Home > Smartphone comparison > iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 12 Pro Max – which one to choose?

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 12 Pro Max

77 out of 100
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
VS
63 out of 100
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max (with Apple A16 Bionic) that was released on September 7, 2022, against the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 1 year and 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments (8)

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Delivers 103% higher peak brightness (1762 against 868 nits)
  • Shows 32% longer battery life (30:06 vs 22:52 hours)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5
  • The phone is 1 year and 11 months newer
  • 72% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2669 and 1551 points

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro Max crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
6 / 128 GB
VS
6 / 128 GB
78.3
(Good)
Value Index
70.3
(Good)

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
iPhone 14 Pro Max
vs
iPhone 12 Pro Max

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.7 inches 6.7 inches
Resolution 1290 x 2796 pixels 1284 x 2778 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
PPI 460 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) No
Max rated brightness 2000 nits 800 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1600 nits -
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 88.3% 87.7%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space 99.9% 99.4%
PWM 240 Hz 238 Hz
Response time 1 ms 8 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
iPhone 14 Pro Max +103%
1762 nits
iPhone 12 Pro Max
868 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 160.7 mm (6.33 inches) 160.8 mm (6.33 inches)
Width 77.6 mm (3.06 inches) 78.1 mm (3.07 inches)
Thickness 7.85 mm (0.31 inches) 7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight 240 g (8.47 oz) 226 g (7.97 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Black, Silver, Gold, Purple Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue
Fingerprint scanner No No
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Chipset specifications of Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
SoC
Chipset Apple A16 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
Max clock 3460 MHz 3100 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 3.46 GHz: Everest		 - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm
- 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 4 nanometers 5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
GPU
Graphics 5 core Apple GPU Apple GPU
GPU shading units 640 256
GPU clock 1398 MHz 1278 MHz
FLOPS ~1789.4 GFLOPS ~654.3 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
Compute Score (GPU) 22851 16481
Single-core score 2669 1551
Multi-core score 7024 4870
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
iPhone 14 Pro Max
1324600
iPhone 12 Pro Max +1%
1342343
CPU 329807 385467
GPU 444294 320972
Memory 150297 167663
UX 400202 468241
Total score 1324600 1342343
Samples [8 tests] [5 tests]
3DMark Solar Bay
Stability 74% 74%
Graphics test 16 FPS 11 FPS
Section 1 20 FPS 14 FPS
Section 2 16 FPS 11 FPS
Section 3 12 FPS 8 FPS
Graphics score 4266 2861
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Stability 71% 71%
Graphics test 19 FPS 13 FPS
Graphics score 3335 2317
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-08-09 -> Kryon296AnTuTu 111425670
📘 2026-08-09 -> Kryon296AnTuTu 111302538
📘 2026-08-09 (Trinh Anh Khoi)AnTuTu 111302538
📘 2026-07-17 (Astreeek)AnTuTu 111267503
📘 2026-07-16 (Oleg)AnTuTu 111267503
Add View all (14)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-26 (kudryash)AnTuTu 111196958
📘 2026-06-15 (hungph)AnTuTu 111342343
📘 2026-06-09 (Khang)Geekbench 6 CPU1159 / 3300
📘 2026-03-13 (DNHK)AnTuTu 111376823
📘 2026-03-13 (Naw)AnTuTu 111279989
Add View all (16)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 6 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 128 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iOS 16 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5)
OS size - 16 GB
OS updates 6 years -
Security updates 6 years -

Battery

Capacity 4323 mAh 3687 mAh
Max charge power 23 W 20 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging No No
Bypass charging No No
Fast charging Yes (48% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:52 hr 1:32 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 11:49 hr 08:35 hr
Watching video 18:59 hr 13:38 hr
Gaming 06:50 hr 05:29 hr
Standby 144 hr 116 hr
General battery life
iPhone 14 Pro Max +32%
30:06 hr
iPhone 12 Pro Max
22:52 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 48 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 8064 x 6048 4032 x 3024
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 2.5x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 120° 120°
Lenses 1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Telephoto: 12 MP
3) Ultrawide: 12 MP
4) Depth
1) Standard: 12 MP
2) Telephoto: 12 MP
3) Ultrawide: 12 MP
4) Depth
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution 48 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/1.6
Focal length 24 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX803 Sony IMX603
Sensor size 1/1.28" (≈ 0.78 inch) 1/1.9" (≈ 0.53 inch)
Pixel size 1.22 micron 1.7 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical Optical
Telephoto lens
Image resolution 12 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/2.8 f/2.2
Focal length 77 mm 65 mm
Sensor Sony IMX713 Sony IMX613
Sensor size 1/3.5" (≈ 0.29 inch) 1/3.4" (≈ 0.29 inch)
Pixel size 1 micron 1 micron
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 12 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.4
Focal length 13 mm 13 mm
Sensor Sony IMX633 Sony IMX372
Sensor size 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) 1/3.4" (≈ 0.29 inch)
Pixel size 1.4 micron 1 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Bokeh 80 70
Preview 91 80
Zoom 139 115
Samples Photo samples of Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max from DxOMark Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4290 x 2800
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 Sony IMX514
Sensor size 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) Yes Yes
DxOMark front camera
Photo 139 127
Video 154 140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type - No
USB version 2 -
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
DisplayPort Yes -
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* - 1
Type of SIM card eSIM Nano
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 20 18
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced September 2022 October 2020
Release date September 2022 November 2020
Launch price (MSRP) $1099 $1100
Successor - Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max - Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
SAR (head) - 0.99 W/kg
SAR (body) - 0.99 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor		 - Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger Not included -
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
708 (56%)
556 (44%)
Total votes: 1264

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User opinions

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
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Avatar
Ram S October 25, 2022 at 09:01 AM
Thanks for the comparison. I am planning to hold my iPhone 12 Pro Max for another year or even more (depending on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and its price) by replacing its batteries which have degraded so much (82% Max). Otherwise, I do not see any big differences between the two. I can pay $60 and get the battery replaced seems to be a prude decision than buying a very expensive 14 Pro Max 512 GB.
+23 Reply
Avatar
iPhone apple care hack January 5, 2023 at 03:30 AM
So pay for Apple care plus £12.50... when your battery health hits 79% they change it so it'll cost you £12.50 for a new battery and cancel it once you're done with it.
+4 Reply
Avatar
Kelly October 11, 2022 at 02:10 PM
I upgraded from iPhone 12 Pro Max to iPhone 14 pro max because of the new camera. It’s the camera I almost always have with me and the difference in indoor/low light pictures is HUGE! I feel it’s worth it.
+23 Reply
Avatar
itsky September 15, 2022 at 06:54 PM
The lack of a physical SIM slot on the 14 pro max is a deal breaker for me. :/
+23 Reply
Avatar
Bobby September 10, 2022 at 07:15 AM
Looking forward to the actual experience review. I agree that from the 12 Pro Max, the differences are not crazy, but with the decent trade-in after 2 years, I still retrieve the value for what I have for a minimal delta vs waiting another year(s) to lose most value. See you in 2 or 3 years.. or more right… went from 6S plus to 12 Pro Max, so we’ll see how long this one holds.
+8 Reply
Avatar
frenchtoasted September 9, 2022 at 12:59 AM
what a wonderful and complete comparison of the 12 pro max and the 14 pro max. The differences are so slight that upgrading (to me) is just a waste of money at this point. Unless someone can't be without a purple phone, the basic differences just don't amount to much. Even the "upgraded" photo specs - are not all that. (a plus is that the iphone 12 pro max holds its battery longer and actually charges faster than the new 14 pro max!)
+26 Reply
Avatar
SusiW September 8, 2022 at 10:32 AM
Just wanted to thank you for this amazingly useful site. You helped me decide to keep my 12 Pro MAX for another year. Why? 1. I keep my iPhones until I have the new ones that have a feature that makes an upgrade worthwhile. The 14 Pro MAX doesn't have one for me. (Past iPhones, 4S and 6S+) 2. Although I pass my iPhones on to my husband when I upgrade, and even though the 6S+ has reached its EOL as regards iOS upgrades, I cannot afford the financial hit in this economy from the cost of a new phone.
+25 Reply
Avatar
Gary September 10, 2022 at 07:08 PM
Crash protection, 120 Hz display, better battery, and awesome purple make it a go for me!
+30 Reply
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