iPhone 13 Pro Max after 1 full year: Still mighty but we want THESE from iPhone 14 Pro

The iPhone 13 Pro Max continues to be one of the best smartphones you can buy today but there are issues Apple needs to fix.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is almost a year old now and we take a close look at it. (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

It has been almost a year since the iPhone 13 Pro Max broke cover and so far, it has been among our most favourite phones to recommend. Throughout the year, the biggest and loaded iPhone 13 has been in my pockets and is single handedly responsible for most of the photos of various smartphones, laptops and smart TV reviews you have read on HT Tech. And yes, it has gone through a lot of abuse, and some of the harshest weather conditions very few smartphones observe. As Apple readies itself to announce the iPhone 14 Pro, we take one last look at our favourite phone of the year, and find out what else we really expect from the next iPhone.

Note that I have had the 512GB variant of the iPhone 13 Pro Max in Silver and my usage hasn't exactly made it a daily driver all year; after all, a couple of months were taken by the Samsung, Xiaomi, Nothing flagships. However, the phone has been in use without the SIM card and the iPhone 13 Pro Max has seen some serious “Pro” work over the months.

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iPhone 13 Pro Max over the year: What I have loved about it

iPhone 13 Pro Max (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

iPhone 13 Pro Max (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

Battery Life:

It goes without saying, the biggest iPhone right now has the nicest battery life to offer. This is one of the very few smartphones that easily lasts an entire day with usual office workloads and substantial social media browsing, and leaves over 40 percent charge for the next day. I have tested so many phones but none can match the iPhone 13 Pro Max's endurance figures.

Reliable Cameras

The Galaxy S22 Ultra may have defeated it in our comparison story but the iPhone 13 Pro Max has consistently taken great still photos, keeping its focus on superior details and decent colour science. When it comes to video recording, there's no match for it – it challenges some big sensor mirrorless vlogging cameras.

Superb display:

The 6.7-inch OLED display with its variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz is a great canvas to watch movies, or simply browse Instagram. The animations appear creamy smooth and even under bright sunlight, you can see it easily.

It can run anything:

The A15 Bionic with the hexa-core GPU and 6GB RAM make the iPhone 13 Pro Max mighty capable. Be it the most demanding games or editing 4K videos on iMovie, this iPhone manages everything smoothly. I have been testing iOS 16 Beta for a few months on it and the experience has been great.

Great stereo speakers:

It might not matter to many but the iPhone 13 Pro Max's speakers are tuned great. The audio has depth, with noticeable low-end grunt and some enjoyable bass. The mids and highs are clear too. No other phone can match the iPhone 13 Pro Max's speaker audio quality.

iPhone 13 Pro Max: What Apple needs to fix with iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 13 Pro Max (Amritanshu Mukherjee / HT Tech)

iPhone 13 Pro Max (Amritanshu Mukherjee / HT Tech)

A better image sensor:

The 12MP sensor on this phone does a great job but in low light, it starts to struggle with details and noise. Rumours suggest a larger 48MP main camera sensor that should address these issues. Additionally, the telephoto camera also needs a higher resolution sensor, since it loses out on sharpness and details a bit.

No notch please:

Gladly the rumours suggest the removal of the display notch from the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The pill-shaped cutout is still ungainly but it is a positive step towards killing that ugly notch.

Faster charging:

The 20W charging on the iPhone 13 Pro Max is slow and in an age when Android phones can fully recharge their batteries in 20 minutes, waiting over an hour for the same on the iPhone just feels lame. Apple needs to fasten up its charging technology.