iPhone 18 Pro Max review: Apple’s biggest, heaviest and longest-lasting superphone

Apple’s largest Pro iPhone gets its biggest battery upgrade yet to make it a true two-day phone with new Siri AI and a variable aperture camera.The iPhone 18 Pro Max is the supersized sibling of the regular 18 Pro and, though it is no longer Apple’s most expensive phone thanks to the £2,000 iPhone Duo, it has a similarly large price tag to match costing from £1,299 (€1,599/$1,299/A$2,299).The 18 Pro Max follows the familiar formula of its Pro Max predecessors: take everything that’s great about the 18 Pro and supersize the screen and the battery. That means it has a first-class camera, the fastest performance and very long software support.A Popsocket on the back, or an official lanyard or wrist strap attached to a case, is almost a necessity for the 18 Pro Max. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The GuardianBut it also means the 18 Pro Max is hard to use with one hand and pretty big to fit in a pocket. It weighs 249g, which is really heavy for even a very large smartphone, 23g more than its nearest rival, 38g more than its smaller sibling and heavier still than folding phones. It made my hand hurt after 10 days of use and is a two-handed phone needing some sort of handle or strap.The 6.9in screen is a joy to behold. Super bright, crisp, smooth and with a very effective anti-glare coating it’s great for films, TV or games, and offers a similar level of real estate for video to most folding phones. It also has the new, smaller camera cut out and bigger dynamic island of the regular 18 Pro.Specifications Screen: 6.9in Super Retina XDR (120Hz OLED) (460ppi) Processor: Apple A20 Pro RAM: 12GB Storage: 256, 512GB or 1TB Operating system: iOS 27 Camera: 48MP + 48MP UW + 48MP 4x, 18MP front-facing Connectivity: 5G, wifi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 6, Thread, USB-C, Satellite, UWB and GNSS Water resistance: IP68 (6 metres for 30 mins) Dimensions: 163.4 x 78 x 8.75mm Weight: 249g Battery life for daysA full charge takes 70 minutes, hitting 80% in 32 minutes, but requires a 60W Power Delivery 3.1 USB-C adaptor with adjustable voltage supply (AVS) to reach its fastest speeds (not included). Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The GuardianThe 18 Pro Max has the same new A20 Pro chip as the 18 Pro, which is one of the fastest chips you can get in a phone, plus a resigned cooling system that helps maintain peak performance during long gaming sessions.It has the longest battery of any iPhone, lasting almost three days of light usage between charges, actively using the screen for seven hours for apps, browsing, messaging and photos. That is about four hours longer than its predecessor and almost a day longer than the 18 Pro. Even with heavy use, the 18 Pro Max still managed to end the day with about 50% left in the tank, meaning most people will have to charge it only every second or third day.iOS 27The black iPhone 18 Pro Max is the darkest and most inky black model yet with a colour-matched glass back, but it’s a bit of a fingerprint magnet. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The GuardianThe 18 Pro Max runs the same iOS 27 as smartphones from the iPhone 11 onwards. The new software speeds up app launches and other parts of the system, refines the Liquid Glass redesign from last year and revamps Apple’s AI tools.The new Siri AI chatbot is a significant step in the right direction, able to better understand you and perform tasks. It has its own app to review previous conversations and can see what is on your screen or through the camera. It can also suggest data from your various Apple apps, similar to Google’s proactive tools on the Pixels. But it relies on you using messages and mail, rather than third-party apps such as the WhatsApp or Gmail apps.SustainabilityThe battery will last in excess of 1,000 full-charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity, and it can be replaced for £119. Out-of-warranty screen repairs cost £389. The specialists iFixit awarded the phone seven out of 10 for repairability.It contains more than 40% recycled material. The company breaks down the phone’s environmental impact in its report. Apple offers trade-in and free recycling schemes, including for non-Apple products.CameraThe new variable aperture can be left in automatic or manually adjusted along with a handful of other manual controls. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The GuardianThe 18 Pro Max has the same camera system as its smaller sibling, which includes an 18 megapixel centre stage selfie camera in the screen and three 48MP cameras on the back.The three rear cameras are some of the best on a phone, including a 4x/8x optical zoom and 0.5x ultra wide.The big addition for the 18 Pro Max is a variable aperture on the main camera, allowing it to open wider than other iPhones for better low light performance or to narrow to preserve depth of field. But it also allows additional creative photography possibilities, including shooting starbursts.The 18 Pro Max also has new AI-powered focus tracking, improved Photographic Styles for greater customisation, Apple’s new digital negative feature and automatic cinematic mode for video.PriceThe iPhone 18 Pro Max costs from £1,299 (€1,599/$1,299/A$2,299).For comparison, the iPhone 17 costs £899, the iPhone Air £1,099 and the iPhone 18 Pro £1,199; the Google Pixel 11 Pro costs £1,279 and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra £1,359.VerdictThe iPhone 18 Pro Max is Apple’s biggest, longest-lasting and most expensive slab phone for 2026.It takes what is great about the regular 18 Pro and supersizes the screen and battery, giving it a run time of up to three days, which is a good half day more than its smaller sibling. That places it shoulder to shoulder with some of the longest-lasting phones available on any platform.But similar to superphones from Google and Samsung, the 18 Pro Max is too big to use one-handed and tricky to pocket. It is also too heavy and made my hand hurt without using a Popsocket or a similar handle attached to it.Otherwise, it is a fairly iterative upgrade on the 17 Pro Max, with the same design and feel. The screen is still one of the very best on a phone, and the improved dynamic island is a useful upgrade. The A20 Pro chip is seriously quick, the cameras are some of the best you can get on a phone and the variable aperture on the main camera opens up some new creative opportunities, even if its impact on image quality is fairly minor. Pros: fabulous 6.9in screen, better dynamic island, very long battery life, great cameras with variable aperture, USB-C, top performance, long software support, Face ID, better AI. Cons: very expensive, very heavy, hard to use one-handed, small upgrade on last year, AI tools still lag top competitors. The iPhone 18 Pro Max is a towering monolith of a smartphone, particularly in the inky black colour. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian