This device has been tested in 2021. Please note that the score and contents below refers to an older test protocol. To view the updated test results for this product, click here
The iPhone 13 Pro Max is the largest and most expensive model in Apple’s 2021 smartphone line-up and features a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display with 1284 x 2778 pixels resolution. Like the smaller iPhone 13 Pro, it is powered by Apple’s latest A15 Bionic chipset and comes with up to 1TB of internal storage.
Both models also use the same camera setup that now comes with a larger sensor and faster aperture in the primary cam, compared to last year’s 12 Pro and Pro Max models. On the ultra-wide sensor, size remains unchanged but there’s also a faster aperture plus a PDAF autofocus system versus the fixed-focus lens on the iPhone 12 series. On the tele camera, Apple has increased the reach, and the models now offer a 3x optical magnification compared to the primary camera.
Read on to find out how the all-new iPhone 13 Pro Max camera performed in our DXOMARK Camera tests.
Key camera specifications:
- Primary: 12 MP sensor, 1.9µm pixels, 26 mm equivalent f/1.5-aperture lens, sensor-shift OIS, Dual Pixel AF
- Ultra-wide: 12MP sensor, 13mm equivalent f/1.8-aperture lens, PDAF, 2cm macro
- Tele: 12 MP sensor, 77 mm equivalent f/2.8-aperture lens, OIS
- 3D sensor
- 4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, 1080p at 25/30/60 fps, HDR video recording with Dolby Vision
- Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field (1080p at 30 fps)
About DXOMARK Camera tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera reviews, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 3000 test images and more than 2.5 hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in natural indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. This article is designed to highlight the most important results of our testing. For more information about the DXOMARK Camera test protocol, click here. More details on how we score smartphone cameras are available here.
Test summary
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
137
camera
101
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
Best: Honor Magic4 Ultimate (111)
107
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
106
Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
Best: Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders (109)
104
Xiaomi Mi 11
Best: Xiaomi Mi 11 (111)
74
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
Best: Honor Magic4 Ultimate (102)
67
Google Pixel 6
Best: Google Pixel 6 (77)
72
Huawei Mate 40 Pro+
Best: Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ (82)
75
Huawei P50 Pro
Best: Huawei P50 Pro (80)
80
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
97
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
Best: Honor Magic4 Ultimate (140)
44
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
Best: Honor Magic4 Ultimate (58)
118
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
105
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
Best: Honor Magic4 Ultimate (107)
109
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
93
Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
Best: Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon) (99)
105
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
72
Xiaomi 12S Ultra
Best: Xiaomi 12S Ultra (85)
101
Vivo X70 Pro+
Best: Vivo X70 Pro+ (103)
Position in Global Ranking
6th
6. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
137
11. Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
133
15. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
131
15. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
131
15. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
131
22. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
130
32. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
126
32. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
126
32. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
126
36. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
124
36. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
124
39. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
123
44. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
121
44. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
121
46. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
120
46. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
120
46. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Exynos)
120
46. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 (Exynos)
120
46. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
120
55. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon)
119
55. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
119
58. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
118
58. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
118
58. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Exynos)
118
64. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
117
68. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Exynos)
116
68. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
116
68. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (Exynos)
116
72. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Exynos)
115
80. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Snapdragon)
112
91. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
109
91. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
109
93. Xiaomi Redmi K40 Pro+
108
100. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
106
103. Motorola Edge 20 Pro
105
103. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
105
103. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
105
103. Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
105
113. Apple iPhone SE (2020)
103
116. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
102
116. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
102
122. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
97
124. Honor Magic4 Lite 5G
95
124. Samsung Galaxy A13 5G
95
127. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S
92
130. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
89
131. Samsung Galaxy A71 5G
88
131. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
88
131. Xiaomi Redmi 10 2022
88
135. Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
87
Position in Ultra-Premium Ranking
6th
6. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
137
11. Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
133
14. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
131
14. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
131
20. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
130
27. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
126
27. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
126
30. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
124
30. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
124
33. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
123
35. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
121
36. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
120
36. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 (Exynos)
120
36. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Exynos)
120
39. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon)
119
40. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
118
42. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
117
44. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Exynos)
116
44. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (Exynos)
116
47. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Snapdragon)
112
51. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
109
51. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
109
Pros
- Accurate and repeatable target exposure
- Nice color and white balance
- Nice skin tones in most light conditions, even in complex backlit scenes
- Fast, accurate and repeatable autofocus
- Good detail in indoor and outdoor conditions
- Accurate and stable target exposure with fairly wide dynamic range in video
- Well-managed texture/noise trade-off in video
- Accurate white balance indoors and outdoors, smooth transitions in scene changes
- Good autofocus tracking and smooth refocusing
Cons
- Luminance noise on primary, ultra-wide and tele, especially in low light
- Limited dynamic range in challenging high contrast scenes
- Artifacts including flare, slight ringing, and color quantization
- Limited detail in long-range zoom shots
- Occasional pink white balance casts in some conditions and some white balance variations in videos
- Lens flare and ghosting, especially in low light video
- Some loss of texture in video, especially on faces in daylight and indoor conditions
- Sharpness differences between video frames and strong residual motion in video that is recorded while running
With the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro sharing the same rear camera specs and processor, it’s fair to assume the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max results are very close to those of the iPhone 13 Pro in all conditions. We have confirmed this by putting the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max through the complete DXOMARK Camera test protocol. Let’s have a look at a few examples.
In this backlit indoor scene, you can see that image results from the 13 Pro Max and 13 Pro are as good as identical. Both cameras manage good exposure on the subjects, but limited dynamic range means the sky in the background is clipped fairly heavily. Detail is good on the front subject, but the larger sensor in the new models comes with a slightly more limited depth of field. As a consequence, the subject in the back is out of focus.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, backlit indoor scene, good subject exposure but limited dynamic range
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, crop: good detail, limited depth of field
Apple iPhone 13 Pro, pretty much identical exposure
Apple iPhone 13 Pro, crop: pretty much identical detail and depth of field
The situation is very similar for this medium-range tele shot that was captured in low light. The two images are pretty much indistinguishable, with the same amount of noise and level of detail.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, medium range tele
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, crop: some noise, loss of detail
Apple iPhone 13 Pro, medium range tele
Apple iPhone 13 Pro, crop: pretty much identical image quality
Like the 13 Pro, the 13 Pro Max comes with an excellent autofocus system. The camera focuses accurately and very quickly, thanks to a negative shutter lag; the image is captured even slightly before the shutter is triggered.
Autofocus comparison (20 lux, 7EV, handheld): identical performance to iPhone 13 Pro
Our testers observed a very similar video performance to the 13 Pro, too, with the same exposure and color rendering as well as very similar video stabilization results.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, same residual motion and sharpness differences between frames
Apple iPhone 13 Pro, very similar video performance
Given the identical results, we are posting only this short article for the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max. For the full set of sample images and measurements, as well as a complete analysis, please click on the link below and read the full review of the Apple iPhone 13 Pro.
Go to the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Camera review