Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max review

In most regards, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is exactly what you’d expect: a bigger version of the iPhone 11 Pro, which is a superb phone. If you’re already used to the size of Apple’s plus-sized handsets, this will be right up your street. What’s more, much of what you’re paying for with either of the Pro models is the camera, and you need to be serious about photography in order to take full advantage of that.

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Made with cutting-edge technology, it allows you to capture a wider scene with the quality of a DSLR camera. Do more with your photos with an immersive interface that lets you capture the right effect and frame anytime. Although some people claim that the newer versions of the iPhone lack innovation, the iPhone 11 Pro Max begs to differ.

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It might not be perfect, but I’ve not used a device that does as many things consistently well as the iPhone 11 Pro Max. So, the question comes if it’s worth upgrading to get one. I think if you have an iPhone 8 or an earlier model, you’re going to see a huge step-up. You won’t regret it. But if you have an X or an Xs? There’s a definite improvement here, but it’s not monumental. Plus, you know Apple’s most likely going to release an even better phone in 2020, so you may as well wait for that.

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It matches our top score for Video, recording video clips with good detail, a very wide dynamic range, and smooth stabilization in most circumstances. Its still image results also put it among the best, thanks to consistently good results from the primary camera, which is now accompanied by a very capable ultra-wide lens with one of the widest fields of view we have seen.

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For big-screen lovers, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is the way to go. It offers excellent battery life, performance, and a class-leading camera system.

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The 11 Pro Max is a great phone thanks to tremendous battery life, a camera array that’s as versatile as anything else on the market and a big screen that makes it a joy to play games on. Of course, all that comes at a price – and this is a seriously expensive phone. Unless you simply must have an OLED display, ultrawide camera and a flashier finish, the regular iPhone 11 might just be a better buy.

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The iPhone 11 Pro Max is a great upgrade option for those coming from the iPhone X or earlier generations.

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While the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max is a very solid performer across all our technical categories and use cases, it doesn’t break any new ground. And while it was ahead of most of the Android models we tested in both Recording and Playback, it is behind both the earlier Apple iPhone XS Max and the Huawei Mate 20 X. Some of the reasons for that, such as reversed stereo channels when playing music, may be addressed in updates, so the actual performance gap between it and the XS Max may decrease over time.

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I get that uniformity is Apple’s schtick, but in this case it actively makes the product worse. Of all the massive phones I’ve used across the years, the heavy, slippery iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone XS Max before it are the only ones to give me serious hand pain. It’s literally a crying shame, because everything else about it – from the camera, the screen and the performance – is great.

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Sure, Apple sells itself – quite successfully – as a premium brand, but that’s a lot of money to spend on any smartphone in 2019. You can argue the feature sets or philosophical control differences between Android and iOS all you like, and indeed this is the Internet, which was built for such matters. But in sheer price terms, the iPhone 11 Pro Max does not compare all that favourably to the premium Android market.

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