It’s been a couple of weeks since I bought an iPhone 18 Pro Max and 18 Pro. After swapping back and forth between them every few days, I wanted to take you through the main differences that you should consider before choosing one over the other.
The first thing to talk about is battery life. This is one of the main reasons, aside from the larger screen, that people go for the Pro Max. Is the battery life better than the Pro? In my experience so far, yes, though it’s not as dramatic as you might think. That’s not as big of a difference as I was expecting for days when the things I was doing on both of these phones were pretty comparable.
Apple rates the 18 Pro for 24 hours of typical use, which is a new internal metric they’ve developed, while the 18 Pro Max is rated for up to 30 hours. You can see the difference in streaming video playback there as well.
Based on my experience so far, the difference that I have seen between them isn’t really different enough for me to say, “Oh, yeah, you absolutely have to get the 18 Pro Max if you want it to last all throughout the day.”
The 18 Pro is rated to have around the same battery life as last year’s 17 Pro Max, though Apple’s video ratings put the 18 Pro about 3 hours behind the 17 Pro Max, which feels about right for my usage.
Fast Charging
The other reason I don’t think it makes sense to just go with the Pro Max over the Pro for its bigger battery is fast charging. Both of these iPhones have incredible fast charging capabilities compared to previous iPhones.
I noticed this immediately when I forgot to charge my 18 Pro Max overnight. I plugged it in at my desk and within like, I don’t know, 20 minutes I had 75% battery, and it was fully charged within the hour, though I was starting from around 30% battery left.
According to Apple, both phones will reach up to 50% battery in 15 minutes when you charge with a 60W or higher capable adapter that has adjustable voltage supply. That’s at least for the eSIM models here in the US, which have larger batteries.
When I was charging my Pro Max, I measured its peak rate at 45 watts, though I didn’t start from zero. From what I’ve seen online, its peak rate is actually closer to about 50 watts, and the same goes for the Pro.
I used an Anker 140W charger, which the company sent me last year, that has a display that tells you the charge rate for your device. You can find it in the Featured Products section above.
Size and Weight
Another thing to consider between the two is, of course, size and weight. For me at least, there were surprises here outside of just, well, yeah, the Pro Max is heavier.
The Pro Max Is Chunky
The Pro Max is quite a bit heavier this year. It went from 233g with the 17 Pro Max to 249g, and that weight does make the 18 Pro Max feel pretty chunky. Holding this thing in one hand is not very comfortable for long periods of time. This has basically been like a two-handed phone for me most of the time I’ve been using it.
The Pro Has More Weight Than You’d Expect
The other really interesting thing between these two is that the 18 Pro is noticeably lighter at 211g and a good bit smaller, with only a 6.3-inch display compared to the 6.9-inch on the Pro Max. You would think it would feel quite a bit lighter, but when you pick it up, it surprisingly has more weight to it than you might expect.
The 18 Pro Max is about 18% heavier than the Pro, but also has an 18% larger area. So that weight distribution is spread out almost identically between the two phones.
The 18 Pro is definitely a phone that you can still use one-handed, and at 211g it’s still a lot lighter than 249g, but it’s by no means as light of a phone as you might expect for it just being smaller. It weighs only 3g less than this year’s S26 Ultra, which I reviewed, which has a much, much larger display.
Screen Size
The other thing you need to consider with screen size is, well, screen size. Will you appreciate being able to read more text on a larger display, and having a wider keyboard? That’s actually a pretty big difference between them as well, and that is something I prefer every time I switch back to the Pro Max. I personally like having that larger display size.
What’s the Same
Those are the major differences between these phones this year. Things like the camera system are identical on both models. Same thing with the new smaller Dynamic Island with an under-display infrared camera, which, yes, I can see the location of with the naked eye, because it’s actually where the clock is, and you’ll see part of the clock looks a little bit more pixelated. That’s not a dealbreaker.
Which One Should You Buy?
So which one would I generally recommend? Honestly, I would still go with the Pro over the Pro Max. It just doesn’t feel as bulky or weigh down my pocket as much. You get the same camera system that’s in the Pro Max and decent battery life, which was more than enough for my needs, and you save $100.
I’d only go with the Pro Max if you absolutely have to have the largest display on any slab iPhone or the most battery life of any iPhone ever. But because these iPhones both have rapid quick charging, I don’t think it’s as necessary to carry around as much battery as possible.
I think it’s better to have a lighter phone and just carry around a big battery bank for the days that you actually need it, like when traveling.
I bought one here from Anker, or you could go with a MagSafe one like the one I have from INIU. I just love this particular design where you can just slap it on the back of your iPhone. Both are in the Featured Products section above.
That said, this is coming from somebody who, when given the choice of phone to use, still finds I gravitate towards using last year’s iPhone Air, which I reviewed. It has a larger display than the Pro, which I like, but it also weighs way less than both the Pro Max and the Pro.
If you want to see current pricing on all of the phones I mentioned in this post, check the Featured Products section above. For more Apple coverage, see my MacBook Neo review, and you can find more of my smartphone comparisons.
