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I really tought that there would be a bigger difference fro 11 and 12 pro to the max - but again apple are good at marketing.

Also i dont like the fact that you trade off zoom for less light on the telephoto lens.

Maybe it is an software issue that the max aint better?
 
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It’s fine to have theories about Apple doing devious game theory type things to upsell us to the Pro Max, but I don’t see any compelling evidence.

People think that engineers are like Tony Stark — they can do anything. In reality, the biggest part of engineering is making trade offs (compromises) between all the things you would like to do.
 
Reading Austin Mann's review on this is helpful yet it leads me to exactly where he is at this point. Uncertain on which to choose. I've mentioned before that I'm not afraid of a large phone and I appreciate the extra battery life. Cameras look quite comparible and perhaps more so than what some seemed to think. Clearly the Max has a slight edge though.

The weight and physical dimensions of my 8+ are something I'm OK with as is. Going larger, granted just by a little bit, I'm not sure about. Battery life on my 8+ is absolutely fantastic. One charge overnight and I'm good to go until the next day--unless I'm traveling and then all bets are off. I know the 12 Pro Max will give me the most similar experience overall, but man. They had to go larger?

So conflicted at this point.

Anyone with a 12 or 12 Pro who's upgraded from an 8+ care to share experiences with battery life?
 
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Also i dont like the fact that you trade off zoom for less light on the telephoto lens.

Maybe it is an software issue that the max aint better?

No, it’s simple physics. The f/ number is the ratio of focal length to the aperture. If you increase the focal length of a lens and can’t increase the size of the aperture, the f/ increases, by definition.
 
I think the main thing is in low light, its going to take less seconds for night mode to kick in

in decent lighting, I would expect the difference to be very little to none - that seems to be the general consensus from a quick skim

I wouldn't get a size you don't want , just for the camera.

Battery life - maybe different story depending on use case but even then... not sure. You might find yourself more annoyed than relieved if thats what's swaying you

Yes faster in low light, but not necessarily a big different in quality. That’s key! People are trying to say it’s this huge difference in low light quality. It’s not! Faster taking low light, absolutely. Definitely not buying a big phone for that.

Battery life would be nice over my 12 pro, but again it’s not worth the sacrifice is pocketability and how it fits in my hands.
 
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At first glance, this comparison looks like a good case to go with the 12PM. However, I see a few problems with this comparison. The first is that the PM shot is obviously closer to the cat, which will translate into more detail if you zoom in the same amount, which leads to my second gripe: Why are they zooming into the 12 Pro shot so much more than the 12PM?? Of course the Pro is going to look worse than the PM because of less resolution. My third and final complaint is that the focus looks to be slightly off on the Pro shot. The focus seems to be slightly in front of the cat's face, while the PM shot has its focus nailed spot on. There could also be differences between shutter speed, which exacerbates motion blur, but I'm not sure on that one. This comparison is really just comparing apples to oranges...
The telephoto is 2.5 times zoom on the Pro Max compared to the Pros 2.0, I do agree though that I wouldn't really consider the two comparable and it's kind of a weird side grade for the Pro Max...less light but more zoom...eh. I'm not sure if it's really an upgrade but I'd like to hear if anyone has any explanation on why it could be better?
 
Yes faster in low light, but not necessarily a big different in quality. That’s key! People are trying to say it’s this huge difference in low light quality. It’s not! Faster taking low light, absolutely. Definitely not buying a big phone for that.

Battery life would be nice over my 12 pro, but again it’s not worth the sacrifice is pocketability and how it fits in my hands.
If you check out the review from Austin you can clearly tell that the Pro Max has better low-light performance. Furthermore Videos are definitely less grainy: check out this video of a german youtuber at 07:10. The video difference is pretty significant.

 
This: "I came into testing this expecting the 12 Pro Max to outperform the 12 Pro across the board, but I really only found a substantial improvement in very specific scenes."

Made me take the 12 Pro. I have normal hands so I think the PM Will be oversized...
I heard that it dont fit into normal slim fit jeans pockets hahah
 
I received my iPhone 12 Pro on launch day. I then pre ordered a 12 Pro Max on Friday. This is also when I initiated an online return for my 12 Pro. This means I can play with the 12 Pro Max for roughly three days to see if it's worth the hype. If it is, then I will pack my 12 Pro up and ship it back with the 2 day FedEx shipping label from Apple. Otherwise I will keep it and return the 12 Pro Max at my local Apple store. I'm covered either way...
 
I think there were a lot of 12 Pro owners (and prospective owners) holding their breath that the 12PM‘s camera performance wouldn’t be a FOMO-inducing game-changer, and it seems that their prayers have been answered. At the very least, I don’t think the marginal IQ advantages of the Max will be enough to sway “smaller phone” people to take on the added size and heft.

There’s no denying that big phone people are still getting a nice upgrade for that extra $100 though.
 
Where the pro max shines is better shutter speed so for fast moving objects it's better, better night mode shots and better in low light conditions but generally the 12 pro is a great camera and it's not going to be a game changing difference but maybe we shouldn't have expected that
 
If you check out the review from Austin you can clearly tell that the Pro Max has better low-light performance. Furthermore Videos are definitely less grainy: check out this video of a german youtuber at 07:10. The video difference is pretty significant.


Interesting he never compares the pro and pro max dark photos. He did the video, but not photos.
 
Interesting he never compares the pro and pro max dark photos. He did the video, but not photos.
He said in German that the difference in photo is small and not really noticeable. He emphasized how the difference is significant in video though.
 
most of these "reviewers" have no idea how to test the difference
I imagine most of these reviewers, and certainly MKBHD, are perfectly capable of doing the kind of technical, granular reviews answer people here seem to enjoy. They - quite understandably - just aren’t interested in the kind of arcane questions that we obsess about on here. Believe or not, “Is this phone good? and ”Should I buy it?” are more common questions that ”what are the precise ways and circumstances under which the iPhone 12 Pro Max wide camera differs from the iPhone 12 Pro wide camera?”

The YouTube tech reviews scene is pretty sophisticated these days, I‘m not sure you get 13 million subscribers by being a dope...
 
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I wonder what the people complaining about “insignificant“ differences expected. I wonder if anything Apple could do would satisfy them.
 
I was waiting for these reviews to decide, there is VERY little difference between the Pro & Pro Max camera. If you want a bigger screen and bigger battery go with the Max but camera performance is not the deal breaker
 
I imagine most of these reviewers, and certainly MKBHD, are perfectly capable of doing the kind of technical, granular reviews answer people here seem to enjoy. They - quite understandably - just aren’t interested in the kind of arcane questions that we obsess about on here. Believe or not, “Is this phone good? and ”Should I buy it?” are more common questions that ”what are the precise ways and circumstances under which the iPhone 12 Pro Max wide camera differs from the iPhone 12 Pro wide camera?”

The YouTube tech reviews scene is pretty sophisticated these days, I‘m not sure you get 13 million subscribers by being a dope...
Sure you do. The 13 million are dopes too. You get 13 million by having high production value and timely content. Having a video about the latest thing when it matters (not a day late or a week late) is what gains and audience. Substance doesn’t matter at all.
 
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Sure you do. The 13 million are dopes too. You get 13 million by having high production value and timely content. Having a video about the latest thing when it matters (not a day late or a week late) is what gains and audience. Substance doesn’t matter at all.
I disagree completely. People trust MKBHD because he knows what he's talking about, he's not a "Fanboy" of anyone/brand... At the other end, I give you iJustine, with 6.5 million subscribers, and although she's not shooting in 8K, she does produce timely, pretty well-produced videos... And while I do tire of how much "I just Love...", she plays down just how much she does know about tech and how connected she is, I'd take Marques opinion above Justines and just about any other tech reviewer... And Peter McKinnon, a professional photographer echoed MKBDH...
 
I disagree completely. People trust MKBHD because he knows what he's talking about, he's not a "Fanboy" of anyone/brand.
Agreed.

Also, as someone who writes and teaches for a living, I really admire people who have a lot of expertise, but are able to wear it lightly and communicate to a general audience. In whatever medium - the written word, video, on the radio: it’s a lot harder than it looks!
 
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