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Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Apple iPhone 13 (with Apple A15 Bionic) that was released on September 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.
- Differences
- Review
- Specs
- Benchmarks
- Battery life
- Camera
- Comments
Key differences
An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 13
- 10% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (801K versus 725K)
- The phone is 11-months newer
- Weighs 52 grams less
- Better grip in hands – the body is 6.6 mm narrower
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
- The rear camera has a 2.5x optical zoom
- Has a 0.6 inch larger screen size
- Comes with 460 mAh larger battery capacity: 3687 vs 3227 mAh
- Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Display
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.1 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1170 x 2532 pixels | 1284 x 2778 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 460 ppi | 458 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 800 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Ceramic Shield | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 86% | 87.4% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 129% | 99.4% |
| PWM | 609 Hz | 238 Hz |
| Response time | 7.5 ms | 8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]
Design and build
| Height | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) | 160.8 mm (6.33 inches) |
| Width | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) | 78.1 mm (3.07 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.65 mm (0.3 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 174 gramm (6.14 oz) | 226 gramm (7.97 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red, Pink | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
Performance
Tests of Apple iPhone 13 and Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max in the benchmarks
SoC| Chipset | Apple A15 Bionic | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max. clock | 3230 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.24 GHz: Avalanche | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Apple GPU | Apple GPU |
| GPU clock | 1200 MHz | - |
| RAM size | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256, 512 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
| CPU | 210809 | 199661 |
| GPU | 324750 | 262671 |
| Memory | 134620 | 132086 |
| UX | 133782 | 136404 |
| Total score | 801558 | 725758 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 79% | 75% |
| Graphics test | 52 FPS | 47 FPS |
| Graphics score | 8755 | 7881 |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16) |
| OS size | 18 GB | 16 GB |
Battery
Specifications| Capacity | 3227 mAh | 3687 mAh |
| Charge power | 20 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (7.5 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (54% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:46 hr | 1:32 hr |
| Web browsing | 13:11 hr | 12:04 hr |
| Watching video | 14:33 hr | 14:25 hr |
| Gaming | 05:31 hr | 07:11 hr |
| Standby | 123 hr | 122 hr |
Camera
Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2.5x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP + 0 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 65 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX613 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 14 mm - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Depth lens | - | Yes |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4290 x 2800 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | - | 1 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" | - |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | - | No |
| USB version | 2 | - |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 18 | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | September 2021 | October 2020 |
| Release date | September 2021 | November 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.98 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
Both phones have similar specs and test results. Despite this fact, we would choose the Apple iPhone 13, as it has better expert reviews.
Cast your vote
So, which phone would you choose?
Apple iPhone 13
666 (55.3%)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
538 (44.7%)
Total votes: 1204
Related comparisons
You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
Is the iPhone 13 camera better than iPhone 12 Pro Max?
But the cameras on iPhone 12 Pro Max and 13 Pro Max are nearly identical. There are really only two things to note between them. The first one is the 3x zoom Telephoto lens that comes equipped on iPhone 13 Pro Max. But even that difference is almost negligible, as the Telephoto lens on iPhone 12 Pro Max is 2.5x.
Does the iPhone 13 or 12 have better camera?
Apple says that the iPhone 13's camera lets in 47% more light than the iPhone 12 camera for sharper pictures. These two iPhone 13 models sport the sensor shift optical image stabilization feature Apple added to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and the ultrawide lens captures more detail in the darker areas of your images.
Does the 13 Pro Max have a better camera?
iPhone 13 Pro Max review: Verdict
You get superior cameras and video recording capabilities — including the very compelling Cinematic mode and macro mode — blistering performance and a very responsive 120Hz display. Plus, the battery life is even better this time around and among the best we've seen from a 5G flagship.
Is the camera on the 13 Pro better than 12 pro?
iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro: camera system
The aperture, sensor and pixel size, optical zoom, and low light capabilities are all better in the iPhone 13 Pro, and there are tricks such as Cinematic mode and macro photography on the new model.