iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Which iPhone should you buy? - Tom's Guide

An iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max examination volition assistance you determine which big-screen iPhone is champion for you. Both the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max are among the best phones and connection ample 6.7-inch OLED displays, plentifulness of velocity and large cameras — but successful a batch of ways they are rather different. 

As you’ll spot successful our iPhone 14 Plus review, Apple’s $899 replacement for the iPhone mini is each astir giving you a large surface for little wealth than the Pro series. And our iPhone 14 Pro Max review shows that Apple's $1,099 flagship is designed to present Pro-level photos and videos on with exclusive features similar Dynamic Island and an always-on display.

So which supersized iPhone is close for you and your budget? Let's interruption down the biggest similarities and differences betwixt 2 of the best iPhones you tin buy. 

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Specs

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Price 

The iPhone 14 Plus starting terms is $899 (£949 / AU$1,579), which gets you 128GB storage. That's $100 much than the 6.1-inch iPhone 14. But it's besides $200 little than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. 

The 256GB mentation of the iPhone 14 Plus costs $999 (£1,059.00 / AU$1,749) and the 512GB exemplary volition outgo you $1,199 ( £1,279.00 / AU$2,099). See our iPhone 14 deals page to find each the biggest discounts. 

The iPhone 14 Pro Max starts astatine $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899 for 128GB. You tin upgrade to 256GB for $1,199 (£1,309/AU$2,099). Going to 512GB costs $1,399 (£1,529/AU$2,419) and 1TB volition tally you $1,599 (£1,749/AU$2,769).

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Design and colors

The iPhone 14 Plus scores an contiguous triumph successful this class due to the fact that of however comparatively airy it is. This handset measures 6.33 x 3.07 x 0.31 inches and weighs conscionable 7.16 ounces, compared to 6.33 x 3.05 x 0.31 inches and 8.47 ounces for the iPhone 14 Pro Max. 

Whether you're holding these phones oregon putting 1 of them successful a beforehand pocket, you'll decidedly admit the lesser heft from the iPhone 14 Plus. I besides similar that the iPhone 14 Plus' camera spot connected the backmost is little bulky, though you springiness up a telephoto lens successful return. 

In different ways I similar the iPhone 14 Pro Max's design, starting with the notch. It's smaller connected the Pro Max due to the fact that this flagship uses Apple's caller Dynamic Island. This country tin show notifications, unrecorded activities and different alerts.

I besides similar that the Pro Max has a much premium stainless alloy band, compared to aluminum for the iPhone 14 Plus. The colour options are a substance of sensation but again I similar the sophistication of the matte finishes connected the iPhone 14 Pro Max, portion the iPhone 14 Plus is simply a spot glossier.

With the iPhone 14 Plus there's Midnight, Purple, Starlight, Blue and Red. The Pro Max gives you less options: Space Black, Silver, Gold and Deep Purple. 

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Displays

Don't get maine wrong. The iPhone 14 Plus's 6.7-inch OLED show is precise good. It's bright, colorful and offers wide viewing angles. In fact, this sheet turned successful somewhat amended results the the iPhone 14 Pro Max connected colour reproduction and colour accuracy. 

However, the iPhone 14 Pro Max's ProMotion show is much versatile, and that's for 2 reasons. First, you get up to 120Hz refresh rate, which makes for smoother scrolling and animations erstwhile gaming.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max besides gives you an always-on display, truthful you tin rapidly glimpse astatine the time, artillery life, notifications and adjacent widgets without unlocking the phone. I find it precise utile successful mundane use, and it's imaginable due to the fact that the show tin standard down to 1Hz. 

In addition, the iPhone 14 Pro Max's sheet tin get overmuch brighter successful nonstop sunlight. We saw a max brightness of 1,565 nits compared to 1,100 for the iPhone 14 Plus. 

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Cameras

Both the iPhone 14 Plus and Pro Max payment from camera upgrades similar Photonic Engine, which boosts debased airy show crossed the lenses, arsenic good arsenic a 12MP beforehand camera with a faster aperture and autofocus for amended looking selfies.

Other shared camera features see the caller Action mode video for taking steadier enactment footage of subjects portion connected the determination and higher solution 4K Cinematic mode video.

However, the iPhone 14 Pro Max gives photographers a mates of cardinal advantages, including a caller 48MP main sensor. This caller camera lets you sprout ProRAW images astatine 48MP resolution, truthful you tin reframe oregon harvest shots similar ne'er earlier connected an iPhone portion inactive retaining a precocious level of detail.

(opens successful caller tab)

In this archetypal telephone taken successful Times Square, we zeroed successful connected a winged babe handbasket atop a building. And you tin spot that the ProRAW mode delivers a batch much item arsenic we cropped in. 

The straw astir the babe successful peculiar is simply a batch sharper looking, arsenic are the wings down it. The gathering successful the inheritance looks much earthy arsenic well, arsenic it's artificially punched up by the iPhone 14's computational photography. And adjacent the neon lights connected the close look much realistically subtle.  The 48MP changeable is simply cleaner than the 12MP version, wherever a small spot of fuzziness has crept into the image.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max besides has the iPhone 14 Plus bushed erstwhile it comes to zoom. Only the Pro Max features a 3x telephoto lens and 15x max integer zoom. iPhone 14 Plus lacks optical zoom, alternatively relying connected a measly 5x integer zoom. 

Interestingly, successful this changeable of flowers the iPhone 14 Pro Max captures a crisper changeable astatine the aforesaid 5x magnification. You tin marque retired much details successful the leaves arsenic you zoom in, and the photograph is simply a spot brighter overall.

While the 15x effect doesn't look large connected the iPhone 14 Pro Max, astatine slightest you person that flexibility. 

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Performance

Let's beryllium clear. Even though the iPhone 14 Plus sports an older A15 Bionic spot borrowed from the iPhone 13 Pro series, it is inactive a beast. It inactive smokes each of the champion Android phones successful presumption of axenic performance, and this telephone is precise responsive erstwhile playing games oregon jumping betwixt apps.

However, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the faster telephone overall, acknowledgment to its newer 4-nanometer A16 Bionic chip. The benchmark results mostly backmost this up.

On Geekbench, which measures wide performance, the iPhone 14 Pro Max scored 1,882 connected single-core and 5,333 connected multi-core. Both of those numbers bushed what the iPhone 14 Plus turned in: 1,735 and 4,473.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max should besides beryllium a amended prime for aggravated gameplay, arsenic it notched a higher framework complaint connected 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited of 74 fps to the iPhone 14 Plus' 69 fps. But it's not a immense gap.

Surprisingly, the Pro Max was a spot slower than the Plus erstwhile it came to transcoding a 4K video clip to 1080p utilizing the Adobe Premiere Rush app. 

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Battery beingness and charging

The iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max some connection large endurance. In fact, some past agelong capable connected a complaint to marque our best telephone artillery life list. But the Pro Max lasted longer successful our testing. 

On the Tom's Guide Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing astatine 150 nits of surface brightness, the iPhone 14 Plus lasted an fantabulous 11 hours and 57 minutes. By comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max posted an adjacent longer 13 hours and 39 minutes. 

Charging a drained iPhone 14 Pro Max, we got to lone 42% successful 30 minutes. The iPhone 14 Plus reached a higher 46% successful the aforesaid magnitude of clip utilizing a 20W Apple USB-C charger. 

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Bottom line

This iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max examination truly comes down to 1 happening for astir shoppers: however overmuch are you consenting to spend? For $899, the iPhone 14 Plus is simply a large value, offering fantastic cameras, swift show and agelong artillery beingness successful a much lightweight plan than the Pro Max. Yes, it's lighter connected your pouch and your wallet. 

However, if I were spending my ain wealth I'd spell for the iPhone 14 Pro Max. I truly similar having an always-on display, 120Hz refresh complaint and telephoto zoom. And portion the Dynamic Island is inactive a enactment successful progress, Apple managed to crook what was a wasted of abstraction successful the notch into much usable space. Plus, I truly similar person the enactment to instrumentality afloat 48MP photos erstwhile I privation other detail.

So portion some the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max are awesome, I'd personally spell Pro.