2020 is an anxious year. If that anxiety manifests for you in worrying that your smartphone will run out of charge, you might want to consider upgrading to the iPhone 12 Pro Max ($1,099 and up), a giant serving platter of a handset with the longest battery life of any iPhone, ever. It's also the largest, heaviest iPhone to date, and one of the most expensive, which makes it hard to recommend over our Editors' Choice award winners, the iPhone 12 mini ($699 and up) and the iPhone 12 Pro ($999 and up). Before I continue, I should note that we also have reviews of the aforementioned iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro, as well the iPhone 12 ($799 and up). These phones are comparable in many respects—with similar screen technologies, the same processor, and iOS 14—so here I'll focus on how the Pro Max is different from its siblings. If one of your questions about the iPhone experience isn't answered below, see our main iPhone 12 review. It's a Big 'Un Apple has had big phones for severa...

The iPhone 12 Pro Max, the largest model in Apple's iPhone 12 lineup, adds super-long battery life and a giant screen to the 12 Pro's excellent camera capabilities.

Long battery life; Big, bright screen; Excellent cameras

Exceedingly heavy and large; Expensive

The thing with the 2020 line-up of the Apple iPhones is that you have more options than ever to pick. You have four iPhone 12 choices, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the largest and the most imposing one of them all.

It was in some ways frustrating for the iPhone 12 Pro Max to launch a month later than the iPhone 12 Pro, because we couldn’t immediately compare them side by side. But working under those constraints has provided me with extensive time using the iPhone 12 Pro, so now that I finally have a 12 Pro Max in my hands, I can leverage that considerable experience with the platform. That lets me evaluate the three huge things (emphasis on huge) that differentiate the iPhone 12 Pro Max: The size of the phone, its subsequently larger battery, and its improved camera system. The “Max” iPhones have a short history, but have gained an extremely enthusiastic following. Some people have seen the value of having a huge iPhone and never looked back. For those people, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is wonderful — it’s yet another huge iPhone, brought up to the modern era of Apple hardware design and features. If you like the design of the new iPhones, as I do, you’ll love that you just get more of it in the 12 P...

Large and beautiful display; Excellent hardware quality; Top-notch camera experience; Long battery life;

Incredibly large; Very heavy;

Announced last month as the top device in the iPhone 12 family, the iPhone 12 Pro Max features the largest screen and the most impressively specified main camera of Apple’s new batch of phones.

Fast and accurate autofocus, Accurate exposure, Pleasant warm white balance indoors and in low light, High detail in good light, Wide dynamic range in videos, Pleasant color rendering and skin tones in most videos, Noise is generally well controlled in videos; Video stabilization is effective.

Is the iPhone 12 Pro Max worth upgrading to? The best camera on an iPhone meets a 60Hz display refresh on a $1099 phone, what's the review verdict?

Largest; toughest display on an iPhone; The best camera set on an iPhone; Double the base storage of its predecessor; Futureproof 5G support with bands record; Best water-resistance on a general purpose phone

Static 60Hz display refresh on a $1099 phone; Blocky and heavy compared to its peers; Expensive $599 body repair if you crack the rear; No power adapter in the box; slow charging

“This is the iPhone with amazing battery life and an exceptional camera experience, but it comes at the price of being too big for most people to manage.”

Large and beautiful display; Excellent hardware quality; Top-notch camera experience; Long battery life

Incredibly large; Very heavy

Turn the screen on and it looks magnificent: spacious, rich and immersive

It’s an iPhone 12 Pro, only bigger. The super-long battery life is the real draw here, while the improved camera doesn’t offer much benefit over the already-fantastic iPhone 12 Pro.

Best battery life ever in an iPhone, A slightly better camera than the iPhone 12 Pro, Blazing fast performance

Camera improvements are minimal

Such a large phone that it won't be to everyone's liking, but if you want big then this iPhone delivers without making the form-factor awkward to hold or use.

Great cameras; 5G connectivity when you need it; Big and bold screen; Design is large but not awkward; A14 Bionic processing power

Low-light photography enhancements could be better; Much the same experience as the cheaper (and smaller) iPhone 12 Pro

The Pro Max’s 6.7-inch display is the largest screen ever on an iPhone. It has the biggest camera sensor of any iPhone, including the three other iPhone 12 models Apple announced this year. It has a 5G radio, and it’s got a bigger battery. It is without question the most iPhone you can get.

Terrific camera; Tremendous battery life; Fast performance

Very close to being too big; 60Hz screen behind competition at this price; I was required to think about 5G