iPhone 11 Pro XS Max to an 11 Pro Max?

[FireFish]

Spoiler: Not another fluffy pro-11 Max review

thinking of upgrading? Use the cash as toilet paper for better use.

It shames me to say it, but this is the rate of ‘innovation’ we’ve been seeing at Apple. It’s an absolute embarrassment that I shelled out another $1500 for the 11 Pro Max after 12 months of shelling out the same for the XS Max.
I managed to sell my XS MAX on eBay for $900, so I rationalized the splurge. But it is far from a needed upgrade.
Let’s say it as it is: The 11 has an extra camera. That’s it. The very fact that you need to see side-by-side photos to notice the enhanced camera quality shows you that you don’t %#*ing need it. But me being the schmuck I am had to buy it anyways.

 

[Sam in SoCal]

Spoiler: Not another fluffy pro-11 Max review

thinking of upgrading? Use the cash as toilet paper for better use.

It shames me to say it, but this is the rate of ‘innovation’ we’ve been seeing at Apple. It’s an absolute embarrassment that I shelled out another $1500 for the 11 Pro Max after 12 months of shelling out the same for the XS Max.
I managed to sell my XS MAX on eBay for $900, so I rationalized the splurge. But it is far from a needed upgrade.
Let’s say it as it is: The 11 has an extra camera. That’s it. The very fact that you need to see side-by-side photos to notice the enhanced camera quality shows you that you don’t %#*ing need it. But me being the schmuck I am had to buy it anyways.

Thank you for your reflections. I did the same. Sold my xs max for the 11 pro max. Bought the 256gb model for 1249 plus tax. I’m assuming you got the 512gb model or you live elsewhere to have spent 1500. The cameras are better and I like to take pictures and videos. Other than that I love the much better battery life, I like the matte finish on the back. They also enhanced the display, increasing the contrast, brightness, etc. you didn’t have to buy it but you did and got a great price on your xs max, I think. Good luck

 

[MacClueless]

Spoiler: Not another fluffy pro-11 Max review

thinking of upgrading? Use the cash as toilet paper for better use.

It shames me to say it, but this is the rate of ‘innovation’ we’ve been seeing at Apple. It’s an absolute embarrassment that I shelled out another $1500 for the 11 Pro Max after 12 months of shelling out the same for the XS Max.
I managed to sell my XS MAX on eBay for $900, so I rationalized the splurge. But it is far from a needed upgrade.
Let’s say it as it is: The 11 has an extra camera. That’s it. The very fact that you need to see side-by-side photos to notice the enhanced camera quality shows you that you don’t %#*ing need it. But me being the schmuck I am had to buy it anyways.

Me too but the battery life is way better you gotta admit.

 

[HEK]

Since I pay monthly, and after paying a bit more than half for my Xs Max it was an easy decision to upgrade to 11 Pro Max. The better battery life alone makes sense for a few pennies more per month. Each person has to suit their own situation.

 

[MacClueless]

Since I pay monthly, and after paying a bit more than half for my Xs Max it was an easy decision to upgrade to 11 Pro Max. The better battery life alone makes sense for a few pennies more per month. Each person has to suit their own situation.

That’s really the issue. For some people, the price of the phone is the price of a shirt or a dinner. For others it’s a major investment. If it’s too expensive for you that doesn’t mean it’s “too expensive”... it just means it’s not for you.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Wife and I had a 512 Xs MAX. Went to the 11 Pro Max. We love it. Much much better pictures, better screen, better battery life. We went with the 256 GB 11 Pro Max so we're paying a bit less per month now. We use our phones a lot.

The whole complaint on innovation is really getting old. If you don't like it, move on. I stay with Apple because it provides what I want. If it didn't, I'd move on. And I've tried the competition - I make sure to so I'm informed - actually using Samsung phones/tablets, etc... People's opinions are nice, but nothing like actually trying the device for yourself.

Definitely worth it for us. We are really enjoying the phone.

If it was something we didn't use much, it wouldn't be worth the $. I use this phone hours every day - my wife even more. It helps me avoid traffic in the morning, I read on it for hours, it is a communication link to my family, connection to the outside world, flashlight at 4am when I wake up in the morning, .... for something that I use every day, it is a well invested cost. I could write a book about this phone... I do most of my banking now on my phone (cashing checks, checking balance, paying CCs, etc...).

If you're buying to upgrade just to upgrade, that's a problem.

The Apple Upgrade Plan is a nice 0% interest loan for those of us that like to upgrade yearly and not deal with the potential hazards of re-selling online.

 

[Sam in SoCal]

Wife and I had a 512 Xs MAX. Went to the 11 Pro Max. We love it. Much much better pictures, better screen, better battery life. We went with the 256 GB 11 Pro Max so we're paying a bit less per month now. We use our phones a lot.

The whole complaint on innovation is really getting old. If you don't like it, move on. I stay with Apple because it provides what I want. If it didn't, I'd move on. And I've tried the competition - I make sure to so I'm informed - actually using Samsung phones/tablets, etc... People's opinions are nice, but nothing like actually trying the device for yourself.

Definitely worth it for us. We are really enjoying the phone.

If it was something we didn't use much, it wouldn't be worth the $. I use this phone hours every day - my wife even more. It helps me avoid traffic in the morning, I read on it for hours, it is a communication link to my family, connection to the outside world, flashlight at 4am when I wake up in the morning, .... for something that I use every day, it is a well invested cost. I could write a book about this phone... I do most of my banking now on my phone (cashing checks, checking balance, paying CCs, etc...).

If you're buying to upgrade just to upgrade, that's a problem.

The Apple Upgrade Plan is a nice 0% interest loan for those of us that like to upgrade yearly and not deal with the potential hazards of re-selling online.

Just curious. This is outside the subject of this thread but how is the color uniformity of your oled display. Blue or yellow tint? Or uniform white

 

[HEK]

My two cents is screen is outstanding. More vibrant than Xs Max. No color tint issues at all.

I’ve never had screen issues. Don’t seem to be plagued with micro scratches either. I’m like BigMcGuire, my iPhone is main computing device. Navigation, flight tracking, limo run manifests, reading, texting, phoning, movies,TV, news, music, basically using it all day for work, play, entertainment. It does what I need it to do with little fanfare, efficiently and with every new iteration, better than previously.

I find the 11 Pro Max 512 GB the best version yet. Blows my mind, 8.5 Billion transistors SOC, one Trillion calculations a second. All I can say is great job reverse engineering and improving on the Roswell crash components Apple. 👽

 

[BigMcGuire]

Just curious. This is outside the subject of this thread but how is the color uniformity of your oled display. Blue or yellow tint? Or uniform white

Good question. I don't even know. I spend hours reading on it as well. My phone spends all of its time in dark mode so I'm probably not a good person to ask.

I have night mode on right now and True Tone on so :/. I usually don't let stuff like that bother me unless it really affects my ability to read.

The only problem I've ever had in all my apple devices was my iPad 3. It had such a pink hue that Apple replaced it without question when I asked.

None of the supposed yellow, blue, whatever tints of the 6+, 6s+, 8+, Xs MAX, and now I guess the 11 Pro Max have ever bothered me enough for me to go to the store.

Tell you one thing for sure, don't let Macrumors make it so you can't enjoy your devices.
[automerge]1572488532[/automerge]

My two cents is screen is outstanding. More vibrant than Xs Max. No color tint issues at all.

I’ve never had screen issues. Don’t seem to be plagued with micro scratches either. I’m like BigMcGuire, my iPhone is main computing device. Navigation, flight tracking, limo run manifests, reading, texting, phoning, movies,TV, news, music, basically using it all day for work, play, entertainment. It does what I need it to do with little fanfare, efficiently and with every new iteration, better than previously.

I find the 11 Pro Max 512 GB the best version yet. Blows my mind, 8.5 Billion transistors SOC, one Trillion calculations a second. All I can say is great job reverse engineering and improving on the Roswell crash components Apple. 👽

Couldn't have said it better myself. I find no tint on my Xs MAX - I just tried a white background at a high brightness.

I just wish I was as smart as HEK to get a 512GB.

Apple has a happy customer with me and my family - and they continue to solidify that year after year.

 

[HEK]

Three things I have learned over the years.
1. You can never be too young.
2. You can never have too much money.
3. you can never have too much memory.

At least I have one of those covered. 😁
Currently at 300 GB loaded.

 

[MacClueless]

You can never be too young.

You sound like Jeffrey Epstein.

 

[HEK]

You sound like Jeffrey Epstein.

Haha don’t think his problem was “He was too young”

 

[EM2013]

Anyone who “upgrades” in less than 2 years should know what they’re getting. You should already know there’s no major differences instead of blaming Apple.

 

[MacClueless]

Anyone who “upgrades” in less than 2 years should know what they’re getting. You should already know there’s no major differences instead of blaming Apple.

I upgrade every year for whatever improvements are available because it’s not much money and it’s one of the few things I use all day every day.

That’s said, I was happy with the XS Max too and probably still would be.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Apple said that this phone has:

-much better battery life
-much better camera
-faster processor
-better speakers
-fancier screen

they did not say that:

-it’s a revolutionary breakthrough
-100% different from the previous phone
-an unprecedented technological marvel with technology that’s unheard of in any previous device up to and including the previous iPhone

So you knew that going in.

I had a XR which I didn’t need to upgrade. Since I’m a schmuck too I gave Apple my perfectly good XR + $836 for a Pro Max and that garbage clear case. And I’m not complaining.

Get on with the program

 

[44267547]

To me, it sounds like the OP is making some poor financial decisions, being they don’t really seem to know what they’re purchasing in the first place from one iPhone to another. Some will really take appreciation to what the new features the 11 Pro has, depending on which model iPhone they upgraded from. The reality is, if you don’t like certain things about your iPhone, wouldn’t you know that within a two week period that you could return it in the first place?

 

[Hofstede]

You mentioned a good point, which is the rate of innovation.

In my opinion, the rate of innovation from XS max to 11 pro max is quite insignificant, and hence it does not justify the upgrade. 11 pro max is just like an XSS max in general, while a completely new design is absent. This reminds me of iPhone 8 which has the same form factor as iPhone 7, except its back changed from aluminum to glass.

If you really want an ultra-wide lens on your iPhone, why don't we purchase a good quality third-party lens at a much lower price, such as BitPlay? You can even install filter on it to enhance the photo quality.

Overall, whether we should upgrade from XS to 11 pro is just a matter of preference.

 

[Strangedream]

Do you need more battery? Do you need to take pictures in the dark / at night?
If you answered no to both questions, congratulations you don't need an iPhone 11 Pro.

 

[Sam in SoCal]

I have to admit that Apple putting an almost 4000mah battery in the pro max was a game changer for me. Loving that I don’t have battery anxiety on a day to day basis

 

[newellj]

Just curious. This is outside the subject of this thread but how is the color uniformity of your oled display. Blue or yellow tint? Or uniform white

Last week I would have said my 11 Pro Max had a neutral display. Because of the random but continual failures that I'm having with Exchange email, I bought a twin of the XS Max (still on 12.4.1) that I had traded to Apple for the 11PM. [Edit: see post below. This is only true when viewing these two phones off-angle.]. Using the two side by side, the 11PM is noticeably warmer than the XSM.

It sounds a little odd to say this, especially to me because I've spent almost a decade editing photos on computers and I think I'm quite sensitive to color temp changes, but honestly if I'm not looking at them side by side I really don't notice.

To the OP: I echo what most posts here say. The cameras are better, the battery is better, I think overall it's just a better piece of hardware. I wouldn't have any regrets about going from the XSM to the 11PM if the freakin' OS would simply work at least as well as iOS 12 worked (which it doesn't). Great hardware let down by a miserable iOS update. Put "update" in quotes please...

 

[Adelphos33]

To me, the 11 Max is a much more refined version of the Pro that takes significantly better cameras and has better battery life. I think the 11 Max can be a daily driver for the next three or four years. My XS Max screen was a bit yellower as well. I am very happy with the upgrade. In fact, I wish I would have stuck with my 8+ for another year instead of going with the XS.

 

[newellj]

Update on my comments on XS Max vs. 11 Pro Max display

I am going to withdraw my comment on the color temp diffs between these two displays, and make a different comment.

It turns out that I had been looking at these two phones at a fairly steep angle (about 45 degrees). If I look at them more or less straight-on, they are nearly identical. But...

The big difference in these two phones (that is, the two that I have in my hands) is that the 11PM display remains fairly consistent when viewed at off-angles. The XSM display goes 'off' very quickly, toward a cooler color temp.

I think that's an interesting and useful improvement in the 11PM display vs. the XSM. YMMV.

 

[yui4]

I gave my wife my Xs max, moved to a note 10+ but wanted to come back to iOS. The 11 pro max improvement in battery life in comparison is worth it to me.

 

[1rottenapple]

Spoiler: Not another fluffy pro-11 Max review

thinking of upgrading? Use the cash as toilet paper for better use.

It shames me to say it, but this is the rate of ‘innovation’ we’ve been seeing at Apple. It’s an absolute embarrassment that I shelled out another $1500 for the 11 Pro Max after 12 months of shelling out the same for the XS Max.
I managed to sell my XS MAX on eBay for $900, so I rationalized the splurge. But it is far from a needed upgrade.
Let’s say it as it is: The 11 has an extra camera. That’s it. The very fact that you need to see side-by-side photos to notice the enhanced camera quality shows you that you don’t %#*ing need it. But me being the schmuck I am had to buy it anyways.

Man I stopped drinking the iphone yearly upgrade coolaid. It’s so minimal. Maybe if you take a lot of pics the pro max is an upgrade but day to day I won’t notice a difference. I got too many things to spend my money on that’s more important.

 

[Hofstede]

Man I stopped drinking the iphone yearly upgrade coolaid. It’s so minimal. Maybe if you take a lot of pics the pro max is an upgrade but day to day I won’t notice a difference. I got too many things to spend my money on that’s more important.

That’s true. I’m also tired of the yearly upgrade which is insignificant for me.