An iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max comparison is what you need if you're torn between Apple's new premium flagships. The good news is that there are fewer differences this year between the two iPhone 13 Pro models, since they have more features in common. However, there are a few important things to know before you buy.

As you will see in our iPhone 13 Pro review and iPhone 13 Pro Max review, Apple's latest Pro iPhones both feature some exciting upgrades. They feature brighter displays, improved cameras, and more powerful A15 Bionic chips. The main differences are display size, battery life, and price.

Overall, we have tested the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max and like them very much. However, for some shoppers, we think the iPhone 13 Pro Max is slightly better overall.

All four iPhone 13 models are available for purchase now, but the Pro model is facing delays due to demand and an ongoing chip shortage. For up-to-date wait times, see our iPhone 13 Delay Guide; read on to learn about all the similarities and differences between the two iPhone 13 Pro phones and see which one is best suited for you.

Design

Other than size differences, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are almost identical. Both models have a smaller Face ID notch at the top of the display, flat edges, and a fairly square camera bump on the back that includes three cameras and a LiDAR sensor.

Both iPhone 13 Pro models also come in the same four colors: graphite, gold, silver, and Sierra Blue.

ProMotion display with 120 Hz refresh rate

One of the new features of both iPhone 13 Pro models this year is the ProMotion display. This allows for refresh rates of up to 120 Hz, resulting in smoother performance and animations. In addition, the refresh rate can be dynamically reduced to 10 Hz to extend battery life.

Cameras

The main camera of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max consists of three photo sensors: a 12 MP main camera with sensor-shift image stabilization, a 12 MP ultra-wide camera, and a 12 MP tele camera with 3x optical zoom. The camera is designed to be used in a wide range of applications, including AR apps and low-light applications. It also includes a LiDAR sensor to assist with AR applications and low-light photography. Finally, there is a 12MP selfie camera on the front.

These cameras also enable the same new features, including Apple's Cinematic mode for video, real-time filtering with Photographic Styles, and a highly detailed video recording option with ProRes video. However, ProRes supports 4K resolution only when 256 GB or more of storage is selected.

In short, these are the same set of cameras. This differs from last year, when the iPhone 12 Pro Max had a 2.5x telephoto zoom and sensor-shift main camera, whereas the iPhone 12 Pro had a 2x zoom and no sensor-shift.

A15 Bionic Chip and Performance

Under the hood, the Pro and Pro Max are identical. Both use Apple's new A15 Bionic chipset, combined with (rumored) 6GB RAM. Apple is particularly proud of the GPU built into this chip, claiming it is the most powerful mobile GPU ever and 50% more powerful than its competitors.

In benchmark tests, the Pro and Pro Max performed equally well, but the regular Pro was slightly faster: in the Geekbench 5 general CPU benchmark, the iPhone 13 Pro had 1,733 single cores and 4,718 multicores, vs, Pro Max was 1,720 and 4,549.

Graphics performance was similar, with the iPhone 13 Pro recording 70 fps in the 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited test, compared to 68.3 fps for the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Storage

When considering how much space to store photos, videos, and apps, both models offer four storage options to choose from. The base is 128GB, but you can get an additional 256GB, 512GB, or a whopping 1TB of storage.

Software

All new iPhone 13 models come standard with iOS 15. This brings several welcome improvements over iOS 14. These include overhauled notifications, Live Text copy/paste from images, new FaceTime audio capabilities, and a more general refresh of other Apple apps.

Price

There is a reasonable price difference between the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max: the starting price for the iPhone 13 Pro is $999 or £949 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max is $1,099 or £1,049. This $100/£100 difference continues for all high-capacity storage options.

The 1TB iPhone 13 Pro is $1,499 and the 1TB iPhone 13 Pro Max is $1,599. Be sure to check our iPhone 13 Black Friday deals page for the latest discount information.

Display Size

Naturally, two phones of different sizes have two different sized displays. iPhone 13 Pro has a 6.1" Super Retina XDR OLED panel (2532 x 1170) while the iPhone 13 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch display (2778 x 1284 pixels).

Battery and Battery Life

Apple has increased the size of the battery in all iPhone 13s this year, but it is more noticeable in the Pro Max than the Pro. According to third-party analysis, the Pro Max has a 4,373 mAh battery, while the Pro has a 3,125 mAh battery. In Apple's own wording, this equates to up to 28 hours of video playback on the iPhone 13 Pro Max and 22 hours on the iPhone 13 Pro.

In our own testing, the gap narrowed, but still favored the larger iPhone 13 Pro. iPhone 13 Pro Max lasted 12 hours and 16 minutes in Tom's Guide battery tests. This is with the screen brightness set to 150 nits and continuous web surfing at 5G. The iPhone 13 Pro lasted 11 hours and 48 minutes, which is not as long, but both models are good enough to make our Best Smartphone Battery Duration list.

Charging

Charging

Charging is unchanged from last year's iPhone 12 series. both versions of the iPhone 13 Pro are sold without the included charging brick, but can be powered by up to a 20W wired connection or a 15W wireless MagSafe connection can be powered by a wired connection of up to 20W or a 15W wireless MagSafe connection.

However, we found different relative charging speeds during testing, likely due to differences in battery size: after 30 minutes of charging on Apple's official 20W charger, the iPhone 13 Pro Max reached 40% full charge, while the iPhone 13 Pro reached 53% full charge.

The winner of the battle between the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max comes down to what you want in your next phone. If you want a larger display and longer battery life, the Pro Max wins, despite its higher price.

However, the regular iPhone 13 Pro offers the same great camera, ProMotion display and overall performance, so if you prefer a more compact design and smaller screen, you won't sacrifice anything.

Be sure to check out our iPhone 13 Pro review and iPhone 13 Pro Max review.