iPhone 15 Pro Max: Apple’s best big iPhone ever to finally get small phone users to switch?

I’ve been extremely vocal about my dislike for large phones, and (rest assured), my stance hasn’t changed all that much. As an iPhone 13 mini user, I find phones like the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultrareally nice to look at but extremely uncomfortable to pocket or hold in one hand, which is something I value highly (especially when I’m on the go).

Speaking of the iPhone in particular, I could even say I see the iPhone 14 Pro’s smaller 6.1-inch display as a real selling point over the massive 6.7-inch screen of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. In fact, I’ve never owned a “Max” iPhone, and I thought I never will but Apple (being Apple) might be about to change my mind, or even force me to try the biggest iPhone.

This year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max promises to be the biggest but also the best phone in Apple’s lineup in several different ways, and while I’m not a fan of Apple’s strategy of differentiating larger and smaller iPhones, I actually think many (or even most) people might be better of buying the larger iPhone 15 model this year, especially as far as the Pro lineup is concerned.

iPhone 15 Pro Max: (Still) the 2023 iPhone to buy if you use your phone a lot and like watching videos and movies

For example, as someone who’s been using a large phone like the Galaxy S23 Ultra for some time now, I hate to admit that my iPhone 13 mini’s tiny 5.4-inch screen doesn’t hold a candle to the 6.8-inch behemoth of a display on the Galaxy. Then again, despite that, I much prefer consuming media on my laptop/TV, which is why the amazing YouTube viewing experience wasn't enough to get me to switch to a larger phone full-time.

Of course, the other (obvious) advantage of the iPhone 15 Pro Max over the iPhone 15 Pro will be the extra battery life you’ll get with the Max model. It’s difficult to say how big the difference in endurance between the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhones will be this year but based on the iPhone 14 Pro series, we’re looking at 20-30% more juice depending on your usage.

But that’s not the whole story. Apple is also gearing up to unveil the first-ever 3nm SoC (A17 Bionic) used in a phone, which means this year’s iPhone 15 Pro series should (potentially and hopefully) become even more power efficient. In other words, heavy users should see a massive upgrade in the face of iPhone 15 Pro Max if they are coming from a smaller iPhone.

iPhone 15 Pro Max: The smallest big iPhone ever will be more ergonomic and noticeably easier to hold compared to iPhone 14 Pro Max; it should be the lightest Pro Max model in a while

Luckily, the larger display and larger battery isn’t where the changes with iPhone 15 Pro Max end, as Apple is finally doing something to make the huge Pro Max iPhone feel a little bit more manageable! At last.

In case you didn’t know, after three years of super-flat large iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is getting curvier. Unfortunately, not quite as curvy as my Pixel 7 Pro, for example, but curvy enough to make holding it easier compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which you can constantly feel digging into the palm of your hand due to the sharp edges.