iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: comparing Apple's 6.7-inch smartphones

Launched at Apple's 'Far Out' event which took place on the 7th September 2022, four new iPhones are on the block, including the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max, both of which have a 6.7-inch screen. 

They're almost entirely different phones, though. What's the distinction? You've come to the right place to find out. 

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: price and release date

You can preorder the iPhone 14 Plus on the 9th of September starting from $899 in the US and £949 in the UK for 128GB of storage, $999 / £1059 for 256GB or if that's not enough then there will be a 512GB model that will cost you $1,199 / £1279.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max, however, will set you back a lot more. You'll be looking at paying $1,099 / £1,199 for 128GB, going up to $1,199 / £1,309 for 256GB and $1,399 / £1,529 for 512GB. It even comes with 1TB of storage if you're willing to pay an eye-watering $1,599 / £1,749 for it.

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: design and screen

In terms of design, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is undoubtedly the better-looking piece of kit with a more pronounced camera module, inside which there are three lenses, as opposed the 14 Plus' two. 

Both phones have that tell-tale Apple shape and have an IP68 rating which means they're both waterproof. But they do come in different colours, you can buy the iPhone 14 Plus in Midnight, Starlight, Red, Blue and Purple whereas the iPhone 14 Pro Max comes in Space Black, Silver, Gold, Deep Purple.

Each phone has a similar 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, but the tech does vary slightly. 

The iPhone 14 Pro Max features ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz, an Always-On display and 1,000nits peak brightness reaching up to 2,000 peak brightness outdoors, in comparison to the iPhone 14 Plus which only has a 60hz refresh rate with 800nits peak brightness.

You'll also get Apple's new Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro Max but not on the 14 Plus, it replaces the camera notch with a small hole-punch style camera and instead uses that space to deliver on-screen notifications as and when they happen, disappearing in the interim.

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: cameras

A huge difference between these phones is the camera system. If you're more of a photography pro then chances are you'll be pining after the iPhone 14 Pro Max. 

The iPhone 14 Plus features two 12MP rear lenses with Sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 2x optical zoom out and 5x digital zoom. 

The iPhone 14 Pro Max on the other hand packs in a 48MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 12MP telephoto lens. Alongside that, you'll find Second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out and 15x digital zoom. There's also more choice when it comes to the camera modes, for example, you'll get night mode portraits, a macro setting and Apple ProRAW on the Max which you won't on the Plus.

If you're more about selfies then these phones both actually use the same 12MP front camera with ƒ/1.9 aperture.

iPhone 14 Plus vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: performance

You can expect the iPhone 14 Pro Max to run much faster than the iPhone 14 Plus as well, thanks to its A16 Bionic chipset which is a step up from the A15 Bionic CPU in the Plus. 

Aside from speed, keeping things up and running through the day is a rechargeable lithium‑ion battery. Apple claims iPhone Plus should last about 26 hours of video playback while the iPhone 14 Pro Max could give you up to 29 hours - there's not much in it but it's still worth mentioning. 

You'll be able to charge both phones by up to 50% charge in 35 minutes, and both devices support Qi wireless charging as well.