Apple iPhone 11 vs 11 Pro Max in 2021: Is It Just Size?

v Bottom Line v

Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash

Luis Silva (March 2020, updated: March 2021)

---

Introduction

The iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro Max were launched in September of 2019.

We are looking at how the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro Max compare to each other to help you decide which might be the right one for you.

If you have the time, click here to skip the spoilers and continue to the full comparison.

The iPhone 11 definitely has the iPhone 11 Pro Max beaten on price. Remember that when you're comparing the two models.

You'll also see down below a "Tek-Score" for every section that we analyze. For a quicker analysis of how far they are from each other, we'll consider all their specifications. You'll also have a global comparison rate if you're curious about other models aside from these two.  ? 

That score is research-based. It's from Globalwebindex.com about what people want from their next smartphones.

For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.

You'll also see a progress bar underlining some features. That can help you understand how they fare against other smartphones at the same price range.  ? 

You can click here:  i  to view the ones we're comparing to, but basically, we've excluded every smartphone that's not within a 20% (above or below) price range.

Some features are also shortcuts to the top 10 phones for that feature for any budget.

Price*			vs.
Device	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
Release Date	2019, September	2019, September	0y.
OS Updates	6 years	6 years	0y.
Security Updates	6 years	6 years	0y.

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance

Both share the same SoC (the Apple A13), which means you should expect the same performance.

This also isn't a GPU battle because they all have a proprietary Apple GPU.

In terms of performance, Geekbench 5 scores the iPhone 11 Pro Max 3% ahead of its sibling on the multi-core rankings. Overall, you wouldn't feel that much of a difference between them.  ? 

It's safe to say that both of them can be tagged as high-end.

They all were released with the iOS 13 OS.

Performance*			vs.
Features	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
SoC	Apple A13	Apple A13
Graphics	Apple GPU	Apple GPU
Geekbench 5 Score	3328	3435	107
OS	iOS 13	iOS 13
Tek-Score	7.5	7.7	0.2

*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.

Display

The iPhone 11 has a 6.1-inch LCD screen, which is considerably smaller than the iPhone 11 Pro Max's 6.5-inch AMOLED display. It all comes down to personal preferences for both the display type and size. Me, I'd go for an AMOLED screen, but a remarkable LCD is honestly as good.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max adopts a 1242x2688 Full HD resolution. The iPhone 11 features a more modest resolution of 828x1792 (HD) pixels.

The iPhone 11 also falls behind the rest of its class: Its pixel density evens out at 31% below the rest.

It's better to be safe than sorry, so it's essential to know what kind of glass protection they have. Both displays are protected with a Corning toughened glass.

Unfortunately, there's no Always-On display on any of them.

If you're looking for the brightest display, the iPhone 11 will deliver 644 nits, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max can top at 811 nits.  ? 

The iPhone 11 Pro Max supports HDR10 videos.

Bearing in mind the iPhone 11, you should know that 88% of its rivals can play HDR content, 96% have an AMOLED screen, and 92% of them have an Always-On display.

For the iPhone 11 Pro Max, as a reference, all of its rivals can play HDR content and have an AMOLED screen, 76% offer you more than 60hz of refresh rate and have Gorilla Glass 6 or better, and 88% of them have an Always-On display.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
Size	6.1	6.5	0.4
Screen Type	LCD	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	828x1792	1242x2688	1854720
Refresh Rate	60hz	60hz	0
Dots per Inch	323.61	455.55	131.93
Always-On-Display	No	No
Notch	Wedge	Wedge
Peak Brightness	644 nits	811 nits	167
HDR	-	HDR10
Sub Tek-Score	1.2	3.2	2.0
Protection	Corning toughened glass	Corning toughened glass
Tek-Score	5.2	5.9	0.7

*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.

Cameras

Flip the phones over, let's start the cameras' battle. Apple's iPhone 11 can record videos at up to 2160p. It also has a shooter with 12 MP, an aperture of f/1.8, a 26mm wide-angle lens, four flash LEDs, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization.

It also has another shooter with a 12 MP sensor and an aperture of f/2.4 plus a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

Want to know about its selfie capabilities? It has a 12 MP (f/2.2) shooter and a 23 mm wide-angle lens.

This camera came out of DxOMark's labs with a score of 132. By including its wide-angle lens, it can go up to 138** points. If you want to know more about it, click here.

I hope this helps: you should know that all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. On the other hand, only 16% of them feature a macro lens.

There's nothing to compare here. You'll soon find out that both the iPhone 11 Pro Max and the iPhone 11 have the same 12 MP camera. It also has two extra rear-facing camera lenses. One has 12 MP (with an aperture of f/2.0 plus a 52mm telephoto lens), and another with 12 MP (f/2.4) with a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

Apple included the same 12 MP (f/2.2) sensor for selfies and the same 23 mm wide-angle lens.

On DxOMark's reviewing article, they gave this shooter 132 points. By considering the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, we get a score of 143 points. If you want to know more about every tidbit, click here.

Finally, just so you know, just like the other device, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Regardless, none of them feature a macro lens.

Looking at DxO's ranking, one can conclude that the iPhone 11 is approximately 47 points above other cameras at about this price-tag. But you can pick either one.

If you're not a numbers person, we can tag these two as high-end.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has one significant benefit over the iPhone 11 in that it includes a telephoto lens with an optical zoom of about 2x. This gives you an extra bit of freedom when taking your photos.

Just out of curiosity, the iPhone 11 Pro Max telephoto lens is, on average, 63mm lower than what you'd get for its price range.

**Please take this with a grain of salt, at least for phones with no zoom and up to 35 to 40MP. They just changed their protocol, and I need more reviewed devices to fine-tune older scores.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
Megapixels	12	12	0
Aperture	1.8	1.8	0.0
Lens	26mm	26mm	0
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Wide-Angle
Flash	4	4	0
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	Yes
Video	2160	2160	0
Score	138	143	5

*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

Extra Camera(s)	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max	vs.
Megapixels	12	12	0
Aperture	2.4	2.0	-0.4
Lens	13mm	52mm (2x zoom)	39
Lens Type	Ultra-wide-Angle	Telephoto lens
Megapixels	-	12
Aperture	-	2.4
Lens	-	13mm
Lens Type	-	Ultra-wide-Angle
Score	6	11	5

Selfie Camera	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max	vs.
Megapixels	12	12	0
Aperture	2.2	2.2	0.0
Lens	23mm	23mm	0

	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max	vs.
Tek-Score	8.1	8.4	0.3

Body

The iPhone 11 is 5.91 inches (150 mm) tall and 2.96 inches (75 mm) long. The iPhone 11 Pro Max, on the other hand, is 8 mm taller and 2 mm larger (about 0.32 inches by 0.08 inches).

Both have about the same thickness: 8 mm (0.32 inches).

They both have a beautiful glass body. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is a little bit heavier: About 32 g. (1.26 oz). But because this is a bit relative, the iPhone 11 has a "weight to screen size" score of 3.3, which means it's kind of weighty for a 6.1 inches screen. In the meantime, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has 1.7, which indicates it's oddly heavy.  ? 

You can purchase the Apple iPhone 11 in Black, Yellow, Green, White, Red, and Purple. And you can pick the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max in Space Gray, Gold, Silver, and Midnight Green.

If the iPhone 11 is big enough for you, then excellent. If not, then you should choose the other one.

Is the lack of a fingerprint scanner a deal-breaker to you? You won't find them here.

That doesn't mean you're out of security options on both of them. At least Apple opted for the Face ID sensor instead.

The iPhone 11 is resistant to water up to 1 to 3 meters, and the same goes for the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Remember that it shouldn't be for over half an hour, and it's freshwater in standby mode only.

Looks*			vs.
Body	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
Size	150 x 75 x 8 mm (5.29 x 2.65 x 0.28 in)	158 x 77 x 8 mm (5.57 x 2.72 x 0.28 in)	7328
Weight	194 g. (6.84 oz)	226 g. (7.97 oz)	32
Build	Front and back glass	Front and back glass
Colors	Black, Yellow, Green, White, Red, and Purple	Space Gray, Gold, Silver, and Midnight Green
Screen To Body Ratio	81.25%	85.31%	4.06
Disp.Size To Weight Score	3.3	1.7	-1.6
Looks	8.6/10	9.6/10	0.9
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Biometrics	Face ID	Face ID
Tek-Score	7.1	6.4	-0.7

*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.

Battery

When it comes to battery life, in theory, the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, with its 3969 mAh of battery capacity, wins over the Apple iPhone 11, with only 3110 mAh of battery capacity, without a doubt. But how would both perform in a real-world scenario? This is asking for a thorough test after a full charge. And this is what the iPhone 11 delivers:  ? 

• For 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll end up with 83% of the battery charge.
• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 3 hours, and playing videos for 1 hour, you'll still have 71% left for the rest of the day.
• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 1 hour, and playing videos for 3 hours, this is where your battery will be: 73%.

And these are the results for the iPhone 11 Pro Max:

• From 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you should have 83% of the battery left for the rest of the day.
• After 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll probably have 69% left for the rest of the day.
• If you do 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, you'll likely end up with 73% of the battery charge.

I think this isn't surprising at all, but there's no real difference here.

This isn't a competition for charging speeds, as they both do 18w/hour.

Both phones support wireless charging at 5w.

Battery*			vs.
Features	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
Capacity (mAh)	3110	3969	859
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	83% left	83% left	0
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	71% left	69% left	-2
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	73% left	73% left	0
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	5.6	3.6	-2.0
Sub Tek-Score	7.6	7.5	-0.1
Fast Charging	18w	18w	0
Wireless Charging	5w	5w	0
Tek-Score	6.7	6.5	-0.2

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Storage

The iPhone 11 has 64GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM. Memory cards aren't welcome here. This shouldn't be an issue for most of us. Also, similarly priced adversaries usually have more RAM and more storage. They average at 8GB of RAM and 156Gb of storage.

In its turn, the iPhone 11 Pro Max also has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of integrated storage. There's also no extra storage here. This may not be enough for serious smartphone users. Again, you can effortlessly get the majority of its rivals with more RAM and more storage. 9Gb of RAM and 158Gb of storage: that's the average, not the best you can find.

Both phones have more than enough storage and RAM for the average consumer. However, if you can't get enough of the record button, you'll find out that 64 GB won't be enough for you.

Storage*			vs.
Features	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
RAM (GB)	4GB	4GB	0
Internal (GB)	64GB	64GB	0
Micro SD	No	No
Tek-Score	2.8	2.8	0.0

*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.0 is here, on both of them. Both devices also feature the standard NFC module.

There isn't much to say about the 3.5mm headphone jack, except that it simply isn't here. Want a piece of advice? Forget about adapters and go for the wireless buds.

These two are LTE compatible. Do you want 5G on your next phone? Then, you should look at the iPhone 12 or the iPhone 12 Pro instead.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
Network	LTE	LTE
Bluetooth	5.0	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	4.6	4.6	0.0

Price

You're likely not considering the iPhone 11 to make all your pennies count. But do search for any deals or price drops before making up your mind. If you're going for the iPhone 11 Pro Max, you'll end up paying a bit more, but I think that you can find some additional value in it.

You can check down below if it worths the extra cash.

Here are the prices that we've come across recently:

I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone. You'll be helping to take this to the next level.

Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.

Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).

How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).

Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.

Value for money	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max	VS
Amazon	- !	- !	-
eBay	-	0.56	-
Best Buy	-	-	-
Walmart	0.53	0.84 !	-

Also, don't forget to check the latest deals from these four stores, and the state of the art on mobile technology, if you don't want to overpay on your next smartphone.

Related articles:

Best smartphone deals

The Best Unbiased Smartphones For All Budgets

Smartphone Specs Statistics: The State Of The Art (Q1 2021)

Are you ready for that final score? We're almost there. Just so you have an idea, take a look at where its adversaries average. They're in the ballpark of 6.9 for the iPhone 11 and 7.5 for the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Verdict: Does any of them really stand out?

I know that to some people, the iPhone 11 may disappoint them in some departments, like in the screen resolution and in its cameras, but the iPhone 11 Pro Max price tag can be (to say the least) a little bit intimidating and not everyone likes a big screen.

I know that the iPhone 11 screen isn't that small and that its resolution isn't that bad, just like its cameras. That's why I believe the iPhone 11 may become more popular than the 11 Pro Max.

Nevertheless, I couldn't go by not mentioning (again) the performance of these two. The A13 chipset is clearly one step ahead of everything else.

Pros	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
#1	Performance	Performance
#2	Cameras	AMOLED
#3	Battery Life	Cameras
#4	Fast Charging	Battery Life
#5	Wireless Charging	Fast Charging
#6	Glass Protection	Wireless Charging
#7		Glass Protection

Cons	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
#1	Screen Resolution	Always-On-Display
#2	AMOLED	MicroSD Slot
#3	Always-On-Display	Weight
#4	MicroSD Slot	3.5mm Jack
#5	Weight	Price
#6	3.5mm Jack
#7	Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	iPhone 11	iPhone 11 Pro Max
Gaming Score	4.2	6.2	2.0
Tek-Score	6.04	6.16	0.12

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

For suggestions and bug reports, click here. Your help is appreciated. Thank you.

If you want to know more about them, click here: