Iphone pro max 13 vs iphone 13 pro

Updated: Jun 27, 2022, 9:00 AM

Interestingly, the photos are a bit darker for a more genuine "night feel", but you can certainly manually force a longer exposure and get a brighter photo by tapping on the night mode button in the camera.

At night, we did not always see a dramatic difference in low light performance as you would expect. In the photo with the lights above, the iPhone 13 Pro image is a bit darker, but that's hardly a major distinction. Also notice the very noticeable flare from those lights that appears as tiny dot reflection, that's become worse last year and the issue still persists in the 13 series.

The ultra-wide camera on the newer phone surprisingly captures a darker image by default, but you do get slightly cleaner detail in the grass. It's still far from the quality you can get with the main camera but it's a step up.

The LiDAR sensor for augmented reality is also present, but unless you are really interested in AR, you'll probably benefit very little from it. One useful thing it does, though, is help get focus faster for night time portraits.

One feature only the Pro models have this year is macro photography for photos and videos. That is possible because of the new ultra-wide camera on the Pros that now features auto focusing, and this makes it possible to focus on objects that are up to an inch close, while previously you could only focus at up to four inches distance.

Apple's implementation, however, is a bit strange: if you have the 1X camera on, as you approach an object for a macro mode shot, the camera app will automatically switch to the ultra-wide when it decides you have gotten very close, and it's just a bit unpredictable and almost feels a bit broken. Thankfully, Apple will issue an update letting you turn the Macro mode on and off manually.

iPhone 13 Pro/Max video quality

On the video side, before addressing the cinematic elephant in the room, let's quickly mention sensor shift stabilization that is now on all iPhone 13 models, including the Pro. The gist of it is that while previously the lens would be stabilized with traditional OIS, here, the whole sensor is stabilized. 

This should result in smoother video, but quite honestly, we couldn't spot any difference. Most of the time, videos feel just as stable as before. Which again is definitely not a bad thing, iPhones already had one of the best stabilization for video.

Cinematic Mode Video

The new Cinematic Mode is just like Portrait mode for video as it blurs the background, and in that regard, it's not perfect, but it does a better job than the competition; you can also switch focus on a video after you've recorded it.

While Cinematic Mode is fun to play with, it didn't always work quite as expected, as it blurred some sticking-out parts like years or limbs together with the background. That's a common complaint on other phones with the portrait video feature, though, but still, will love our curls, ears, and fingers, and would like them in focus while moving.

Right now, you should also know that Cinematic Mode only records in 1080p and... 30fps. As it is right now, this is more of a Portrait mode for video capture, and that would have been a more proper and accurate description of this new mode.

There is one other big new video feature for the pros that record video on their iPhones: Apple ProRes. This RAW camera format is not available on the iPhone 13, while on the Pro it allows you the freedom to color correct in Final Cut Pro without losing in quality, but we couldn't test it just yet — the feature will arrive via a software update later this year.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro performance

• Second generation 5nm Apple A15 processor 
• TSMC N5P production method
• 5-core GPU (vs 4-core on the iPhone 13/mini)
• Up to 7% performance gains compared to A14
• Or, up to 15% power draw reduction 

The iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro are powered by Apple's best mobile chipset so far, the A15, but don't expect any significant gains over its predecessor the A14 which is powerful enough to run anything iOS throws at it with aplomb.

That's because the Apple A15 is still a 5nm affair, just an enhanced one with the second generation of the TSMC foundry's 5nm node. In comparison with the process that the chips in the iPhone 12 series are made with, N5P bring power consumption, transistor density, and performance improvements.

As a rule of thumb, those second-gen tapeouts further refine the gains achieved with the first generation, as happened with the 7nm process, rather than introduce some breathtaking technology jumps which are getting harder and harder with each production node shrink.

During the N5P introduction to investors, TSMC stated that the second generation process node will let manufacturers pick either a a 15% better power efficiency, or 7% performance boost.

Apple has tied to balance both, but it did add an extra, fifth GPU to the A15 that's in the iPhone 13 Pro/Max compared to the iPhone 13 chipset. As usual, the goal is to focus more on the AR/VR, AI, imaging, video, and other buzzword coprocessing, rather than pure power gain, as the A14 is already strong enough like Cher. 

Nevertheless, Apple does boast that the 13 Pro/Max A15 is the "the fastest chip in a smartphone," 50% faster than the competition in both the processor and graphics departments.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro battery life and charging

Last but not least among the main iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro differences is the battery size and charging speeds. This year, Apple placed the largest iPhone batteries ever in those two.

Thus, if iPhone battery life is a pet peeve for you, and you are worried about the new power-hungry displays, the iPhone 13 series features a huge jump in battery size making you very happy. The 13 Pro Max model sports a 4352mAh battery that is an 18% hike from last year's iPhone 12 Pro Max.

The iPhone 13 Pro sees its battery capacity jump more modestly - from 2815mAh to 3095mAh - explaining the 6 hours shorter video and 5 hours shorter audio playback compared to the 13 Pro Max.

Besides the larger batteries, this year's Pro models sport the more frugal A15 Bionic and LTPO displays, returning the best battery life from an iPhone ever, with a significant advantage of the 13 Pro Max in that regard.

PhoneArena Battery Test Results

Unfortunately, there are no Android-style fast charging upgrades and both phones still top up with a 20W brick that's not in the box. Here's the turn of the 13 Pro to shine against the 13 Pro Max, though, as it charges 5 minutes faster to 50%, and that's the last iPhone 13 Pro Max vs 13 Pro difference worth noting.

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