Apple iPhone 11 Pro vs XS Max: all the expected differences

With three iPhones – 11, Pro and Max – released simultaneously for the first time, Apple is gearing up to close all price and features entry points an upgrader could desire in one fell swoop.
Apple iPhone 11 Pro vs XS Max design and displays
Faster? Yes. Better? Yes. Bigger? No.
Remember the outcry when the first CAD-based image renders of the upcoming 2019 iPhone family hit the tape? What, a square camera area on the back, how’s that for an abomination? That’s how our comment section and poll respondents reacted on the design matter and we can’t help but wonder why Apple chose this design.
It may not have been feasible for Apple’s bottom line to rework the internals further in an “s” year just for the sake of aesthetics, so it simply expanded the camera bump needed to accommodate the extra wide-angles lens. The camera kit had to go somewhere new, but heading down the vertical axis would have required quite the reshuffling of the inner components, so a rude but eye-catching elevation may have been preferable for the design department.
Apple iPhone 11 Pro vs XS Max specs, memory and battery
As for the specs differences, it’s a whole lot of more – more speed, more memory, more battery. The biggest change is, needless to say, the move from Apple A12 Bionic to the new A13 chipset, made with TSMC’s most advanced second generation 7nm process. It is expected to add up to 40% more transistors in the 11 Pro and Max, aiding the phones’ machine learning and computational photography prowess significantly while only slightly boosting the performance in synthetic benchmarks as you can see in the comparison below.
A12 (left) vs A13 benchmark
Specs | iPhone XS | iPhone XS Max | iPhone 11 Pro (successor to iPhone XS) |
iPhone 11 Pro Max (successor to iPhone XS Max) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen | 5.8-inch OLED, 60Hz, 3D Touch | 6.5-inch OLED, 60Hz, 3D Touch | 5.8-inch OLED, 60Hz, no 3D Touch | 6.5-inch OLED, 60Hz, no 3D Touch |
Biometrics | Face ID | Face ID | wide-angle Face ID | wide-angle Face ID |
Processor | – Apple A12 Bionic – 2.49 GHz hexa-core (2x Vortex + 4x Tempest) – TSMC first-gen 7nm ~6.9 billion transistors |
– Apple A12 Bionic – 2.49 GHz hexa-core (2x Vortex + 4x Tempest) – TSMC first-gen 7nm ~6.9 billion transistors |
– Apple A13 Bionic – 2.66 GHz hexa-core (2x Vortex + 4x Tempest) – TSMC second-gen 7nm (N7+) process ~10 billion transistors |
– Apple A13 Bionic – 2.66 GHz hexa-core (2x Vortex + 4x Tempest) – TSMC second-gen 7nm (N7+) process ~10 billion transistors |
RAM | 4GB | 6GB | 6GB | 6GB |
Storage | 64GB / 256GB /512GB | 64GB / 256GB /512GB | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB |
Battery | 2659mAh | 3179 mAh | 3174 mAh | 3650 mAh |
Charging | 5W charger in the box Wireless charging support |
5W charger in the box Wireless charging support |
Fast (18W) charger in the box Reverse wireless charging |
Fast (18W) charger in the box Reverse wireless charging |
Apple iPhone XS Max vs 11 Pro camera specs and features
Compared to the iPhone XS and XS Max, the new iPhone 11 Pro and its larger sibiling are getting an ultra wide-angle lens addition to supplement the main sensor and the telephoto camera. All three sensors are 12MP which undoubtedly helps Apple’s quest to form one excellent photo from three great sensor/lens combos by using new machine-learning and computational photography algorithms made possible by the blazing A13.
The unsurpassed raw processing power also allows Apple to offer real-time video crops, changing of backgrounds and adding effects on the new 11 Pro and Max. All three cameras on the Pro and Max collect light information in their respective sensors simultaneously but in different ways that Apple merges in real time so each of the cameras fills up for the other two in areas where they can’t go.
Apple iPhone 11 Pro vs XS Max prices
Move on, people, nothing new to see here!
Seriously, if you have been waiting for Apple to start off its 2019 flagships from anything short of a grand, you’ve been sorely mistaken, as the iPhone 11 Pro blasts off at $999. The souped-up Pro Max hits up to $1299 when you get the 512GB version, but Apple’s cutting the prices of the 2018 models by a Benjamin, as usual, so if you are in the market for something less than, you can save some. What do you think about this year’s iPhone upgrade?
128GB | 256GB | 512GB | |
---|---|---|---|
Apple iPhone XS/Max (after 9/10) | $899/$999 (64GB) | $999/$1099 | $1099/$1199 |
5.8″ Apple iPhone 11 Pro | $999 (projected) | $1099 (projected) | $1199 (projected) |
6.5″ Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Max) | $1099 (projected) | $1199 (projected) | $1299 (projected) |