OnePlus 8 Pro vs Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max: Which Is Better?

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Luis Silva (November 2020, updated: February 2021)

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Introduction

Apple launched its iPhone 12 Pro Max in November of 2020, while OnePlus's 8 Pro arrived at stores in April of 2020.

We've run down the specs, design, price, and much more in this guide to help you choose between the 8 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

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

These two have a considerable price difference between them. Remember that when you're comparing the two models.

Down below, there's a "Tek-Score" in every analyzed section of these models. For a quicker analysis of how far they are from each other, we'll consider all their specifications. You'll find a global score at the end, which can help you compare to other phones if you're curious about other models aside from these two.  ? 

We've based our rate on a study from Globalwebindex.com on what buyers are looking for when purchasing a smartphone.

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

Some features have a colored bar next to them. That's to show how they rival its direct competitors.  ? 

Here is their competitors' full list: i  but we only include smartphones with price tags from -20% to +20%.

Some features are also shortcuts to the best 10 phones on that for any budget.

Price*			vs.
Device	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Release Date	2020, April	2020, November	0y.
OS Updates	2 years	6 years	4y.
Security Updates	3 years	6 years	3y.

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance

Inside the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the Apple A14 SoC, while on the 8 Pro, there's the Snapdragon 865 chipset.

If you're a gamer, you'll like to know that the former features a proprietary Apple GPU, and the latter has last year's Adreno 650.

When it comes to the performance, Geekbench 5 (IOS)(Android) rates the iPhone 12 Pro Max 30% ahead of its rival on the multi-core rankings. If you value performance, be aware of that difference, as it will be noticeable daily. The iPhone is a bit more responsive to tasks like rotating the phone to landscape mode because Google does have a hard time optimizing Android.  ? 

Are you looking for the quickest phone around? The iPhone 12 Pro Max is clearly above the average if you consider related priced phones. While they got a rate of about 3194, it has 4240. That puts it 33% above them.

By the way, you can define both of them as high-end.

The 8 Pro carries out Android 10 and OxygenOS 10 OS, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max got the iOS 14.1.

Performance*			vs.
Features	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
SoC	Snapdragon 865	Apple A14
Graphics	Adreno 650	Apple GPU
Geekbench 5 Score	3255	4240	985
OS	Android 10 and OxygenOS 10	iOS 14.1
Tek-Score	7.4	9.1	1.6

*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.

Display

They both have a 6.7-inch AMOLED display. There's no general contest here as each user has his personal preferences. Do you favor AMOLED screens?

The 8 Pro adopts a 1440x3168 Quad HD resolution. The iPhone 12 Pro Max features a more modest resolution of 1284x2778 (Full HD) pixels. If you feel the iPhone 12 Pro Max's notch is too large for you, at least the 8 Pro has a tinier notch.

Screens seem to get bigger each year, so it's essential to know what kind of glass protection they have. The iPhone 12 Pro Max features the latest Gorilla Glass Victus display. The 8 Pro has a Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

The Always-On display on the OnePlus 8 Pro alone would most likely make me choose it.

When it comes to outdoor visibility, you can count on the 8 Pro to go up to 888 nits, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max only goes up to 822 nits.  ? 

The 8 Pro features an HDR10+ display, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max has an HDR10 screen.

If you're looking for high refresh rate displays, you should know that the 8 Pro can do 90hz.

About the 8 Pro, 89% of its rivals can play HDR content, 96% have an AMOLED screen, and 93% of them have an Always-On display.

Regarding the iPhone 12 Pro Max, as a reference, all of its rivals can play HDR content and have an AMOLED screen, and 86% of them offer you more than 60hz of refresh rate, have an Always-On display, and have Gorilla Glass 6 or better.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Size	6.7	6.7	0.0
Screen Type	AMOLED	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	1440x3168	1284x2778	-994968
Refresh Rate	90hz	60hz	-30
Dots per Inch	519.39	456.77	-62.62
Always-On-Display	Yes	No
Notch	Hole	Wedge
Peak Brightness	888 nits	822 nits	-66
HDR	HDR10+	HDR10
Sub Tek-Score	9.5	3.2	-6.3
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Tek-Score	6.9	7.6	0.7

*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.

Cameras

Let's delve into their cameras. Together, a whopping 48 MP sensor, an aperture of f/1.8, a 25mm wide-angle lens, two flash LEDs, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization makes up the 8 Pro camera set. Adding to that, you'll still get the ability to record videos at up to 2160p.

As if that wasn't enough, it also has three more sensors: an 8 MP (with f/2.4 plus a 74mm telephoto lens), another 48 MP (f/2.2) with a 14mm ultra-wide-angle lens, and another 5 MP that works as a depth sensor.

Do you really need a 48 Megapixels camera? Did you know you can zoom in and crop those photos to simulate optical zoom? That's how you can get (for example) an additional 2x of optical zoom and a 12 Megapixels sample.

With the selfies camera, you get a 16 MP shooter, with an aperture of f/2.5 and a 1/3" sensor.

DxOMark gave this shooter a rate of 120. If you add the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, you'll end up with a score of 133. If you click here, you can check what they think of it.

PS: all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Yet, only 15% of them feature a macro lens.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max features a 12 MP (f/1.6) shooter and a 26mm wide-angle lens. You can also count on two flash LEDs, HDR abilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. It also records videos at up to 2160 pixels. You'll also get two additional sensors, one with 12 MP, an aperture of f/2.2 plus a 65mm telephoto lens, and another with 12 MP (f/2.4) with a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens, plus a depth sensor.

You can get selfies with 12 MP Megapixels. It has a lens with f/2.2 of aperture and a 23 mm wide-angle lens.

The guys over at the DxOMark labs rated this camera with 138 points. And by adding the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, that score goes up to 150. 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, feature a telephoto lens, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Moreover, none of them feature a macro lens.

By DxO's standards, the 8 Pro is also roughly 43 points above other cameras with comparable prices. But it isn't the one I'm recommending.

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

One surprisingly valuable addition to these shooters is the 2x and 3x optical zoom. It can save lots of otherwise pixelated photos.

Just in case it's a deciding factor, the iPhone 12 Pro Max zoom lens is 45mm below what you'll commonly find in its class.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Megapixels	48	12	-36
Aperture	1.8	1.6	-0.2
Lens	25mm	26mm	1
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Wide-Angle
Flash	2	2	0
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	Yes
Video	2160	2160	0
Score	133	150	17

*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

Extra Camera(s)	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max	vs.
Megapixels	8	12	4
Aperture	2.4	2.2	-0.2
Lens	74mm (3x zoom)	65mm (2.5x zoom)	-9
Lens Type	Telephoto lens	Telephoto lens
Megapixels	48	12	-36
Aperture	2.2	2.4	0.2
Lens	14mm	13mm	-1
Lens Type	Ultra-wide-Angle	Ultra-wide-Angle
Score	13	12	-1

Selfie Camera	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max	vs.
Megapixels	16	12	-4
Aperture	2.5	2.2	-0.3
Lens	-	23mm

	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max	vs.
Tek-Score	7.8	8.8	1.0

Body

The 8 Pro comes at 165x74 mm (6.50x2.92 inches). The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, however, is a bit larger. Precisely 0.16 inches (4 mm) and a bit smaller: 0.20 inches (5 mm).

The former has about 8 mm (0.32 inches) of thickness, while the latter has 7 mm (0.28 inches).

They both have a beautiful glass body. The 8 Pro weighs 199 g. (7.02 oz), while the other is 29 g. (1.14 oz) heavier. If you want a big screen in a light phone, I've come up with an adapted "display size to phone weight ratio" rate. The 8 Pro got 4.7, meaning it has an acceptable score for its display size. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, however, has 2.1, which indicates it's oddly heavy.  ? 

You'll also get some color options here. The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max comes in Silver, Gold, Graphite, and Pacific Blue. The OnePlus 8 Pro, in its turn, comes in Glacial Green, Onyx Black, and Ultramarine Blue.

Does a fingerprint scanner matter to you? Unfortunately, you can't count on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, but if you're already considering the 8 Pro, then good for you.

Although a pin isn't the only login option in the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Wisely, Apple included a Face ID scanner.

The 8 Pro is resistant to water up to 1 to 3 meters, on par with the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Remember that it shouldn't be for over half an hour, and it's standby mode only. So don't take photos underwater.

Looks*			vs.
Body	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Size	165 x 74 x 8 mm (5.82 x 2.61 x 0.28 in)	160 x 78 x 7 mm (5.64 x 2.75 x 0.25 in)	-10320
Weight	199 g. (7.02 oz)	228 g. (8.04 oz)	29
Build	Front and back glass	Front and back glass
Colors	Glacial Green, Onyx Black, and Ultramarine Blue	Silver, Gold, Graphite, and Pacific Blue
Screen To Body Ratio	89.35%	88.38%	-0.97
Disp.Size To Weight Score	4.7	2.1	-2.6
Looks	9.1/10	10.0/10	0.8
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Biometrics	Under Display Fingerprint	Face ID
Tek-Score	7.1	6.4	-0.6

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

Battery

Looking at these numbers, the OnePlus 8 Pro, with its battery capacity of 4510 mAh, should be a winner, without a doubt. But how would both perform in a real-world scenario? If you charge them up and run some tests, this is what the 8 Pro delivers:  ? 

• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll have 83% of the battery remaining.
• After 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll get down to 67% left.
• From 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, you'll still get 71% to spend doing other things.

And this is how the iPhone 12 Pro Max handles these tests:

• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll be at 82% 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 67% left for the rest of the day.
• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, you'll be with 69%.

It's a draw. You shouldn't expect notable differences here.

Both phones support fast-charging. You can charge the 8 Pro at a maximum of 30w/hour and the iPhone 12 Pro Max up to 20w/hour.

If you value wireless charging, they can do 30w vs. 15w. On any of the new iPhone 12 siblings, wireless charging is also magnetic. It's convenient if you're willing to carry another charger.

You can also use the 8 Pro reverse wireless charging to charge any Qi-enabled device up to 3w per hour.

8 Pro's Quick wireless charging is likewise snappy. You won't find many phones as fast at about its price.

Battery*			vs.
Features	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Capacity (mAh)	4510	3687	-823
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	83% left	82% left	-1
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	67% left	67% left	0
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	71% left	69% left	-2
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	3.5	2.6	-0.9
Sub Tek-Score	7.4	7.3	-0.1
Fast Charging	30w	20w	-10
Wireless Charging	30w	15w	-15
Reverse Charging	3w	No	-3
Tek-Score	7.5	6.7	-0.8

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Storage

The 8 Pro has 256GB of internal storage and 8GB of RAM. There's no extra storage here, but with that much space, who cares? I should also mention that most rivals have more RAM but less storage. They're around 8GB of RAM and 149Gb of storage.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max, in its turn, has 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. You'll also have a problem if you want to add storage later, but 128GB is more than enough for most people. Again, you can effortlessly get the majority of its rivals with more RAM and more storage. 11Gb/201Gb. That's the average.

Storage*			vs.
Features	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
RAM (GB)	8GB	6GB	-2
Internal (GB)	256GB	128GB	-128
Micro SD	No	No
Tek-Score	8.5	6.0	-2.5

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

Connectivity

You can count on Bluetooth 5.1 on the 8 Pro, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a Bluetooth 5.0 modem on its SoC. Both devices feature the standard NFC module.

There isn't much to say about the 3.5mm headphone jack, except that it simply isn't here. You can try an adapter if you want, but the wireless buds are the way to go here. Or you can also check its rivals if you don't care that much about them. You'd have to pick a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus or the Sony Xperia 1 II.

You can find these two in the (LTE and) 5G variant.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Network	5G	5G
Bluetooth	5.1	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	5.1	4.6	-0.5

Price

The OnePlus 8 Pro clearly is a good value for its price, but a great deal would make things more interesting. Promotions aside, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is more expensive, but I'm not here to tell you if it's worth it. Also, don't forget that, with time, iPhones do hold some of their value.

Let's see if it really worths it or not.

Here are their recently updated prices:

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	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max	VS
Amazon	0.82	- !	-
eBay	1.26	0.62	-0.64
Best Buy	-	0.67 !	-
Wallmart	1.01	-	-

And this is the "The Best Smartphones On A Budget" list.

Are you also considering other options? The global score can help. But first, let's see where its rivals are. They're in the ballpark of 6.9 for the 8 Pro and 7.8 for the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Verdict: Does any of them really stand out?

If you're not planning to sell your phone in a couple of years nor using it for half a decade, then the OnePlus 8 Pro may be a better option. You won't get the performance and the latest ceramic glass shield from Corning, but perhaps features like a higher refresh rate, an Always-on display, or double the storage can convince you. Not only that, but you'll also get faster wireless charging (30w vs. 15w), slow but handy reverse wireless charging, two extra GB of RAM, and Bluetooth 5.1.

Pros	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
#1	Performance	Performance
#2	AMOLED	AMOLED
#3	Always-On-Display	Cameras
#4	Cameras	Fast Charging
#5	Battery Life	Wireless Charging
#6	Fast Charging	Glass Protection
#7	Wireless Charging
#8	Storage

Cons	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
#1	MicroSD Slot	Always-On-Display
#2	Weight	MicroSD Slot
#3	3.5mm Jack	Weight
#4	Price	3.5mm Jack
#5		Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	8 Pro	iPhone 12 Pro Max
Gaming Score	8.1	6.9	-1.2
Tek-Score	7.57	7.42	-0.15

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

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