Other Upgrading from iPhone 11 Pro Max --> iPhone 14 Pro Max?

[Zest28]

My iPhone 11 Pro Max works perfectly fine and 100% covers my need. So it's not a real upgrade that I need to do. But I was thinking that this is the year that an upgrade might be finally worth it? Reasons for upgrading
- always on display
- dynamic island
- 120hz display
- 2000nits display
- better battery life

Should I upgrade or just stick with my iPhone 11 Pro Max?

 

[roflc0pter]

I think that depends on whether or not you're trading in your iPhone 11 Pro Max and the value given for it towards your new phone purchase

 

[sjobsian]

I'm actually thinking of buying an iPhone 11 Pro Max. It's not 5G, so I'm worried about slow data since I'm currently using an iPhone 12 which is 5G. Can you tell me what life is like using the 11 Pro Max over data?

 

[Tovenaar]

If you don't care about the money, upgrade. It'll be a fun toy for a few days.

Two weeks from when you upgrade you will forget that anything has changed and it'll just be business as usual.

I have an 11 Pro Max and I can't think of a single reason to upgrade my phone. Dynamic Island and 120Hz display are nice but would I pay that much money for them?

And screen brightness has never been a concern, and I live in a very sunny city.

Battery life is subjective. If you're constantly running out of power and don't have access to a charger that might be an issue. But it might also be time for a battery replacement, a far cheaper "upgrade".

 

[davedvdy]

It really depends on how much you value those features you listed and what they are worth to you. They are definitely the main upgrade points. It would be hard for any one to assess that for you, though as on paper they may sound great but the real world result may or may not fit your expectations.

Edit: The only downside I can think of is that the iPhone 14 Pro Max is heavier than the 11 Pro Max.
That bothers some, and others obviously it doesn't.

 

[sjobsian]

I believe you are mistaken? The 11 PM is 226 grams, the 14 PM is 240 grams, making the 14 PM 14 grams heavier than the 11 PM.

 

[sjobsian]

It really depends on how much you value those features you listed and what they are worth to you. They are definitely the main upgrade points. It would be hard for any one to assess that for you, though as on paper they may sound great but the real world result may or may not fit your expectations.

The only downside I can think of is that the iPhone 11 Pro Max is heavier than the 14 Pro Max.
That bothers some, and others obviously it doesn't.

I believe you are mistaken? The 11 PM is 226 grams, the 14 PM is 240 grams, making the 14 PM 14 grams heavier than the 11 PM.

 

[luigi.lauro]

My iPhone 11 Pro Max works perfectly fine and 100% covers my need. So it's not a real upgrade that I need to do. But I was thinking that this is the year that an upgrade might be finally worth it? Reasons for upgrading
- always on display
- dynamic island
- 120hz display
- 2000nits display
- better battery life

Should I upgrade or just stick with my iPhone 11 Pro Max?

Just did the very same upgrade, day one 11 PM -> day one 14 PM and I couldn't be happier.

Things which I consider huge upgrades:
- Display (especially HDR and how it's visible outdoor without dimming as much, but also love the 120hz smoothness)
- Battery (11PM was good, but now at 81% health, 14PM is so much better)
- Camera (Dolby Vision HDR videos are nuts, and also main camera pictures @48MP. Super-wide was crap on 11, while surprisingly decent on 14)

I honestly consider this by far the biggest upgrade I've ever done, previous ones were 3GS -> 5 -> 6S PLUS -> 11 PM

 

[Selcher]

I upgraded from 11 Pro Max to 14 Pro Max. It’s a noticeable upgrade. Definitely glad I did.

 

[davedvdy]

I believe you are mistaken? The 11 PM is 226 grams, the 14 PM is 240 grams, making the 14 PM 14 grams heavier than the 11 PM.

Sorry, I had that phrased backward, but yeah--that's exactly what I meant. The down side is the 14 Pro max is heavier than the 11 Pro Max. Every year since the XS Max, they have been increasing. The 13 Pro Max and 14 Pro Max are nearly identical in weight though.

IMHO, I still believe it would be a very solid upgrade from a 11 Pro Max (esp. for the reasons you mentioned) and I was surprised the first time I tried the 14 Pro Max. I expected it to feel like a brick, but it felt very well balanced for it's weight.

 

[Tovenaar]

I honestly consider this by far the biggest upgrade I've ever done, previous ones were 3GS -> 5 -> 6S PLUS -> 11 PM

That's really interesting you say that! I would've thought the 6S to 11PM would've been a bigger upgrade, especially with the Face ID, the full screen, LED display, three cameras, etc.

 

[Momof2.1107]

It all really depends on wether you are ready to upgrade. I have to say I upgraded to the 12 Pro Max in 2020, for the better battery life and the Qualcomm modem. The Intel modem in the 11 series has been horrible for my daughter who have an 11. I’m looking into upgrading her to either a 13 or 14 depending on her carrier promotions. She constantly have to stay on Wi-Fi to have a good signal.

 

[luigi.lauro]

That's really interesting you say that! I would've thought the 6S to 11PM would've been a bigger upgrade, especially with the Face ID, the full screen, LED display, three cameras, etc.

It really depends. On one side you are right that was a bigger change due to major shift in form factor / approach (Full-screen, FaceID), on the other side the level of maturity/smoothness/execution of this phone is so much better than 11.

On 11 I had the feeling I was seeing "the new world" but was not really "there" yet. Sometimes FaceID was sluggish/timing out, screen was constantly dimming too much under the sun, wonderful HDR OLED screen with 1000+ nits but no HDR pictures or movies taken by camera yet, ultra wide lens was fantastic to use but with very crappy picture quality compared to main, night mode was fantastic but only possible on 1x and any night photography on x0.5/x2 was crap, flash was very harsh and not really useable in most use cases, speakers were good and stereo but not "I don't care to use external BT speaker anymore" good & loud as 14PM speakers, etc. etc. etc... I could go on and on.

For example I was shocked to see how much ****ing better are DolbyVision HDR movies compared to my 11PM movies.

Here everything just works and it's smooth, it seems like it's the final "maturity" of the form factor that started with X/11.

This is why, combined with dynamic island and all, this "feels" to me like a bigger upgrade.

 

[broadleaf35]

That's really interesting you say that! I would've thought the 6S to 11PM would've been a bigger upgrade, especially with the Face ID, the full screen, LED display, three cameras, etc.

I went a similar route: 6S+ to 11PM to 14PM. After I received the 14PM, have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed. The jump from the 6S+ to the 11PM made me use my phone differently, between the OLED screen, FaceID, and three cameras. I thought that 4-gen jump was a big deal. The 14PM didn’t seem like such a big upgrade at first, with only ProMotion really jumping out at me as a major new feature that I immediately appreciated.

Having said that, a month with the 14PM has changed my opinion. What I really appreciate is the improved processor, 6gb memory, and the much better, 5g Qualcomm modem. I’m warming up to camera improvements too, including the 48mp camera and sensor shift. Dynamic Island. . .eh, the biggest thing about it to me is the surprise during the announcement (no leaks beforehand); as a feature i think it needs to mature. The AOD lock screeen is fine, but i end up turning it off most days, as I have an Apple Watch too (I don’t need both of them on all the time)

In my opinion, the 14PM isn’t as radical a change in how you‘ll use your iPhone from the 11PM, which was still performing well. I think going from the 6S+ to the 11PM was a bigger, more noticeable hardware upgrade.

The only reason I upgraded was to get the $1000 trade in value from ATT during the 14PM launch. Now that I’m set, I’ll likely wait to see what the iPhone 17 brings to the table in a few years .

 

[TechLord]

It’s a solid upgrade, it’s not a NEEDED upgrade but a good one which you’ll appreciate. Don’t forget about wifi and data speeds. Based on tests done by max tech even the 13/14 pro have a pretty big difference in data speeds so if you’re out a lot then you’ll see an improvement there.