Why I would choose Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max over iPhone 14 Plus
The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Plus are essentially the same phone down to the A15 Bionic chip powering them even though they are one generation apart. The only difference that counts is the Pro camera system onboard the iPhone 13 Pro Max. So, if you can still get your hands on a reasonably priced Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, I would recommend that over the iPhone 14 Plus and here is why.
Apple’s standard or Pro-series iPhones
Whereas before, if you want a big iPhone it has to be the iPhone Pro Max, there is now the more affordable and big iPhone Plus. From the Far Out Event in September 2022, Apple now has a mirrored offering between the standard and Pro-series iPhones. An all-new and bigger iPhone 14 Plus joins the iPhone 14 to replace the smaller iPhone mini. Both series are now available with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays.
While the chassis and overall design remains the same, the new iPhone 14 Pro series does feature a pill-shaped cut-out on the display, a clear distinction over its predecessors. But notch or pill shape cut out aside, we are here to consider if you should get the iPhone 13 Pro Max over the standard iPhone 14 Plus so let’s get right to it. For a comparison between the latest big smartphones from Apple, see Apple iPhone 14 Plus vs the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Nothing new on the iPhone 14 Plus
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 14 Plus: What do they share? One word, EVERYTHING. Both phones share the 6.7-inch all-screen OLED display Apple calls the Super Retina XDR display. As we mentioned earlier, they even share the same chassis design down to the Millimetre albeit one with a stainless steel finish while the other is all aluminium. But what is most important is the chip powering the phones. Both iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Plus use the same A15 Bionic chip with 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine.
Why Choose iPhone 13 Pro Max over iPhone 14 Plus
Given that the iPhone 13 Pro Max has been taken off the shelves at the Apple Stores and online, it is only time when authorised resellers start dumping their remaining stock at bargain basement prices. This is when the iPhone 13 Pro Max becomes a more appealing option. It will make more sense even if it costs a bit more than the iPhone 14 Plus’s starting price of $899 to go for the iPhone 13 Pro Max than the new iPhone 14 Plus. Here’s why:
1. Brighter and Faster Display
While both are notched 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR displays, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is a smoother, more fluid display with support for high 120Hz dynamic refresh rate thanks to ProMotion technology. The iPhone 13 Pro Max’s display is also brighter with a maximum brightness of 1000 nits (typical) and 1200 nits maximum brightness with HDR. The iPhone 14 Plus display only manages 800 nits (typical) and 1200 nits maximum brightness with HDR. That’s 25% brighter on the typical brightness scale.
2. Pro Camera System with One Extra Camera Sensor
This is by far the biggest difference and one that will be worth the extra money. The Pro camera system on iPhone 13 Pro Max has three 12MP sensors versus two on the iPhone 14 Plus. They are the Main Wide, Ultra Wide and Telephoto cameras. The iPhone 14 Plus only comes with Main Wide and Ultra Wide cameras only. This gives the Pro camera 3x optical zoom in and 2x optical zoom out for a total of 6x optical zoom range. The iPhone 14 Plus only has 2x optical zoom out.
Being a Pro camera system, it also supports Apple ProRAW image capture and night mode portraits enabled by LiDAR Scanner. For video capture, it supports ProRes video recording up to 4K. You do however miss out on the new Photonic Engine for enhanced low light shots but the iPhone 13 Pro Max has its own enhancements for low light shots for stills and videos without a fancy name. Plus, plenty more on offer including Macro photography and all the other features we have come to love. Here is a table of comparison between the two phones.
| iPhone 14 Plus | iPhone 13 Pro Max |
| Dual-camera system | Triple Pro 12MP camera system |
| 12MP Main: 26 mm, ƒ/1.5 aperture, sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels | 12MP Wide: ƒ/1.5 aperture, sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, seven-element lens, 100% Focus Pixels |
| 12MP Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view, five‑element lens | 12MP Ultra Wide: ƒ/1.8 aperture and 120° field of view, dual optical image stabilisation, five-element lens |
| NA | 12MP Telephoto: ƒ/2.8 aperture, dual optical image stabilisation, five-elements lens |
| 2x optical zoom out | 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range |
| Digital zoom up to 5x | Digital zoom up to 15x |
| Sapphire crystal lens cover | Sapphire crystal lens cover |
| True Tone flash | True Tone flash with Slow Sync |
| Photonic Engine | NA |
| Deep Fusion | Deep Fusion |
| Smart HDR 4 | Smart HDR 4 |
| Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control | Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control |
| Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono) | Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono) |
| Night mode | Night mode |
| NA | Night mode portraits enabled by LiDAR Scanner |
| Panorama (up to 63MP) | Panorama (up to 63MP) |
| Photographic Styles | Photographic Styles |
| NA | Macro photography |
| NA | Apple ProRAW |
| Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos | Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos |
| Lens correction (Ultra Wide) | Lens correction (Ultra Wide) |
| Advanced red‑eye correction | Advanced red‑eye correction |
| Auto image stabilization | Auto image stabilization |
| Burst mode | Burst mode |
| Photo geotagging | Photo geotagging |
| Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG | Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG |
3. Better at Recording Videos
As for Video recording, apart from the aforementioned ProRes, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is capable of recording Macro video including slow motion and time-lapse macro shooting modes. It lacks Action mode for steady action shots recording but makes do with plenty of old school Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) on all lenses (Telephoto, Wide and Ultra Wide) for smooth video capture. On the other hand, the biggest feature that the iPhone 14 Plus misses out are those afforded by the Telephoto lens. With video, this again offers up to 6x optical zoom range with 2x optical zoom out and 3x optical zoom in, perfect for a wider or close-up shots respectively.
| iPhone 14 Plus | iPhone 13 Pro Max |
| 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps | 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps |
| 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps | 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps |
| 720p HD video recording at 30 fps | 720p HD video recording at 30 fps |
| Cinematic mode up to 4K HDR at 30 fps | Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field (in 1080p at 30 fps) |
| Action mode up to 2.8K at 60 fps | NA |
| HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps | HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps |
| NA | ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage) |
| NA | Macro video recording, including slo-mo and time‑lapse |
| Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps | Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps |
| Time‑lapse video with stabilization | Time‑lapse video with stabilization |
| Night mode Time-lapse | Night mode Time‑lapse |
| QuickTake video | QuickTake video |
| Sensor-shift optical image stabilization for video (Main) | Sensor‑shift optical image stabilization for video (Wide) |
| NA | Dual optical image stabilization for video (Telephoto and Wide) |
| 2x optical zoom out | 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range |
| Digital zoom up to 3x | Digital zoom up to 9x |
| Audio zoom | Audio zoom |
| True Tone flash | True Tone flash |
| Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) | Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) |
| Continuous autofocus video | Continuous autofocus video |
| Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video | Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video |
| Playback zoom | Playback zoom |
| Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264 | Video formats recorded: HEVC, H.264, and ProRes |
| Stereo recording | Stereo recording |
4. Battery Life
Even though both phones feature the same processor and screen size, the older iPhone 13 Pro Max still manages up to 2 hours longer battery life for a total of up to 28 hours (on video playback). The iPhone 14 Plus manages a respectable 26 hours on the same activity. Both phones support fast wireless MagSafe charging.
5. Emergency SOS via Satellite & Collision Detection
On the flip side, by picking the older iPhone 13 Pro Max, you would have missed the new safety features namely Emergency SOS via Satellite and Collision Detection. The former is a way to send pre-determined text messages via satellite to emergency rescue services where there are no cell signals. You do this by answering a string of questions to keep the text brief and the phone will show you where to point towards the nearest satellite to send the message.
The latter is an automated calling feature that rings the emergency services or your nominated emergency contact should you fail to respond after an automobile accident involving a collision or crash. Back to the Emergency SOS via Satellite. Details are scarce, we only know how it works based on the information from Apple’s event. Information on where it is supported and how much will it cost beyond the 2-year free promotion is anyone’s guess.
Search Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max on Amazon
Final Thoughts
Fancy safety features aside, I would still pick the iPhone 13 Pro Max over the iPhone 14 Plus any day. It has a better Pro camera system with Telephoto lens and bigger zoom range and slightly longer up to 2 hours more battery life. It also has a 25% brighter and more fluid display encased in a classy chassis with stainless steel finish. Photographers and videographers will appreciate its support for Apple ProRAW stills and ProRes video capture as well as macro photography. If these aren’t the features that you are looking for in a big iPhone then go with the new iPhone 14 Pro.
