iPhone 18 Pro Max Review » YugaTech

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When the iPhone 18 Pro Max was announced last September, the reception was a bit lukewarm. There were but a few significant upgrades from the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Even the dimensions are the same (except for the slight camera bump) that you can practically slap your old phone case onto this new one.

So, in this iPhone 18 Pro Max review, we placed more focus on what has changed and see if they were reasonable, practical and important enough to consider when faced with the question of an upgrade.

We also recommend reading the iPhone 17 Pro Max reviewhere since we’ll be referring to that in this article quite often (making this article shorter than it would normally be).

Design and Construction

As mentioned earlier, the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the iPhone 17 Pro Max have the same exact dimensions — 163.4 x 78 x 8.75mm. There were claims that the camera bump of the 18 Pro Max is taller so we made a simple ocular inspection and looks like it really does (as shown in the side-by-side photo below).

In terms of weight, the 18 Pro Max added a few grams (249 grams vs. 233 grams). Despite using the same aluminum unibody design, the added weight could be attributed to the bigger battery capacity (from 4,823mAh to 5,391mAh) and the larger vapor chamber which is said to be almost 3 times its predecessor.

IMO, the larger battery alone is justification enough for the slightly heftier weight.

The only other distinguishing mark is the smaller Dynamic Island of the 18 Pro Max.

Well, of course, there’s also the new color variants — Glacier Blue, Burgundy and Black — so you can spot an iPhone 18 Pro Max from afar.

Display and Biometrics

The iPhone 18 Pro Max retains a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2868 × 1320 pixels and a pixel density of 460 ppi. ProMotion provides an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, while the Always-On display lets you view the time, notifications, and other information without fully waking the screen. On paper, the core display specifications remain largely unchanged from the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Brightness ratings are also familiar — 1,000 nits typical maximum brightness, 1,600 nits peak for HDR content, and up to 3,000 nits peak outdoors. These are separate ratings for different viewing conditions, rather than brightness levels the display maintains all the time. At the other end, the screen can dim to just 1 nit.

Apple continues to include wide color (P3) support, True Tone, and a rated 2,000,000:1 typical contrast ratio. HDR playback supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+/HDR10, and HLG. Taken together, these specifications put the emphasis on continuity rather than a substantial display upgrade. You get the same screen size, resolution, refresh-rate ceiling, and advertised brightness figures as the previous generation.

The front is protected by Ceramic Shield 2, with an anti-reflective coating and a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.

The more noticeable change is the Dynamic Island, which occupies less space at the top of the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s display. While both generations (18 Pro Max and 17 Pro Max series) retain the same 6.9-inch screen, the smaller pill-shaped cutout leaves more of the surrounding display unobstructed.

It is not a dramatic transformation, but it is one of the clearer visual differences when the two phones are placed side by side. The screen still has a visible interruption, so this remains a refinement rather than a move to an uninterrupted, all-screen design.

The change is not purely cosmetic, either. The redesigned Dynamic Island can accommodate up to three Live Activities simultaneously, allowing it to present more ongoing information—such as navigation, music playback, and a live sports score—without requiring you to open their respective apps. For users who regularly juggle these activities, that additional capacity may be more useful than the smaller cutout itself.

For biometrics, Apple continues to use Face ID, enabled by the TrueDepth technology in the Center Stage front camera. There is still no Touch ID fingerprint scanner, so those who prefer fingerprint authentication will have to stick with facial recognition or a passcode.

Coming from the 17 Pro Max, this is more a continuation of the existing setup than a new way of interacting with the phone.

Camera

The iPhone 18 Pro Max has the potential to produce better photos, but the advantage is more situational than universal. Its variable-aperture main camera provides greater control over light intake and depth of field, giving it more flexibility in challenging conditions. That’s a meaningful optical upgrade, although it shouldn’t be confused with a blanket improvement in image quality across every shot.

In the several shots we took for example, we set the aperture of the iPhone 18 Pro Max to the highest setting (f/1.48) and compared that to the one taken by the iPhone 17 Pro Max at f/1.78. The camera of the iPhone 18 Pro Max simply reduced the ISO level to ISO 1000 compared to the ISO 1250 on the iPhone 17 Pro Max (while keeping both shutter speed at 1/30s).

The resulting images are almost identical, to an untrained eye, one would not actually see any difference in the quality.

I’ve tried this in varying low-light scenarios and have gotten an almost indistinguishable photo between the 18 Pro Max and the 17 Pro Max. We therefore conclude that in most low-light scenarios, the iPhone 18 Pro Max would produce, more or less, the same results as the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Where, I think, the difference in camera capability can be demonstrated is when shooting for depth of field.

In our sample shots below, you can see the bokeh of the background subject based on the manual settings of the aperture.

Here are some sample video clips we took using the phone:

You can the same wide range of recording options you can do on this phone:

* 4K HDR (Dolby Vision) at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100, or 120 fps on the main Fusion camera, giving options from cinematic to ultra‑smooth high frame rate video or 1080p HDR (Dolby Vision) at 25, 30, 60, or 120 fps, plus 720p HDR at 30 fps.

* Supports ProRes video recording up to 4K at 120 fps when using external storage, enabling slow‑motion and color grading options. Offers ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2, ACES (Academy Color Encoding System), and genlock support, clearly targeting professional and multicam workflows.

* Slo‑mo up to 1080p at 240 fps, and also 4K Dolby Vision slow‑mo up to 120 fps on the Fusion Main camera for high‑detail slow motion.

* Dual Capture lets you record simultaneously from front and rear cameras up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps, ideal for reaction plus scene videos.

* Records in HEVC and H.264, plus ProRes and ProRes RAW for supported workflows. Captures Spatial Audio or stereo using four studio‑quality microphones, with wind noise reduction, audio zoom, and Audio Mix features.

OS, Apps and UI

Right out of the box, the iPhone 18 Pro Max comes with iOS 27, where the biggest change is Siri AI, alongside expanded photo-editing tools, smarter Safari features, and more flexible parental controls. It also focuses on quicker app launches and smoother everyday performance rather than just a visual redesign.

Last year’s iOS 26 brought the big visual redesign. This year’s iOS 27 focuses more on intelligence, particularly a more conversational Siri that understands your personal information and what’s on your screen.

Where iOS26 introduced Liquid Glass across the iPhone’s interface, iOS 27 improves contrast and readability, with a slider to adjust Liquid Glass from ultra-clear to fully tinted.

Apple’s October 26 update notes highlight several additions from the original iOS 27, including Siri conversation memory, broader personal context, suggestions in Messages, and shared Album improvements.

Everything else looks and feels the same.

Performance and Benchmarks

Powering the iPhone 18 Pro Max is Apple’s A20 Pro, built on a 2nm manufacturing process. It’s composed of a 6-core processor comprising 2 high-performance “super cores” (clocked @ 4.93GHz) and 4 efficiency cores (clocked @ 2.64GHz), paired with a 7-core GPU with Neural Accelerators. While the CPU only got a bump in max clock speed, the GPU gains an additional core over the A19 Pro.

The changes also extend to the chip’s packaging. Instead of stacking the memory above the processor, the A20 Pro places the DRAM alongside it, an arrangement intended to improve heat dissipation. Combined with the redesigned vapor chamber, the emphasis is not simply on reaching higher peak speeds, but on managing demanding workloads over longer periods. Memory bandwidth also increases by 50%, providing more capacity to move data between the processor and memory.

Apple claims up to 40% faster graphics performance than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Actual gains depend on the workload, software optimization, and how long the phone can maintain its higher performance before thermal limits come into play.

GeekBench 7

CPU: 3,999 (single-core score), 11,139 (multi-core score)

GPU: 62,790

Antutu Benchmark v11:

CPU score: 3,422,200

Storage score: 8,334MB/s (Read), 3,372MB/s (Write), 319MB/s & 90.8MB/s (Random Read & Write)

The table below shows the GeekBench and Antutu scores between the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

For everyday use, the difference is likely to be less dramatic than the specifications suggest. The iPhone 17 Pro Max already delivers responsive performance, and faster app launches or smoother interface animations are not necessarily where this generation will make its strongest impression. The more relevant workloads are demanding games, video exports, and other sustained processing tasks.

We tested these by exporting a 6GB video timeline in CapCut at 4K UHD 60fps and 71Mbps bitrate. We also enabled Smart HDR and AI Ultra HD enhancement. The iPhone 18 Pro Max took 1 minute and 10 seconds, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max took 1 minute and 26.7 seconds. That’s a 19% reduction in export time, which is quite significant.

Battery and Connectivity

Battery isn’t usually Apple’s strongest suit but this time, the iPhone 18 Pro Max broke the 5k mAh barrier.

It’s also worth to note that this will also be the first time the Pro Max exceeded the battery of its main rival from Samsung, the Galaxy S26 Ultra (5,391 mAh vs. 5,000 mAh).

In our video loop test, the phone lasted 47 hours and 43 minutes playing a full HD movie at 50% brightness, zero volume, and in airplane mode. This is much longer than what we got from the iPhone 17 Pro Max at just under 31 hours.

As for connectivity, the 18 Pro Max inherited eveyrthing from its predecessor with support for 5G, physical SIM + eSIM, dual eSIM, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6, GOS, and USB-C data transfers up to 10Gb/s. The one in the Philippines comes with a nano-SIM and an eSIM while the US model only has dual e-SIM.

Globe and Smart support eSIM activation through methods such as a QR code or carrier app; availability and activation requirements depend on your plan.

DITO’s app also advertises physical-SIM-to-eSIM conversion. However, Apple’s carrier-support page does not list DITO alongside Globe and Smart, so that evidence alone does not confirm the same level of iPhone support for 5G, VoLTE, or WiFi Calling.

Pricing

No other phone line-up offers you the widest option for phone storage than Apple. If you have the budget, there’s the 2TB but it will cost you almost twice as the entry-level option.

iPhone 18 Pro Max price in the Philippines:

256GB: Php 99,990

512GB: Php 115,990

1TB: Php 147,990

2TB: Php 194,990

Globe and Smart also offers various postpaid plans with the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max with most of the high-end plans available with subsidy and installment payments of up to 24 months.

Conclusion

The iPhone 18 Pro Max (and the Pro, for that matter) feels like a modern take on Apple’s old “S” releases. It’s more of a incremental update of the existing platform rather than a full redesign. It retains a exactly similar chassis, with the expected changes focused more on the hardware and the overall user experience than on the exterior.

The result might seem underwhelming for most iPhone users who are current on the series and those who expect a fundamentally new direction. Yes, it’s more of a “polish” release than a “refresh” and perhaps that’s only logical move for Apple when you realize the new iPhone Duo was also released in the Philippines a mere two weeks after the Pro Max.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is not for you if you are still on the iPhone 17 Pro Max or even the 16 Pro Max. The ideal upgrade would be for those who are using the 15 or 14 series, and most especially the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

What we liked about the iPhone 17 Pro Max:

* Powerful A20 Pro chipset

* All 3 cameras are equally impressive

* Biggest storage on any phone at 2TB

* Big, bright screen

What we liked less:

* Aluminum material feels less premium and prone to scratches

* More expensive than ever!

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max specs

6.9-inch Super Retina XDR display

2868 x 1320 pixels @ 460ppi

120Hz ProMotion refresh rate

Always-On display

Ceramic Shield Glass 2 protection

Ceramic Shield Glass back panel

Apple A20 Pro chip

6‑core CPU with 2 “super” cores @ 4.93GHz and 4 efficiency cores @ 2.64GHz

7‑core GPU

Dual 16‑core Neural Engine (32 cores)

Apple N1 wireless chip

12GB RAM

256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB storage options

48MP fusion main camera

48MP fusion ultra wide

48MP fusion telephoto (8x optical zoom, 40x digital zoom)

ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2

18MP center stage front camera

nano-SIM + eSIM (2 eSIM in US)

Wi-Fi 7

Bluetooth 6

GPS

NFC

Thread

Rated IP68 dust and water resistance

iOS 27

Li-Ion 5,391 mAh battery, MagSafe & Qi2 25W wireless charging

249 grams (weight)

163.4 x 78 x 8.75mm (dimensions)

Burgundy, Silver, Black, Blue (colors)

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