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iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro vs 14 Pro Max Help

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vine-boating

macrumors 68020
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Aug 10, 2017
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I guess this question will be be best suited to those that have had the 14 Pro Max and 14 Pro... I really am stuck on which one to buy out of the two phones..

I have had Pro Max phones in the past, 12 Pro Max and 13 Pro Max so I guess it makes sense to go for the 14 Pro Max. However, as much as I like the bigger battery and the screen, I do find the Pro Max uncomfortable to hold, especially when making calls for a long period of time. It will be nice to have a phone where I can use it with just one hand.

I am just worried if I get the Pro, I will be dissapointed with the battery life as I have read many complaints about how poor the iPhone 14 Pro battery is. I don't want to buy a case, screen protector for the 14 Pro, install it on the phone and then decide I want the 14 Pro Max!
 
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I went with the Pro for the 13 and the 14. Both times I lasted about a month and then went back to the Pro Max - having used the larger iPhone size since the 6+.

Once you go Pro Max it is very difficult to go back. While I REALLY enjoyed the size of the Pro, when I was out and about hiking - I noticed the battery dropped very quickly to the point where I was looking for a charger by the end of the day whereas I knew my Pro Max could easily do 2 days.

Battery life is not poor, but it is noticeably less. I found the lighter feeling and size of the 14 Pro had me going to it a bit more than I did with the Pro Max - resulting in even less battery life. I loved the fact that I could put that in my back pocket and forget it was there vs the Pro Max pulling my pants/shorts down.

Do you have an iPad? A MBP? Where do you spend most of your time on? if it is your iPhone, highly recommend the Pro Max.

Agreed, I only do calls with AirPods / headphones.
 
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I have been back and forth love the function of the 14 PM, but for me it comes down to the saggy shorts, saggy pants, the hikes, etc. that I just do not like! I feel the amount you can read on the Pro is almost the same as the max on any given page. Yes battery is amazing on the 14PM (even better on the plus) but I just get SO sick of carry a brick around! thanks just me :)
 
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kp98077 said:
I have been back and forth love the function of the 14 PM, but for me it comes down to the saggy shorts, saggy pants, the hikes, etc. that I just do not like! I feel the amount you can read on the Pro is almost the same as the max on any given page. Yes battery is amazing on the 14PM (even better on the plus) but I just get SO sick of carry a brick around! thanks just me :)
Click to expand...
How do you find the battery life of the Pro?
 
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I don’t have the 14 Pro, but I did this dance with the 13 Pro and Pro Max. I lasted a month with the Pro Max before going back to the Pro - ending the day at 40% battery rather than 20% battery was not worth the extra size, weight and inability to quickly fire off a text/look up a song one handed.
 
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You will be disappointed, no need to upgrade. The minor generational improvements are not worth the costs.
 
Yeah and like I mentioned for me , going to a site like cnn or email the same content took up about the same room on the page. I thihhht with a 14 pm I’d get much later viewing area = not sure.
 
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Pixel 7 pro is also worth considering, the zoom lens on that thing is amazing! Battery life is pretty decent as long as you're not gaming 24/7.
 
BigDO said:
I don’t have the 14 Pro, but I did this dance with the 13 Pro and Pro Max. I lasted a month with the Pro Max before going back to the Pro - ending the day at 40% battery rather than 20% battery was not worth the extra size, weight and inability to quickly fire off a text/look up a song one handed.
Click to expand...

This has been my dilemma as well when I ordered the 14 series last year. I ended up ordering both 14 Pro and Pro Max. Tried out the Pro Max and then didn’t even think to try the Pro because I ran out of time. I think if I order this year then will definitely try the non max model first.
 
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akash.nu said:
This has been my dilemma as well when I ordered the 14 series last year. I ended up ordering both 14 Pro and Pro Max. Tried out the Pro Max and then didn’t even think to try the Pro because I ran out of time. I think if I order this year then will definitely try the non max model first.
Click to expand...

They need to do something in terms of iOS and accessibility to make the additional heft worth more than just battery life. There's definitely scope for this, but Apple seems to have abandoned this differentiation, perhaps for the sake of parity in the Pro line - wasted opportunity IMO.

Maybe saving it for the Ultra
 
I had the iPhone XS Max and downsized to the 13 Pro because I was tired of the bulk. When I had the 13 Pro, I thought I’d never go to the bigger size again because I experienced no downsides to downsizing. I wasn’t missing out on any features, battery life was excellent (even better than my XS Max), and the phone was much more comfortable to hold.

Well, then iOS 16 came and ruined my battery life. I also wanted the 14 Pro features, so I upgraded thinking that maybe I’d get better battery life with a 14 Pro. Nope. It was still terrible. So, I switched to the 14 Pro Max. I don’t regret it. Battery life for the majority of iOS 16 hasn’t even been that great on my 14 Pro Max (around 7 hours of screen-on time), but it’s a big difference compared to the battery life I was getting on the 14 Pro (around 3.5-5 hours of screen-on time). I think I would’ve been worrying about charging everyday and having to charge two times a day if I stuck with the 14 Pro.

Honestly, even with me saying all this, I recommend you try the 14 Pro. Take advantage of that 2-week return window at Apple if you need to. That way, you’ll never wonder if you should’ve gotten a 14 Pro. I returned the 14 Pro, the case I bought for it, and just swallowed the $12 I spent on screen protectors. It was worth the $12 wasted to have a phone that I knew was better for me. Maybe battery life will be different for you or will have been improved now that iOS 16 is on a later version. I know battery life has gotten better for me on iOS 16.5 and iOS 16.6 (beta), though I still think iOS 15 was better in this department.
 
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xxray said:
I had the iPhone XS Max and downsized to the 13 Pro because I was tired of the bulk. When I had the 13 Pro, I thought I’d never go to the bigger size again because I experienced no downsides to downsizing. I wasn’t missing out on any features, battery life was excellent (even better than my XS Max), and the phone was much more comfortable to hold.

Well, then iOS 16 came and ruined my battery life. I also wanted the 14 Pro features, so I upgraded thinking that maybe I’d get better battery life with a 14 Pro. Nope. It was still terrible. So, I switched to the 14 Pro Max. I don’t regret it. Battery life for the majority of iOS 16 hasn’t even been that great on my 14 Pro Max (around 7 hours of screen-on time), but it’s a big difference compared to the battery life I was getting on the 14 Pro (around 3.5-5 hours of screen-on time). I think I would’ve been worrying about charging everyday and having to charge two times a day if I stuck with the 14 Pro.

Honestly, even with me saying all this, I recommend you try the 14 Pro. Take advantage of that 2-week return window at Apple if you need to. That way, you’ll never wonder if you should’ve gotten a 14 Pro. I returned the 14 Pro, the case I bought for it, and just swallowed the $12 I spent on screen protectors. It was worth the $12 wasted to have a phone that I knew was better for me. Maybe battery life will be different for you or will have been improved now that iOS 16 is on a later version. I know battery life has gotten better for me on iOS 16.5 and iOS 16.6 (beta), though I still think iOS 15 was better in this department.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this detailed post
3.5-5 hours screen time is terrible for an expensive flagship device! I didn't expect the 14 Pro to be that bad. It should really last the whole day and you shouldn't need to charge it throughout the day.
So you are happy with a decision of getting the 14 Pro Max?
 
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vine-boating said:
Thanks for this detailed post
3.5-5 hours screen time is terrible for an expensive flagship device! I didn't expect the 14 Pro to be that bad. It should really last the whole day and you shouldn't need to charge it throughout the day.
So you are happy with a decision of getting the 14 Pro Max?
Click to expand...

Yeah, the battery life may be better now that iOS 16 is more mature, but it was bad in my experience. Yes, I’m happy I got the 14 Pro Max over the 14 Pro. I would’ve been very upset if I spent all that money on a new phone only to have worse battery life than I had before and to have constant battery anxiety. The 14 Pro Max size can be overwhelming at first coming from a smaller phone, but I got used to it quickly. It sounds like you’re already used to it, so that’s not an issue for you. The bigger screen is nice to have anyways.

Unless I start getting very fatigued of the Pro Max size like I did with my XS Max, right now, I plan on sticking to the Pro Max models in the future pretty much solely for the battery life. Like I said, the 13 Pro on iOS 15 had really great battery life. But the fact that a single iOS update ruined battery life that much concerns me enough to not want to take on the risk of getting a phone with a smaller battery again. Though I love the ergonomics and portability of the smaller size, I rather have a bigger battery. That way, if we get another iOS 15 type update, battery life will be amazing, and if we get another iOS 16 type update that ruins battery life, the bigger battery will weather the storm better than the smaller battery phones would.

Regarding the extended phone calls you mentioned, like other users recommended, I usually just use my AirPods for this and did the same when I had the 13 Pro. I think your arm will get fatigued either way holding it up for an extended period of time. But I also understand the absurdity of recommending you buy another product just to talk on the phone on a product that’s literally called an iPhone.
 
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I sounds like you need some good wireless buds like AirPods more than a new phone. I will never go back to Pro from ProMax. Battery life, size of the screen are two big reasons. I was always using AirPods or wireless buds even on iPhone 7 Plus I upgraded from before my 13 PM. Outside of iPhone mini, I don’t think Apple has any phones which are comfortable to hold next to ears and have long conversations.
 
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Once you go Plus/Pro Max, it's difficult to go to a smaller device... Smaller device, smaller battery, bigger device, bigger battery...

I have used the iphone 4/4s/5/5c/5s/6s/SE 2016 so I understand about easier to hold or lightweight, but I have also used the iPhone 7 Plus and now iPhone 14 Pro Max, bigger battery and bigger screen although not that easy on handling...

How long is the call you are making? 2 minutes? 5 minutes? Longer than that? Use a bluetooth device or Apple branded ones for phone calls so you will not need to hold it by your ear, as what earlier posters said...

The longest phone I think I have is about 5 minutes so I can say that depending on how tired I am, I can either hold the phone by my ear or use a bluetooth receiver...
 
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winxmac said:
Once you go Plus/Pro Max, it's difficult to go to a smaller device... Smaller device, smaller battery, bigger device, bigger battery...

I have used the iphone 4/4s/5/5c/5s/6s/SE 2016 so I understand about easier to hold or lightweight, but I have also used the iPhone 7 Plus and now iPhone 14 Pro Max, bigger battery and bigger screen although not that easy on handling...

How long is the call you are making? 2 minutes? 5 minutes? Longer than that? Use a bluetooth device or Apple branded ones for phone calls so you will not need to hold it by your ear, as what earlier posters said...

The longest phone I think I have is about 5 minutes so I can say that depending on how tired I am, I can either hold the phone by my ear or use a bluetooth receiver...
Click to expand...
I think I didn't explain myself properly, it's not just phone calls, just generally holding the phone and texting.
 
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BigDO said:
They need to do something in terms of iOS and accessibility to make the additional heft worth more than just battery life. There's definitely scope for this, but Apple seems to have abandoned this differentiation, perhaps for the sake of parity in the Pro line - wasted opportunity IMO.

Maybe saving it for the Ultra
Click to expand...

With iOS 17 there seems to be some new features coming like horizontal home page etc which might be of benefit on the bigger screen.
 
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