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FooArk

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 16, 2011
431
78
Aside from the form factor, I can't find a reason to upgrade to the 12 Pro Max. I dont want to spend $700 (after trade-in) just to hold the phone differently.

Are there any improvements that I'm missing? The camera is essentially the same and the screen is the same. No FaceID improvements. Battery life is worse.

I am not bashing the 12 Pro, but am looking to help justify a purchase I dont think I need to make
 

FooArk

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 16, 2011
431
78
If you have to rationalize a reason from strangers when you already know the answer, that should be a big red flag to not proceed.
This doesn't make any sense. This is a forum for people who are knowledgeable about the product I'm considering buying. I did my research, but I want to hear input from others to be sure there isn't something I overlooked.
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
34,291
49,540
In the middle of several books.
This doesn't make any sense. This is a forum for people who are knowledgeable about the product I'm considering buying. I did my research, but I want to hear input from others to be sure there isn't something I overlooked.
My reply makes perfect sense.

You said “but am looking to help justify a purchase I dont think I need to make.” I stand by what I said.
 

Thoradin

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2020
778
1,119
Yorkshire, England
Usually if you can’t find a reason, it means there isn’t one.
There is always a hook, something that grabs you and means you really want it. If you don’t get that feeling of needing it then don’t buy it.
 
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The.Glorious.Son

macrumors 68000
Sep 28, 2015
1,683
3,590
Chicago, IL
The difficulty with a thread like this, is the subject has already been discussed to death with pages of threads. Sure, members may know some things you are not aware of, but after telling the same story over and over, at some point people just stop.

I suggest finding some time to ready the dozens of threads that already exist on the topic.
 

funkiejack

macrumors member
Jul 21, 2013
50
28
If you're willing to downgrade battery life a bit (
) to get a slightly better camera and new form factor, by all means. And please get a screen protector!
 

donawalt

Contributor
Sep 10, 2015
1,113
539
Don't.

I believe I have upgraded to every phone since about the iPhone 5, but not this year. I fully expected I would. I have an 11 Pro Max. My reasons, much of which was feedback on these forums - these are the issues that seemed to be real and affect more than a small number of customers:

1) battery life appears to be worse than the 11's (people always complain about battery life at the beginning of a cycle, but last year there was much less and this year seems to be more - and 11 Pro Max users are saying it's worse);
2) 5G is a sham (tests scores are mostly the same as 4G or even worse, not many customers are reporting good speeds, even on Verizon);
3) 5G is a total battery hog (a popular question is "How do I turn 5G off?");
4) MagSafe doesn't charge even the 12 series very fast at all - 1/5th as fast? (and there have been reports of 1's having trouble charging on older wireless chargers too);
5) camera/pictures and video, and speed aren't really any better in real world use - I believe you would find low light pictures are better, the rest are the same;
6) no 5G speeds if you have 2 lines on your phone (Apple did say oops an update is coming to fix that).

That doesn't even get into all the little "one off" complaints that are likely non-issues but could turn out to be a true problem.

People on older phones - 6's, 7's, 8's - seem to love the 12's - that is a big jump for them.

Now time may prove some of these to not be an issue moving forward, software fixes etc. take care of some of these, maybe some engineering changes make some issues go away in phones manufactured in a month. But I really couldn't see a good reason to upgrade, and I became fearful that the experience would be worse than with my 11 Pro Max - whose performance is great.

My .02 for you!
 

Thoradin

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2020
778
1,119
Yorkshire, England
1) battery life appears to be worse than the 11's (people always complain about battery life at the beginning of a cycle, but last year there was much less and this year seems to be more - and 11 Pro Max users are saying it's worse);
Those who come from an 11 Pro Max are going to have a very skewed representation of battery life, they are not comparing devices which are like for like either.
If they want the same battery they are used to, then the obvious thing would have been to wait for the Max and not purchase a phone which they already knew had a much smaller battery.
 
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Cryates

macrumors 68040
Nov 19, 2013
3,312
5,209
It's pretty simple honestly. Unless size is any kind of factor in your want for another device, then stick with the 11 Pro Max. You're not going to find any other compelling reason to swap from it otherwise.
 
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nepats81

macrumors regular
Sep 28, 2014
130
149
Aside from the form factor, I can't find a reason to upgrade to the 12 Pro Max. I dont want to spend $700 (after trade-in) just to hold the phone differently.

Are there any improvements that I'm missing? The camera is essentially the same and the screen is the same. No FaceID improvements. Battery life is worse.

I am not bashing the 12 Pro, but am looking to help justify a purchase I dont think I need to make
Simple my friend. Status. Prestige. You will be walking around with the brand new iPhone 12 pro. In Pacific Blue of course. People will take you seriously and know that you mean business. You're the type of cat that gets what he wants, when he wants. You live life in the fast lane. You are a bad boy.

Embrace it. It feels good doesn't it?
 

edhchoe

macrumors 65816
Oct 28, 2011
1,398
899
  • Dolby Vision HDR video recording up to 60 fps
  • Water resistant to a depth of 6 meters for up to 30 minutes
  • Next-generation Neural Engine
  • A14 Bionic chip
  • 2.5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 5x optical zoom range
  • Digital zoom up to 12x
  • Night mode portraits
  • Night mode Time-lapse

12 Pro Max is better than 11 Pro Max.
Up to 20 hours video playback is the same as 11 Pro Max.
 
Last edited:

iDron

macrumors regular
Apr 6, 2010
219
252
  • Dolby Vision HDR video recording up to 60 fps
  • Water resistant to a depth of 6 meters for up to 30 minutes
  • Next-generation Neural Engine
  • A14 Bionic chip
  • 2.5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 5x optical zoom range
  • Digital zoom up to 12x
  • Night mode portraits
  • HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 60 fps
  • Night mode Time-lapse

12 Pro Max is better than 11 Pro Max.
Up to 20 hours video playback is the same as 11 Pro Max.
- Dolby Vision HDR 60fps: Are you really gonna use it or does it matter? I don't think so!
- Waterproofness: I still would not go swimming with a phone, it's more like that I don't need to worry when it's raining or when I dropped my phone in the sink or toilet.
- A14 and Neural Engine: Of course faster, but the A13 is still very fast, I doubt there is any real world application for which it matters.
- Optical zoom (I'd rather call it 65mm instead of 52mm tele lens): Fair point, together with bigger sensor and aperture
- Night mode: Fair point


So in conclusion, if the camera really matters a lot to you, you use it frequently at night or in portrait situations, then it might justify an upgrade!
 

NewUsername

macrumors 6502a
Aug 20, 2019
581
1,271
If your bank account is overflowing, then go ahead and buy it!

If not: does 5G matter to you? Do you need a screen that is 0.2 inch larger? Do you need a slightly better camera? Do you need a LiDAR scanner? Does your work require an A14 chip? Do you need 6 metres of water resistance?

Your answer is probably “no”. If you buy it, the upgrade would be so small your excitement about your new phone ends after two weeks and then you just start thinking: where did my money go?

There'll be a new iPhone next year, with 120Hz and other nice features. Upgrading once every two years makes much more sense than upgrading every year.
 
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Tsepz

macrumors 601
Jan 24, 2013
4,810
4,612
Johannesburg, South Africa
Aside from the form factor, I can't find a reason to upgrade to the 12 Pro Max. I dont want to spend $700 (after trade-in) just to hold the phone differently.

Are there any improvements that I'm missing? The camera is essentially the same and the screen is the same. No FaceID improvements. Battery life is worse.

I am not bashing the 12 Pro, but am looking to help justify a purchase I dont think I need to make

The 12 Pro Max vs 11 Pro Max?
- The screen is larger.
- The camera has a much larger sensor, heard something like 47% larger, it’s a big jump in that area when it comes to 12 Pro Max specifically.
- 5G + stronger Qualcomm modem for 4G LTE
- New design looks great
- But Yes battery is smaller.


If better lowlight Camera and larger screen are something you really want then go for it, the 12 Pro Max is definitely the one to get this year.
 
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