iPhone 12 Pro vs 12 Pro Max After 2 Weeks - Don’t be like me.. By Brandon Butch

What's up guys, my name's Brandon and I get the biggest iPhone every year to use as my main phone. And there's really never much afterthoughts once I hit that order button. And that's because the biggest phone usually has all of the new features that Apple has to offer and the best battery life not to mention. It's always been a pretty good, comfortable size for me, but this year, things are a little different. So let's start with one of the most important elements of the iPhone, the cameras. So the iPhone 12 pro has every feature that the iPhone 12 pro max has, but the pro max has in-body stabilization and a 47% larger camera sensor to improve those low light shots.

But honestly, I was not able to tell a major difference in the two. And I actually really wanted the max to be better in terms of camera quality, video quality, something so that it made my decision easier. But here I am two weeks later and I've made my decision on which phone I like the best, but it was not near as simple as it was every other year. And going back to that, in-body stabilization, which Apple is calling sensor shift stabilization. This is the first iPhone to ever get this.

And while it seems promising, I again, could not tell a difference in stability going from the 12 pro to the pro max. Now, if you look at them side by side and stare at the subject in the video, you might spot a difference. You probably will spot a difference. But even when I did that, I could not tell a big difference and less I was jogging or running while I was recording. So if you are doing one of those two things, you will see the difference.

But aside from that, if you're just like walking and recording normal video, you're not really going to be able to tell a big difference in the stabilization, which I honestly was kind of let down by. So yes, on paper, the camera is going to be better on the iPhone 12 pro max, but in real-world usage, you're not going to be able to tell a big difference in the quality or the stability. Again, the only area you'll see a slight improvement in that's actually noticeable every single time is going to be with those low light shots. But again, as far as the actual features go, the iPhone 12 pro is going to have every feature that the iPhone 12 pro max has. And that includes things like the third generation smart HDR, which makes the colors really pop in both stills and video.

I absolutely have loved smart HDR ever since it was introduced back with the iPhone 10 S and 10 R. We also have deep fusion that is legit, and it helps a lot with those fine details in the images on both phones. And all of the new capabilities with night mode are also awesome on the 12 pro and pro max. And you don't get these on the regular iPhone 12. So things like mode, portrait photos, those turn out excellent.

Mainly thanks to that LIDAR scanner, which we now have on both the 12 pro and the pro max, that actually makes a big difference. Also for the focus I noticed that auto-focus in videos was much better than any previous year, even compared to last year's 11 pro and 11 pro max. The autofocus is faster. Thanks to that new LIDAR scanner here, and probably in part due to the eight, 14 bionic inside of the twelves as well. And we also get things like night mode time-lapse and we also get the option to shoot raw now with Apple's new pro Raul format in iOS 14.3, and this will allow you to really manipulate and edit your photos to look even more professional. So, yeah, I absolutely love the cameras on the iPhone 12 pro and the pro max so far, they have blown me away time and time again, and I've actually showed people the photos, you know, after I take them, I'll show them just on the iPhone itself and they are also blown away.

So the cameras are definitely legit this year. And I must say again, going back to the comparison between these two I, every time I was using the iPhone 12 pro and taking photos, I never once wished that I had the iPhone 12 pro max with me when shooting photos or videos. So that should tell you something right there. The difference in camera alone is not a reason to choose the pro max over the pro. Now battery life is another reason.

I always opt to go for the biggest iPhone every year. And this is one area where I would 100% recommend the pro max over the pro the battery life on both phones is terrific. Don't get me wrong. And I'm still able to get through pretty much the entire day. Actually, usually it is all day, even on the 12th pro.

And that was the reason I posted a video for my iPhone 12 and 12 pro battery saving tips video. So if you guys did not see that video, it's up in the cards and down in the description, I actually made that video because I posted a screenshot on Twitter a while back of me getting over 12 hours of usage on the 12 pro. So I can get through a full day, usually from 9:00 AM to 10 or 11:00 PM on the 12th pro no problem, but the iPhone 12 pro max is kind of overkill for battery life. Honestly, like I can get the REA whole day. And then something like if I went through a whole day using my phone all day long for everything, gaming, watching videos, texting, being on social media, Tik, TOK, Instagram, everything, I could go to sleep, not charge the phone, wake up the next morning and still have like 20, maybe 15 to 20% battery remaining.

So the battery life on the 12 pro max is insane. And you guys saw in my battery test video where I compared the battery life between these two, that the pro max definitely gets better, better life than the pro. It even gets better battery life than the previous, the raining battery life champ, the iPhone 11 pro max, despite having a smaller battery. So it has a 36 87 million power battery on the 12th. Romax max, which again is smaller than the iPhone 11 pro max battery.

But thanks to that new eight, 14 bionic chip and the efficiency it brings, you're going to get better battery life on the 12 pro max versus the 11 pro max. And I did also notice that the pro max really shines when it comes to things like gaming, like video recording, phone calls, anything that's, you know, for a long period of time. And it has to use a lot of CPU power on the phone. The 12 pro max does shine and areas like that. So it does seem to consistently last longer when I do things like that on the pro max, but once again, the 12 pro still gets tremendous battery life, just not quite pro max level.

As I showed in my battery drain test video. Now, as for the overall design of these two, we have the exact same design on the back and the edges and the screens and everything like that. Of course, the back, you will notice a big difference in the camera bumps. So the camera bump is noticeably larger on the pro max. And that definitely shows, I mean, when you set them down on a table, the 12 pro max will wobble a little bit more just because it has that much bigger camera array there.

But aside from that, everything else is the same on these two, except for, of course, the size of the screens. So we have 6.1 inches over here on the 12th pro and a massive 6.7 inches on the pro max, which is the biggest the Apple ever made. Now, the pro max is also heavier noticeably heavier than the 12 pro, which is to be expected. It's not too heavy. I mean, it's kind of borderline too heavy, but I would not consider it too heavy, like unusable happy.

So that's one thing I was kind of worried about before we saw these and got these in hand, but it's not too bad. And I do have to say that I love the edges on these phones. So we do have these stainless steel edges right here in the gold looks terrific. This is when I got on the 12th pro, then I decided to go with the Pacific blue for the pro max, both look tremendous, really high quality, both just feel super premium in the hands. And of course we have those flat edges, which makes it more comfortable and secure on the hand versus the curved edges.

Although I do have to say that what the 12 pro max, when you use it without a case, and it's in your Palm like this, and on your pinkie, if you hold your phone like me, if it's like on your pinky like this, it does get very tiring over time, which is one of the biggest downfalls for me of the 12 pro max that will actually start like aching my finger, my pinky right here. And sometimes like my Palm when I use it for maybe even like 30 minutes straight or something like that, not even too long, but I will notice just more discomfort with this bone. And I find myself having to use two hands most of the time when I use this phone. So it is usable with one hand. But once again, I do get a little bit of discomfort when I do that for long periods of time.

So I find myself just using two hands most of the time, which could be pretty annoying because I do like to use my phones one-handed, which is one reason. I think that I like the feel of the 12 pro in hand, better than the pro max, the 12 pro also fits in pockets much easier. And it's not near as bulky, especially in things like, you know, basketball shorts or things like, you know, sweat pants, something like that. The 12 pro will be better in that. And of course, if you are a girl, you will want to note that the 12 pro is going to be easier to fit in your pockets, especially like in your back pocket, it's going to be a lot easier to fit in there comfortably versus something like the pro max, which is going to stick out a lot of at your back pockets.

I did also have some concerns about the 12 pro max fitting properly on something like the wireless charging that. So I have the Tesla wireless charging that from nomad and my car. And I did not have any issues with the fit of the 12 pro max. That was one thing I was worried about. So luckily you don't have anything to worry about with that with the pro max, it's not really too big for wireless chargers, at least not in my experience.

So as for the display and the speakers, again, we have a 6.1 inch screen versus a 6.7 inch screen. So media consumption and especially gaming will be much better on the pro max. So I play call of duty mobile, and the experience is just so much better on the pro max versus the 12 pro. You can just see a lot more of the battlefield. You could just see a lot more enemies.

You can see further into the distance on the Promax, it's just overall a much better experience. So if you are into gaming, the 12 pro max is definitely going to be the better option. And I would say it's the same. If you watch a lot of movies and TV shows on your phone as well, YouTube videos, not as big of a deal, but if you watch things like movies and TV shows like on Netflix or Hulu, I would recommend the pro max as well, just simply because of that bigger screen, it will be a lot more immersive and just a better experience overall. Now the speakers are identical on both.

I did turn these up to max volume and I can not tell a difference on either one. So you're really only going to be getting a difference in the size of the screen, not improved speakers. I did also want to say that we do get these ceramics shield on the iPhone 12 series this year, which Apple says provides up to four times better drop resistance. However, the screens scratch just as easily as past I-phones, despite that ceramic shield. So I actually had to return my iPhone 12 mini because it got a scratch on it.

Day one, my phone 12 did as well. Now, luckily I've used these devices, you know, in real life, you know, day-to-day usage, not just in the studio. So I do have screen protectors on both of them, but if I didn't have a screen protector, I'm pretty sure I'd have scratches on the screen just simply because these screens are extremely fragile, especially when you put like something like this camera bump over the glass, which I do for a lot of thumbnails and things like that. So luckily I haven't done that without a screen protector, otherwise I would have scratches. So that's one thing to keep in mind.

I would recommend getting a screen protector for any iPhone 12 that you buy. But again, just going back to the comfort for a second, I do prefer the 12 pro over the pro max. And I had a gut feeling when I ordered the max that this would be the case, but I still went through with it and even ordered 256 gigabytes for the max, because I thought it would be my main phone. And I thought, you know, it's not going to be too big. I have average hands.

I don't really have small hands as you can see here, but unfortunately I don't think it's going to be my main phone. I'm just simply not as comfortable with the pro max as I am with the 12 pro my right hand, especially my pinky, you know, of how I hold the iPhone up. Well, sometimes it can get sore after using the phone for a while and I have to use it with two hands a lot, like I said, even with reachability. So I would say it to, you know, go into the Apple store if you can, and hold the iPhone 12 pro max, just to see, you know, how it feels in your hand. And if you're able to use it, hold it in there for like 10 minutes.

So you'd get a real feel. And I just have to say that don't be like me, you know, don't order the 12 Promax. If you have concerns about it being too big, and you're not able to go into an Apple store and try it out, otherwise you may end up returning it and getting a 12 pro. Now, before we get to the conclusion, I do want to briefly mention the performance because both of these phones have the exact same internals. So we have these same eight, 14 biotic chip.

We had the same six gigabytes of Ram. So everything runs extremely well. I've had no issues with apps opening up. I've had no issues with gaming. I've had no random reboots or anything like that.

However, the iPhone 12 pro max for whatever reason does seem to keep applications in memory longer than the 12 pro. And this actually happened in my battery test video, I believe as well, but I'll notice sometimes, especially when it comes to gaming again, the 12 pro max has a really strong focus on gaming. So if you're into gaming, I would definitely go for the 12 pro max over the 12th pro, but I would notice that games more frequently than not what open up and not fully relaunched like they do on the 12th pro. So things like call of duty, mobile things like pub G one time even happened with Instagram. I would get a relaunch on the 12th pro and that would not happen on the 12th pro max.

So performance, you know, they're probably going to be about the same and day-to-day usage, and you're probably not gonna be able to tell the difference unless you just hold them up side by side. Like I do. But I think the 12 pro max does have a slight advantage and performance as well. So with all of that being said, the only reason I'd suggest getting the iPhone 12 pro max over the 12th pro as if you fit into one or more of these three categories. So, number one is if you have a big hands or you just simply do not mind, always using two hands on your iPhone, because again, more times than not, I would find myself using two hands on the phone, just simply because the one I would be aching from my pinky or my Palm, especially when I don't use a case.

So that is one thing to note as well. I've not used a case for the 12 Promax, whereas I have occasionally on the 12th pro, but I've used both naked for the majority of time, but I would say that if you have big hands or you just don't mind always using two hands, then I would recommend the pro max over the pro. The number two category is if you game a lot, or if you watch a lot of content on Netflix, like movies and TV shows, I would recommend going for the pro max, just simply because you're going to notice a much better experience, a visual experience, the speakers, the quality is going to be the same as the 12 pro, but you will see more of, you know, a picture, more of an experience on the pro max with that massive 6.7 inch display. And then the third category is if you need the most battery life possible, because you are not around outlets or charters all day. So if you're constantly traveling, if you're just constantly not around chargers a lot, then the pro max, you know, might be better for you.

But again, it's kind of gonna come down to two of these things. I think the number one thing that you're going to have to, you know, at least try out is going to be the 12th pro max in hand, because if it's too big for you, then really nothing else matters. I mean, and that's the case for me because obviously I love having the best of the best. And the pro max is quite clearly the best of the best, but I just cannot use it on a day-to-day basis comfortably. I just love the feel of the 12 pro in hand.

I think this is the perfect size iPhone. So that's what I'm going to go with. And, you know, I don't mind losing a little bit of battery life because it still gets me all day battery life on the 12th pro I don't mind anything to do with media consumption or gaming, just because have other devices like that, like the iPad. So that's not really a huge deal for me either. And then once again, we do have the bigger sensor on the 12 pro max, but that's really only going to make a big difference in low light situations, which I don't really find myself in a ton of low light situation.

So that again, none of those things outweigh the comfort, which is going to be the number one reason I use the 12 pro over the pro max. And another thing to keep in mind is that you do not get any additional features on the 12 pro max over the iPhone 12 pro at least not at the moment. Now, I do also want to mention that things could change, you know, in the feature so we could see better stabilization, maybe on the 12th, Romax with software in the future, who knows. So I will be doing, you know, another review, another long-term review of these two. I will revisit the 12 pro max and I will have a video.

And about five months when I record my usual six months later review. So I will compare these two again after six months of usage. But yeah, guys, what do you think about the iPhone 12 pro and 12 pro max? Do you have one? Do you want to get one? What are your thoughts overall on the size of the 6.7 inch iPhone 12 pro max, the biggest iPhone ever, do you think it's going to be too big? Do you know it's too big? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments section below. And if you guys enjoyed this video, I would appreciate it. If you give it a thumbs up and of course, make sure you subscribe.

So you do not miss my six months later review to see if anything has changed in terms of my overall opinion on these two phones. I don't expect my hands to grow bigger, but who knows? We'll see. But anyways, guys, thanks again for watching and I'll see you soon..

Source : Brandon Butch