iPhone 18 Pro Max Review: A20 Pro, Variable Aperture and Under-Screen Face ID

Apple's newest flagship, iPhone 18 Pro Max, is under the spotlight with all its pros and cons after approximately two weeks of intensive use. After opening the box, we thoroughly experienced what the new generation A20 Pro processor promises, the fine touches in its design and the hardware innovations by challenging the device in daily routines, synthetic tests and creative workflows.

The A20 Pro chipset, located at the heart of the device, offers a total of 6 core CPU architecture with 2 super and 4 efficiency cores. In synthetic tests, Geekbench 7 reached 4,015 points in single-core and 11,419 points in multi-core; With the contribution of the new core added on the GPU side, up to 40% jumps are recorded in graphics tests. In addition, thanks to the dual 16-core Neural Engine architecture, response times have almost doubled in tests performed on local artificial intelligence models (LLM).

Despite the on-paper leaps on the hardware side, it is very difficult to see a noticeable difference with the iPhone 16 Pro Max or iPhone 17 Pro Max in standard daily uses such as WhatsApp or Instagram. Although the renewed cooling system ensures that the device remains cooler under load, the real hardware transformation occurs in the camera and screen area. A variable aperture mechanism that can switch between f/1.48 and f/4.0 has been added to the main sensor of the triple 48 MP setup on the back. In this way, the light entering the sensor in low light conditions is physically optimized, while a natural depth of field control is provided in professional shooting.

On the screen wing, the 6.9-inch OLED panel, which offers a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, reaches a very high screen-to-body ratio of 91.06% with the shrinking Dynamic Island. However, it is noteworthy that the Face ID sensor, which has been moved under the screen, remains a bit cumbersome compared to previous generations in unlocking speed when standing on the desktop or at certain angles. Similarly, although the battery increased to 5,391 mAh and 60W wired charging support offers comfort with a usage time of 1.5 days, the fact that the MagSafe wireless charging speed is still at the 25W limit is written off as a minus.

If you are already an iPhone 16 Pro Max or 17 Pro Max user, it does not feel necessary to upgrade to this model at this stage, considering the transition difference of 20,000 - 30,000 TL. While the variable aperture main camera, native AI performance, and expanded screen area are strong upgrades, they don't create a radical gulf in daily experience. However, for those who want to switch from a much older iPhone model or the Android ecosystem to the latest top model, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is an extremely strong alternative.