iPhone 12 Pro Max

Capture stunning stills and richly detailed HDR clips with this top–of–the–range device

- GEORGE CAIRNS

From $1,099 From Apple, apple.com

Features A14 Bionic; 128, 256 or 512GB storage; 6.7–inch Super Retina XDR OLED display; Ceramic Shield front; Pro camera system: 12MP ultra–wide, wide, and telephoto cameras; LiDAR scanner (rear); 12MP camera (front); Dolby Vision recording (60fps); 8.03oz

When shooting in city streets over the last year or so I found that the iPhone 11 Pro produced great results without drawing attention to me as a photographer. This enabled me to capture street portraits and documentary clips of people going about their daily activities. I was therefore keen to see how the new iPhone 12 Pro Max would shape up in similar urban shooting scenarios.

After unboxing the iPhone 12 Pro Max I was struck by its size and weight in comparison to my old iPhone 11 Pro. The 12 Pro Max weighs in at over 8oz compared to the 6.6oz 11 Pro. I have relatively small hands so was concerned that I might struggle to shoot one-handed while gripping the 6.7–inch display. Fortunately, I could set up the iPhone 12 Pro Max to trigger the Camera app’s shutter when I clicked a volume button. This enabled me to compose my photo and shoot single-handed (and therefore more candidly) as a street photographer. I was also concerned about keeping a safe hold on the iPhone due to the slippery smoothness of the matt glass back and stainless steel edge. Although Apple claim the iPhone 12 Pro Max has four–times better drop performance than the iPhone 11 Pro I was reluctant to put that to the test, so I planned to buy a protective cover.