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Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max Selfie test: Apple flagship selfies

99
selfie
This device has been tested in 2021. Please note that the score and contents below refers to an older test protocol. To view the updated test results for this product, click here
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

The iPhone 13 Pro Max features the biggest Super Retina XDR display in the iPhone 13 series but otherwise shares most components with the smaller iPhone 13, including the A15 Bionic chipset and the rear camera setup.

The front camera hardware for selfie shooting is actually the same across all iPhone 13 models, including the iPhone 13 and 13 mini. A 12 MP sensor is coupled to a f/2.2-aperture lens that offers a 23 mm equivalent focal length.

Key front camera specifications:

  • 12 MP 1/3.6″ sensor, 23 mm equivalent f/2.2-aperture lens
  • 3D sensor
  • Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field (1080p at 30 fps)
  • HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps; 4K video recording at 24/ 25/ 30/ 60 fps; 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps

About DXOMARK Camera tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera reviews, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 3000 test images and more than 2.5 hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in natural indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. This article is designed to highlight the most important results of our testing. For more information about the DXOMARK Camera test protocol, click here. More details on how we score smartphone cameras are available here.

Test summary


Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
99
selfie
102
Photo
86

91

84

105

91

97

72

85

62

90

83

90

73

93

75

Best


95
Video
86

Best

87

Best

89

92

73

97

56

83

87

92

78

82

Pros

  • Accurate target exposure on face
  • Nice color and skin tones
  • Good detail in indoor and outdoor shots
  • Quite accurate depth estimation in bokeh mode
  • Wide dynamic range and accurate target exposure in video
  • Accurate white balance in video
  • Wide focus range in video means all subjects are in focus

Cons

  • Luminance noise
  • Occasional white balance casts
  • Clipping in challenging backlit scenes
  • Fixed focus means subjects further away from the camera are out of focus
  • High noise levels in video, especially in low light
  • Residual motion in walking videos
  • Loss of detail in low light video

With all iPhone 13 series devices sharing the same front camera specs and processor, it’s fair to assume the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max Selfie results are very close to those of the iPhone 13 Pro. We have confirmed this by putting the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max through the complete DXOMARK Selfie test protocol.

In this outdoor shot, you can see that the image output of the two cameras is pretty much identical, with the same high level of detail and good subject exposure. There is some highlight clipping in the brighter background but overall the iPhone front camera deals really well with this difficult backlit scene.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, outdoor selfie
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, crop: good detail and subject exposure but highlight clipping in the background
Apple iPhone 13 Pro, outdoor selfie
Apple iPhone 13 Pro, crop: pretty much identical image quality

Not only still image quality is very similar on the 13 Pro Max and 13 Pro. The same is true for video footage. In this example, you can see that the subject is well exposed but the stabilization system cannot counteract all walking motion.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, good target exposure, some residual motion

Apple iPhone 13 Pro, very similar video performance to the Pro Max

Given the pretty much identical results, we are posting only this short article for the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max. For the full set of sample images and measurements as well as a complete analysis, please click on the link below and read the full review of the Apple iPhone 13 Pro.

Go to the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Selfie review

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