 4K.

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