2020, what a strange and unusual time! A defining moment in all our lives, it would seem that no one or nothing has been left untouched. Even America’s first trillion-dollar corporation, a beacon of technological innovation, Apple has succumbed to the uncertainty that is 2020. But it’s not all doom and gloom, for Apple, it was a supply chain distribution that made it so that instead of their usual like clockwork announcement of their new iteration of gadgets, we received a segmented serious of announcements and releases. As long as you don’t look at their stock, you would assume this actually worked to their benefit. Giving each new device, iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, etc their own moment to shine. Having already given you the rundown of Apple’s iPhone 12 and 12 Pro it’s time to dive into their new flagship iPhone the 12 Pro Max.
While all four models of iPhone 12 feature 5G technology for mega-fast connectivity and the new 64-bit ARM-based Apple A14 Bionic Chip, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max go a step beyond with their primary triple-camera array coupled with a LiDAR sensor. However, unlike last year’s models in which the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max both featured the same camera technology, Apple is back to their ways with a camera hardware addition that’s exclusively available for the iPhone 12 Pro Max and that is the addition of sensor-shift optical image stabilization. Huh? Don’t worry we’ll explain what this means.
One of the major shifts in camera functionality in the iPhone 12 Pro Max comes from moving the stabilization function away from the lens and placing it on the senor. Most phones on the market, including the rest of the iPhone line-up, feature optical image stabilization designed to reduce the camera shake when using the lenses. So when you move your hand to capture a video or a pic the lens inside movies with your hand to minimize as much shake as possible. Moving the stabilization to the sensor instead of the lens allows for a more effective reduction of camera shake. This helps to smooth out images and videos especially when taken in low-light conditions. Essentially Apple used software to overcome a hardware issue.
While all of this does seem to be a bit “Inside Baseball” let’s get to the practical info that will help us all understand what’s actually going on here. First off, the new iPhone 12 Pro Max has an improved telephoto zoom from the iPhone 11 Pro. Whereas the 11 Pro has only 2x telephoto zoom, the iPhone 12 Pro Max takes it further with a 2.5x. That doesn’t sound like much, but when you realize all this tech is being squeezed into a compact device that also plays music, makes phone calls, and a thousand other things, you start to understand that a lot of cool ish is going on inside the phone. This comes once again from the 47% larger sensor which captures more light, allowing for brighter shots, less noise and a more dynamic range. The Pro Max has a larger 65mm focal length in its telephoto camera and a 5x optical zoom. Couple the bigger (still tiny) sensor with great processing software and now we have a camera worth its weight in gold.
All this talk of sensors and you might start thinking that’s all that’s going on, but the lens itself in the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a new wider, f/1.6 aperture which lets in more light than before. Meaning the hole that light passes through is bigger, meaning more light in the same amount of time. Aka better picture quality. In addition to more light passing through the aperture, the optical clarity of the lens is also improved. This helps to reduce the amount of image distortion which you tend to see at the edges of wide-angle images.
Wrapping up all this information overload the video recording features on the iPhone 12 Pro Max is on some next level. With a large 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR that supports HDR, and Dolby Vision the videos you shoot on this phone will be the best you can get… on a phone. But again, think about what else this device is doing. It’s pretty mind-bending.
Basically, if you are looking for a phone that can also do the heavy lifting of a camera than the iPhone 12 Pro Max is for you. Of course once you couple the faster processing speed and load times thanks to the A-14 Bionic chip, and the 5G technology, you have one of the best phones on the market. Of course that all comes at a price. A hefty price for many. Starting at $1549 CAD for the 128GB model and going to the “most peoples rent” price of $1959 CAD for the 512GB model.