Review iPhone 13 Pro Max review: The best phone period

Sep 21, 2021
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Nice review, thanks. I'm excited to receive my 13 Pro Max Friday. I appreciate the detail in your camera section. Great job.
 
Sep 23, 2021
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This and the "Best Phones" list makes me really mad. The S21 Ultras bad things are no charger and no microSD. The iPhone has neither, and also bigger problems. Still, its 1st on the list, even though the Samsung has faster charging and better cameras. (Not to mention higher res screen, S Pen and more smaller things) Also, the OnePlus 9 Pro is a good alternative. The only real advantage the iPhone has is performance, but very few people actually need S21U performance on a phone, so even more is overkill and no reason to place the iPhone higher up. This whole website feels really biased towards Apple.
 
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Sep 21, 2021
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.... The only real advantage the iPhone has is performance, ...

Well, that's debatable. Many prefer the iPhone camera, and almost everyone prefers the iPhone's video capabilities. iOS stability, OS updates, integration with the ecosystem, iMessage, and more are things many people prefer on iPhones. I've owned about 5 Samsung phones (Notes) and loved them. I have an iPhone now and I prefer all of the above on the iPhone.

I wouldn't get to worried about reviews, they are opinions. We all have them, right? :)
 

Mark Spoonauer

Editor-in-Chief
Jan 21, 2014
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Thanks for your comment. You're wrong about the S21 Ultra cameras. We tested them side by side and iPhone delivers better image quality in most situations. As of now the S21 Ultra has a better zoom and that's pretty much it. But that could change with the S22.

As for S21 Ultra cons, we're comparing microSD to previous Galaxy phones and it's something that was taken away. The iPhones never had them.
This and the "Best Phones" list makes me really mad. The S21 Ultras bad things are no charger and no microSD. The iPhone has neither, and also bigger problems. Still, its 1st on the list, even though the Samsung has faster charging and better cameras. (Not to mention higher res screen, S Pen and more smaller things) Also, the OnePlus 9 Pro is a good alternative. The only real advantage the iPhone has is performance, but very few people actually need S21U performance on a phone, so even more is overkill and no reason to place the iPhone higher up. This whole website feels really biased towards Apple.
 
Sep 22, 2021
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This and the "Best Phones" list makes me really mad. The S21 Ultras bad things are no charger and no microSD. The iPhone has neither, and also bigger problems. Still, its 1st on the list, even though the Samsung has faster charging and better cameras. (Not to mention higher res screen, S Pen and more smaller things) Also, the OnePlus 9 Pro is a good alternative. The only real advantage the iPhone has is performance, but very few people actually need S21U performance on a phone, so even more is overkill and no reason to place the iPhone higher up. This whole website feels really biased towards Apple.

See my comment on the iPhone 13 Pro review by Tom's guide:

https://forums.tomsguide.com/thread...e-of-the-best-phones-ever.491651/post-1974436

I have a feeling you will agree with a lot of the statements. By the way, the same things outlined there apply to the 13 Pro Max review as well.
 
Sep 22, 2021
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Thanks for your comment. You're wrong about the S21 Ultra cameras. We tested them side by side and iPhone delivers better image quality in most situations. As of now the S21 Ultra has a better zoom and that's pretty much it. But that could change with the S22.

As for S21 Ultra cons, we're comparing microSD to previous Galaxy phones and it's something that was taken away. The iPhones never had them.

I have no doubt that the 13 Pro Max delivers better camera performance in quite a few situations. However, a lot of camera comparisons can be subjective and in some cases come down purely to preference.

I mentioned a lot of this in a comment on Tom's Guide's 13 Pro review, but I would like to repeat it here too. (Link to that comment):

https://forums.tomsguide.com/thread...e-of-the-best-phones-ever.491651/post-1974436

In both your 13 Pro reviews, you neglect to mention that the S21 series ISN'T the iPhone 13 competitor. The S22 series is the iPhone 13 competitor. You are highlighting how the iPhone 13 Pro Max beats a last generation Samsung phone. It should do this easily, it is no miracle feat.
The S22 is touted to have very impressive performance, courtesy of the Exynos 2200. By the way, to illustrate my point above even more clearly; the Exynos 2200 graphics are outperforming the A14 Bionic by over 50% while under throttling. I know... new gen vs last gen. Unfair, right?

Please in your future reviews of ANY phone include some information about the device's competitors, unreleased or not.
 
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Sgtkeebs

Prominent
Nov 19, 2021
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This and the "Best Phones" list makes me really mad. The S21 Ultras bad things are no charger and no microSD. The iPhone has neither, and also bigger problems. Still, its 1st on the list, even though the Samsung has faster charging and better cameras. (Not to mention higher res screen, S Pen and more smaller things) Also, the OnePlus 9 Pro is a good alternative. The only real advantage the iPhone has is performance, but very few people actually need S21U performance on a phone, so even more is overkill and no reason to place the iPhone higher up. This whole website feels really biased towards Apple.

They gave the S21 Ultra and award because it was good.
 

MrEBE

Distinguished
Feb 1, 2011
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I'm an ever happy iphone user.. I do know why and what make me in love with the iphones Technologicaly speaking (all the requirements to anything IT to be able to produce CONSTANT PERFORMANCE) and exactly the why and what made me hate every time I had to work with androids (being the Web OS, Open Environment, it is..)

I change iphone around every 3 years.. and am now a very happy Iphone 13 user.. but jeez how I would love to pocess one 13 Pro !! Mostly as a big photography enthousiast..
But sadly I cannot justify the hughe price difference here (around 400.-)...

Beside, always do remember that the happiest people are the ones who learn to want what they have.. the sadiest people are the ones who always want the next things..

And I keep repeating to friends how great the iphones are and stay many years after release ! I had to temporaly fall back to my old iphone 8... let me say.. I updated it to 15.3 and was blown away by the performance of that "very old" machine !!
 

Nahzuul

Distinguished
Feb 4, 2014
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How does it serve buyers to compare something they can buy with something that isn't even a choice yet? A product that has not yet arrived is not “reviewed.” It is speculated about.

Professional reviewers stick to reviewing products that are available for review and purchase. There are plenty of other forums for speculation about products that haven't arrived yet.

By the way, the iPhone 14 comes out in only 6 months. It will be compared to the S22 because no other offering will be available from Samsung for how long? A year? Longer? We don't really know, but we do know that life just isn't fair.
 
Mar 30, 2022
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This and the "Best Phones" list makes me really mad. The S21 Ultras bad things are no charger and no microSD. The iPhone has neither, and also bigger problems. Still, its 1st on the list, even though the Samsung has faster charging and better cameras. (Not to mention higher res screen, S Pen and more smaller things) Also, the OnePlus 9 Pro is a good alternative. The only real advantage the iPhone has is performance, but very few people actually need S21U performance on a phone, so even more is overkill and no reason to place the iPhone higher up. This whole website feels really biased towards Apple.
I also disagree. I have had 12Pro, 12Pro Max, two S21Ultras + 13Pro and 13 Pro max. And I totally agree with the review. 21Ultra's camera output is actually in the better midrange level except for the amazing zoom. Even the S22U could not dethrone Apples handweight!