Buzz
And here we are, stepping into the 7th year since Apple first introduced the option of a large-screen iPhone. The mission of these large-screen iPhones for me is to deliver a more premium experience, a truly perfect experience, and sometimes even an essential tool for a certain specific need, but despite going through 7 generations, this new iPhone still leaves many worries or hesitations in the process of choosing to buy a device even if ignoring the price factor.After practical usage, I reflect on the value of the iPhone 13 Pro Max that I want to share with you, as Apple balances for the first time between the Pro and Pro Max versions in terms of features, hardware, or camera. So, what is the remaining core value of the large-screen phone and the least impressive point for me compared to the 12 Pro Max that I used to have will be shared in this topic.Design
I'm not very surprised when the iPhone 13 Series is launched still carrying the design of the previous generation, as when following the product development process over the past few years, it can be seen that iPhones change designs quite slowly, taking up to 4 phone generations to have a completely new design from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone X, and the iPhone 13 series is the second phone generation with a squared-off design.
But it's really unfortunate that the desires of the designers have far exceeded the realm of electronic technology, the device has acquired too many technologies and features but cannot reduce its own weight, perhaps it comes from a steel frame technology not yet new enough to be lightweight, a battery, or a screen.The weight of 240g combined with a squared-off design will be a significant downside, it will make my hand ache when held for long periods, it will hurt when holding the phone with one hand and reaching for a spot on the screen, and of course, when lying down or reclining with a two-handed grip, the fingers will also be pinched by the sharp corners. Remembering the curved edges on the iPhone 11 Series at this moment, how much difference it made. If only it curved like that while still offering the thin edge look like this squared phone...The Super Retina XDR ProMotion display, the awaited feature has arrived
The screen in general, and especially with iPhone, is crucial to me. Besides the clothes I wear all day, the phone is what I use the most in a day, maybe 6 or 8 hours, or even more time looking at the screen. This can be considered one of the core factors for me to choose the 6.7-inch iPhone screen instead of the 6.1-inch on the 13 Pro.A large screen is also what I choose to take care of my eye health, because the usage time in a day is much, so if possible, I will choose a larger screen to display content more clearly, the eye's workload does not need to be too high, creating a comfortable feeling and reducing fatigue during use, and I see this as a premium experience. And above all, an experience of viewing content on a large screen for a more satisfying feeling, an experience that elevates luxury rather than just staying at the level of safety when it's just enough.Display Colors
Truth be told, over the years of using iPhones, I rarely find satisfaction with a screen from a brand other than iPhone. There can't be a 'true color concept' for an average user, and because of this, the evaluation or experience will be based on personal intuition, looking at a picture and seeing that it closely resembles reality is already meeting the requirements.
Regarding the screen on the 13 Pro Series achieving P3 color gamut coverage coupled with a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1, the strong impression for me is the depth of image, the contrast between light and dark areas is distinct and clear. In summary, even though I've just switched from the 12 Pro Max, I immediately sense the richness in colors, the depth of image performance becomes clearer, and emotions are heightened every time I view photos.
The screen brightness is also quite remarkable, it shows more in real-world usage. In familiar lighting environments I used with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, now with the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the screen brightness is adjusted about 30% lower but still performs well, bright enough for comfortable viewing. Especially with HDR-enabled videos, the brightness is pushed to a very high level to provide the most realistic image space possible. Initially, I wasn't very happy when watching videos on the device because the brightness seemed to be too high, but gradually I realized that it's the brightness needed for a fuller enjoyment of the movie.Refresh Rate of 120 Hz
Camera Upgrade Worthwhile
Photo taken from the default wide Camera, indoor lighting
I always desire to capture life's moments with a high-quality camera, as a high-quality photo holds more value and satisfies me more. At times, revisiting a high-quality photo evokes more emotions, emotions are precious. Smartphone cameras are improving, and so is the iPhone. The images captured from the iPhone 13 Pro are truly impressive (though not yet comparable to a standalone camera), the most notable change is the new image processing algorithm. Each photo now exhibits better contrast and brightness balance, the light-dark areas in the photo become clearer, it adds depth and simulates the scene when the photo is captured. No longer uniform brightness throughout the photo like previous generations.
The new pixel sensor and the new Deep Fusion system have worked really well to produce images without noise but still of very high quality, without losing details. When shooting people, it accurately represents the skin tone and actual skin texture of someone, even though they have been processed through algorithms a lot, the final product provides a realistic and emotional view.
With the main camera aperture, also the most used camera, at F1.5, in many low-light situations, there is no longer a need to activate Night Mode, and the shutter speed (virtual) is also increased to help capture moments more easily. The output from the camera I evaluate as excellent in many shooting conditions, especially in low light, where the hardware system combined with good software produces images with less noise, I rate the noise processing as perfect.
A photo from the 77mm Camera, I haven't been impressed with the image quality in normal mode with this lens.
The Tele 77mm Camera hasn't been impressive enough for me compared to when I first used the tele camera of the iPhone 12 Pro Max. It hasn't been impressive because the image quality in normal conditions hasn't shown much difference compared to the 12 Pro Max I used before, especially the pixels haven't been processed meticulously, perhaps the software is still not optimized enough or not strong enough to impress me. I hope in some future software version, it will be improved further.
Unlike using the regular landscape mode, the telephoto camera excels in portrait photography tasks. Adding a bit more, what makes the portrait mode on the iPhone appealing to me is the lens focal length, a Tele lens can reduce distortion (which is why I use it for normal conditions a lot), and focus more on the subject to avoid unnecessary landscape in the frame, this is the most valuable thing compared to most other phones with portrait mode.
The new portrait image processing algorithm is a blend of various factors, the object recognition algorithm has become more responsive and accurate, encountering very few photos with 'blurry' edges even with just a quick snap. Perhaps the new hardware is sufficiently powerful, so now every portrait shot becomes faster, almost just switch to portrait mode, lift the phone, and immediately the phone detects the subject for you to shoot, after the shot, the phone processes once again and produces an almost perfect image. With this speed, many moments can be captured almost effortlessly, almost not caring whether the device has processed beautiful edges or not, whether it has captured the focus accurately or not (not to mention the possibility of post-depth of field adjustment - bokeh level).Continuously enhancing video recording quality, absolutely impressive
With the new hardware prowess, the iPhone 13 Pro Max can capture HDR 4K 60 fps videos, additionally introducing the Cinematic feature for professional-style recording capability, with the ability to automatically shift focus based on faces within the frame. In this article's video review, Mytour's media team used the iPhone 13 Pro Max for recording, with no Gimbal utilized throughout the entire footage, showcasing both dynamic and static scenes to highlight its excellent stabilization capabilities. Moreover, the new hardware prowess also strongly supports the execution of algorithms, from automatic camera switching to seamless autofocus during motion and stabilization through algorithms. Even for the most ordinary user, the iPhone 13 Pro Series leaves an incredibly positive impression due to the performance of each specific feature:- Continuous autofocus capability: Whether you're capturing a spontaneous video or dealing with moving objects or camera motion, this feature truly shines. The commendable aspect here is the speed of focus and the smoothness of the recorded footage. In good lighting conditions, the autofocus speed is so fast that it's hard to notice. Not only can you confidently shoot without manually adjusting focus, but you also get professional-grade focus transitions in your footage.
- Sensor-shift stabilization: While the iPhone has always been known for its effective stabilization, it's now taken to the next level with sensor-shift stabilization. Previously, vibration reduction was achieved through frame cropping, but now it's further enhanced by sensor movement. The result is impressively smooth footage, even when shooting handheld.
Battery and new hardware
The actual battery life of the iPhone 13 Pro Max for my usage needs is remarkably impressive. It's the first time in my life using an iPhone that I can use it so comfortably. To elaborate, I often use my phone outdoors in hot weather, with the screen frequently at maximum brightness. The actual usage time, measured from morning until 8-9 pm when I return home, always remains above 30%, and the OnScreen timer consistently counts over 6 hours, sometimes reaching 8 hours. Specifically, Mytour also conducted a battery drain test on the iPhone 13 Pro Max by Mod @MinhTriND. Preliminary results show that one would need to be excessively tired to use up 70% of the device's battery. You can refer to the testing process through the link below.
However, to achieve such excellent battery performance, it largely depends on the hardware system, specifically the new 15-billion-transistor A15 Bionic chip. In terms of specifications, this chip can perform 15.8 trillion operations per second, with processing speed increased by over 50% compared to the previous generation, and 5 GPU cores for processing speed. The practical efficiency in normal usage can be immediately seen in tasks like shooting videos or photos, which are now supplemented with more powerful processing algorithms and faster execution speed.Simultaneously, it's also the cleverness and new technology of the Super Retina XDR display. Not only does it have the ability to save battery thanks to the new panel generation, but the Pro Motion display's ability to vary refresh rates from 10 Hz to 120 Hz is also a key factor in saving a significant amount of energy for the device. Of course, these technologies do not compromise the real user experience.Conclusion
With this year's changes, the iPhone 13 Pro Max once again reaffirms its role more accurately for consumers. When features or hardware prowess do not differentiate it significantly from the iPhone 13 Pro, this will remind users to better determine their usage needs. If you truly are someone who extensively uses your phone throughout the day, factors like the display and battery become particularly important to meet those needs.Simultaneously, the accompanying value is a premium experience, where the line between premium and sufficient may be quite delicate. For me, premiumness is evaluated based on convenience in usage, comfort level, and the higher the satisfaction, the more elevated the sense of premiumness. With a large screen phone and sufficiently good battery life, this translates to an elevated premium experience, and the price difference compared to the 13 Pro version is entirely justified.Big thanks to The Mobile World for their invaluable support in bringing this topic to life!
