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IPhone 18 Pro Max review: Apple’s biggest, heaviest and longest-lasting superphone
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- DeepHorus
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Max is the company’s largest, heaviest and longest-lasting superphone, pairing a 6.9in screen with a major battery upgrade. It costs from £1,299 (€1,599/$1,299/A$2,299), though the £2,000 iPhone Duo is now Apple’s priciest model. It follows the Pro Max formula: supersize screen and battery while retaining first-class cameras and top performance.
The phone runs iOS 27, the same software as iPhones from the 11 onward. The update speeds app launches, refines the Liquid Glass redesign and revamps Apple’s AI tools. The new Siri AI chatbot has its own app, can see the screen or camera and suggests Apple app data, but relies on Messages and Mail rather than WhatsApp or Gmail.
At 249g, it is 23g heavier than its nearest rival, 38g heavier than the smaller 18 Pro and heavier than folding phones. Its 6.9in Super Retina XDR 120Hz OLED display is bright, crisp and anti-glare. Inside are the A20 Pro chip, 12GB RAM, up to 1TB storage and IP68 water resistance.
The 18 Pro Max has the longest battery of any iPhone, lasting almost three days of light usage. It provides seven hours of active screen time, about four hours more than its predecessor and almost a day more than the 18 Pro. Even with heavy use it ended the day with roughly 50% left, so many can charge every second or third day.
The camera system matches the 18 Pro, with an 18MP Centre Stage selfie camera and three 48MP rear cameras. These include 4x/8x optical zoom and 0.5x ultra wide. The main new addition is a variable aperture on the main camera, giving photographers more control.
The battery is rated for over 1,000 full-charge cycles at 80% capacity, and replacement costs £119. Screen repairs cost £389, iFixit awarded 7/10 for repairability, and the phone contains over 40% recycled material. Still, the 18 Pro Max is a two-handed device that can hurt after 10 days of use.
