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14 Pro vs Pro Max: Yes, Size Matters!

9:29 video

A few weeks ago I reviewed the iPhone 14 Pro Max after six months, my first Max-size iPhone. After the transition from the regular Pro, I can really tell the difference between the two. If you’re wondering which to choose, this is for you.

What’s the same

Back when the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus came out, the Plus had an advantage: it was the first iPhone with optical image stabilization. Since the iPhone 11 Pro, the Pro and Pro Max are the same except for screen and battery size.

  • Design: a stainless steel band all the way around with a glass front and back, premium inside and out.
  • Chip: the stupid-fast A16 with 6 GB of RAM.
  • Display: 460 ppi, up to 2,000 nits for outdoors, always-on, True Tone, P3 and 120 Hz ProMotion. The Dynamic Island is the same size on both, so it takes up less screen and looks smaller on the Max.
  • Cameras: the same main, ultra wide and zoom lenses, near the top of flagship phones: crisp, bright shots. There’s also Action mode (incredible stabilization, as in my video of me running like an idiot), Cinematic mode with more formats, SOS features and Crash Detection.
  • Price: $999 for the Pro and $1,099 for the Pro Max.

Casekoo sponsored this video, with its Magic Stand case, which keeps my iPhone looking new.

Size and one-handed use

The size and weight are instantly noticeable. Coming from the regular Pro, the Max took me a few days to feel normal. In my hand it feels right at the edge of being uncomfortable. I don’t have large hands, so your mileage may vary, but the wider, taller device is harder to use one-handed: I can’t reach across with my thumb or reach the top third of the screen, and I do hand gymnastics to hit keys on the other side or a back button at the top. I can’t reach everything on the Pro one-handed either, but I work harder with the Max.

Pockets are mostly fine with my pants; neither sticks out or digs into my hip when sitting, though with smaller pockets I see a bit of it.

Weight

If I could change one thing about the Pro and especially the Pro Max, it’d be the weight: 240 grams versus 206 grams. You feel it instantly, whether you’re surfing, typing emails, watching in bed, or holding it one-handed with your pinky. The regular Pro is nicer to hold for longer, even though the stainless steel makes it heavier than the iPhone 14 Plus. Switching from the Max back to the Pro almost feels like a novelty, even like a toy, though it gets normal with time.

Display and typing

The Max’s larger display shows more content, more space for games, and a better video experience, and if you need larger text, you lose less content. My eyes aren’t getting better, so that may be a necessity in a few years. It’s also a better typing experience: I’m a two-thumb typer, and the larger device is just about perfect for me, quicker and more accurate than on the Pro. I switched back to the Pro a couple of weeks ago and still can’t get used to the smaller keyboard.

Battery

The hardest part of switching: the Max’s battery is so good it can outweigh the size concerns. Apple says up to 23 hours of video playback on the Pro and 29 hours on the Max (which doesn’t mean much). In my usage:

  • 14 Pro: about 5½ hours of screen time a day over ten days (Safari, work apps, email, video, music, podcasts), going to bed with 5–30% left, mostly without charging during the day.
  • 14 Pro Max: more than 6 hours of screen time with the same kinds of apps, going to bed with 20–40% left.

So I spend more time on the Max and have more battery left, which is insane, and I love it. Part of my lower usage on the Pro was probably battery anxiety, even though I work from home and could charge anytime. I think the biggest advantage of the Pro Max is undeniably its battery life, and the biggest reason I’ll probably go back.

Do you prefer the more pocketable, easier-to-hold Pro, or do you want a battery monster?

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

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