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Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max Selfie test

September 20, 2022
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134
selfie
This device has been retested in the latest version of our protocol. This summary has been fully updated. For detailed information, check the What’s New article
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

We put the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max through our rigorous DXOMARK Selfie test suite to measure its performance in photo and video from an end-user perspective. This article breaks down how the device fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases and is intended to highlight the most important results of our testing with an extract of the captured data.

Overview

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

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.


Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
134
selfie
128
Photo
Exposure
86

92

Color
84

105

Focus
91

100

Texture
72

79

Noise
62

94

Artifacts
83

90

Flash
73

93

Bokeh
75

80

143
Video
Exposure
86

Best

Color
87

90

Focus
89

92

Texture
73

97

Noise
56

83

Artifacts
87

92

Stabilization
78

82

SELFIE
Position in Global Ranking
21st
1. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
145
1. Apple iPhone 14 Pro
145
1. Huawei Mate 50 Pro
145
4. Apple iPhone 14 Plus
144
4. Apple iPhone 14
144
4. Huawei P50 Pro
144
7. Google Pixel 7 Pro
142
7. Huawei Mate 40 Pro
142
9. Huawei P40 Pro
141
9. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (Snapdragon)
141
11. Google Pixel 7a
140
12. Google Pixel 7
138
12. Google Pixel 6 Pro
138
14. Asus ZenFone 7 Pro
137
14. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
137
16. Huawei nova 6 5G
136
16. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
136
18. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
135
18. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
135
18. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Exynos)
135
21. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
134
21. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
134
21. Apple iPhone 13 mini
134
21. Apple iPhone 13
134
21. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (Exynos)
134
26. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
133
27. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
132
27. Apple iPhone 12
132
27. Apple iPhone 12 Pro
132
27. Apple iPhone 12 mini
132
27. Asus ZenFone 6
132
27. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
132
33. Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)
130
33. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
130
35. Google Pixel 6
129
35. Samsung Galaxy S10+ (Exynos)
129
37. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
127
38. Google Pixel 5
126
39. Vivo X90 Pro+
125
39. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
125
41. Google Pixel 4
124
41. Huawei Mate 30 Pro
124
43. Google Pixel 3
123
43. OnePlus 8 Pro
123
45. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
45. Apple iPhone 11
122
45. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
122
48. Xiaomi 11T Pro
121
49. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
119
50. Huawei P30 Pro
118
51. Oppo Find X5 Pro
116
51. Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G
116
53. Vivo X70 Pro+
115
53. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
115
53. Xiaomi 11T
115
56. Xiaomi 12S Ultra
114
57. OnePlus 7 Pro
113
58. Honor 20 Pro
112
58. Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
112
58. Xiaomi Mi 11
112
61. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
111
62. Apple iPhone SE (2020)
110
63. Xiaomi Mi MIX 3
109
63. Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
109
65. OnePlus 8T
107
65. Samsung Galaxy A71
107
67. Oppo Reno6 5G
106
68. Apple iPhone XS Max
105
69. Vivo X51 5G
103
70. Honor V30 Pro
102
70. Sony Xperia 5
102
72. Nokia 7.2
100
72. Sony Xperia 1
100
72. Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition
100
75. Google Pixel 2
99
76. Oppo Find X2 Pro
97
77. Huawei Mate 20 Pro
96
77. Realme X2 Pro
96
79. Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
95
80. Lenovo Z6 Pro
94
80. Samsung Galaxy S8
94
82. Huawei P20 Pro
91
83. Apple iPhone X
89
83. Meitu T9
89
85. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
83
86. Meitu V6
77
87. ZTE Axon 20 5G
31
88. Intex Aqua Selfie
25
SELFIE
Position in Ultra-Premium Ranking
16th
1. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
145
1. Apple iPhone 14 Pro
145
1. Huawei Mate 50 Pro
145
4. Apple iPhone 14 Plus
144
4. Huawei P50 Pro
144
6. Google Pixel 7 Pro
142
6. Huawei Mate 40 Pro
142
8. Huawei P40 Pro
141
8. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (Snapdragon)
141
10. Google Pixel 6 Pro
138
11. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
137
12. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
136
13. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
135
13. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
135
13. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Exynos)
135
16. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
134
16. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
134
16. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (Exynos)
134
19. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
133
20. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
132
20. Apple iPhone 12 Pro
132
22. Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)
130
22. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
130
24. Samsung Galaxy S10+ (Exynos)
129
25. Vivo X90 Pro+
125
25. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
125
27. Huawei Mate 30 Pro
124
28. OnePlus 8 Pro
123
29. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
29. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
122
31. Huawei P30 Pro
118
32. Oppo Find X5 Pro
116
33. Vivo X70 Pro+
115
33. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
115
35. Xiaomi 12S Ultra
114
36. Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
112
37. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
111
38. Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
109
39. Apple iPhone XS Max
105
40. Sony Xperia 1
100
41. Oppo Find X2 Pro
97
42. Huawei Mate 20 Pro
96
43. Huawei P20 Pro
91
44. Apple iPhone X
89
45. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
83

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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