Today, we're doing a "Day in the Life" review of the iPhone 13 Pro Max in 2024, so we're going to go out and use GPS, get some work done, walk around, and take some photos and videos. We'll go to the gym and work out, and much more, all while using the iPhone 13 Pro Max to get me through the day to help you get an idea of what using this phone is like in 2024. Of course, we will be checking in on the battery percentage periodically throughout the day.
I want to go over some general information about the iPhone 13 Pro Max here and also compare it to the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max, as I think a lot of people interested in this device want to know how it compares to the latest Pro Max iPhone. So, this phone was released back in late 2021. It features a massive 6.7-inch OLED 120 Hz display and has stainless steel edges and a frosted back glass design. The design looks and feels very premium. It has a very similar design to the very latest iPhone 15 Pro Max for the most part; however, Apple switched the material on the sides to titanium with the latest 15 Pro Max instead of stainless steel. The 13 Pro Max here is powered by the Apple A15 chip, which is Apple's third-to-latest generation iPhone processor, and it has plenty of power and longevity for anybody. As I say in my videos frequently, Apple silicon processors have reached a high level of optimization to the point where a processor that was released just a couple of years ago will pack more than enough power and longevity for 99% of people. The newest 15 Pro Max has the latest A17 Pro chip inside, but the only time you notice a performance boost with the A17 Pro chip over the A15 chip is in the most extreme use case situations that you probably won't encounter regularly.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max has a 4,352 milliamp hour battery. This phone is known for having fantastic battery life. It's one of the best attributes of the phone, and this has been the case for every Pro Max iPhone for the past several years. The very latest iPhone 15 Pro Max only has a slightly larger battery capacity of 4,441 milliamp hours. Of course, there are a lot more factors that go into determining battery performance on a device other than just the battery capacity, but it does play a big role. Honestly, as I said, you can't go wrong with any of Apple's Pro Max iPhones from the last several years, as they all just have stellar battery life, and 4,352 milliamp hours on the 13 Pro Max is a very good amount of battery capacity for an iPhone.
This phone features the very recognizable triple-lens Pro camera system on the back, featuring three 12-megapixel cameras, including a main lens, an ultrawide lens, and a telephoto zoom lens. By the way, the main camera lens on the 13 Pro Max is once again at 12 megapixels with an f1.5 aperture. Speaking of the camera, we're going to head outside and take some photos and videos of the 13 Pro Max and the latest 15 Pro Max and compare them. So, it doesn't come as a surprise that Apple's most high-end iPhone from just a couple of generations back has a fantastic camera system that's going to provide pretty much everything the average person needs out of a smartphone camera. The 12-megapixel shots from all three rear-facing lenses look fantastic. Now, in comparison to some of the newer iPhones like the latest 15 Pro Max, the image quality on the 13 Pro Max isn't quite as sharp, as the 13 Pro Max's main lens is 12 megapixels and outputs 12 megaphotos, while the newest 15 Pro Max has a 48-megapixel main lens, which outputs 24-megapixel shots by default due to that higher megapixel count, in addition to a new image processing technique Apple uses on the new iPhone 15 models. As a result of this, images taken with the main camera lens on the 13 Pro Max aren't going to be quite as sharp as images taken with the main camera lens on devices like the 15 Pro Max. This is going to be most noticeable when zooming in on a photo you've already taken. There is noticeably more sharpness and detail in the 15 Pro Max's photo. This being said, though, the photos taken on the 13 Pro Max still are more than enough for the average person.
Now, the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max does have an optical zoom of two times as a result of having that new 48-megapixel camera lens. The 13 Pro Max doesn't have an optical grade two times zoom level, but of course, it does have a digital one, which you're seeing right now. So, it's not going to be quite as good quality for two times but still totally passable for the average person. Now, the telephoto zoom lens on the 13 Pro Max is three times, and on the latest 15 Pro Max, on the other hand, it's five times. So, the optical zoom level for that telephoto lens is a little bit closer on the 15 Pro Max, and the 13 Pro Max's maximum digital zoom for photos is 15 times, while the newest 15 Pro Max's maximum digital zoom for photos is 25 times. Both look fantastic, and I know there are a lot of other Android phones on the market that blow both of these out of the water in terms of their maximum digital zoom, but personally, in my day-to-day life, I can't see any scenario where
I need to zoom more than 15 times or especially 25 times, and here's a front-facing photo taken with the 13 Pro Max and also the 15 Pro Max. The 13 Pro Max has a 12-megapixel front-facing camera with an f2.2 aperture, and it looks fantastic. Now, the iPhone 15 Pro Max also has a 12-megapixel front-facing camera with an f1.9 aperture. You're not going to have any issues with the front-facing camera on either of these devices, perfect for, you know, FaceTime calls, Zoom calls, whatever you need. Very high quality. Here is some video footage shot on the 13 Pro Max and the 15 Pro Max for comparison. Of course, all of these clips are shot at 4K 60 frames per second for both phones, and the 13 Pro Max looks great. I honestly don't notice much of a difference between the 13 Pro Max and the newest 15 Pro Max in terms of average video recording. You'll be quite satisfied with video recording on either of these phones. By the way, the maximum digital zoom for video recording on the 13 Pro Max is nine times, while on the 15 Pro Max, it's 15 times. So once again, very close zoom for videos on both. Here's some video shot with the front-facing camera on both of these devices, also at 4K 60 frames per second. Once again, nothing to complain about here at all.
All right, next up, we're going to head on over to the coffee shop to knock out some work. I had around 2 hours of work to do, and throughout this time, I used the phone a little bit periodically just to browse social media for around 20 minutes. But of course, for the majority of this time, I was just working on my computer with the phone asleep. After a few hours of work, we're about to head on over to the gym for a run. But before we head over there, I just want to talk a little bit more about the iPhone 13 Pro Max and what the fundamental differences are between using this phone in comparison to the newest 15 Pro Max. Also, the price of this phone and the best place to buy it right now.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max is the third-to-latest generation Pro Max iPhone right now, and in comparison to the latest 15 Pro Max, fundamentally, the overall experience of using the device hasn't changed that much. The new 15 Pro Max has the same display size of 6.7 inches. You do, however, get the Dynamic Island pill-shaped cutout at the top of the screen on the 15 Pro Max instead of the notch design on the 13 Pro Max, which is a more modern look. It has some neat software features that work around the cutout, but it doesn't improve the overall experience that much. It is nice to have, though. Both the 13 Pro Max and the 15 Pro Max have very good battery life. I don't think any average phone user will struggle to make it through a day with either of these phones. As I said before, the overall design aesthetic and feel are largely unchanged too. The latest 15 Pro Max, again, does have those titanium sides and more curved edges that make the phone feel softer in the hand. But considering you'll probably be putting a case on your iPhone anyway, this isn't going to make that big of a difference. The 13 Pro Max has the proprietary Apple Lightning port, while the newest 15 Pro Max has a USB-C port, which is a very welcome change for the 15 Pro Max, as the same cable you probably use for most of the other tech gadgets in your life will now be the same cable that you use for your phone. With the iPhone 15 models, this being said, though, it probably isn't worth going for an iPhone 15 model just for this. You also get the new customizable action button on the 15 Pro Max instead of the mute switch on the 13 Pro Max. The latest 15 Pro Max has an always-on display capability, which allows you to always view the time and your notifications even when your device is asleep, while the 13 Pro Max doesn't have an always-on display. It is a nice feature to have, but it's not a huge deal for me. The 13 Pro Max here has 6 GB of RAM, which is plenty for any average person, while the newest 15 Pro Max has a higher 8 GB of RAM. But this is another one of those changes that you'll only see the benefit of in very extreme use-case situations that you probably won't encounter regularly. Once again, the 13 Pro Max has that Apple A15 processor powering it, which packs plenty of power for anybody. It will remain fast and responsive for many years to come, and it'll continue to get software updates for many years to come. This is the very same processor that Apple shipped with the standard iPhone 14 just a little over a year ago, so the Apple A15 chip is quite future-proof. The only time you'd notice the newer 15 Pro Max's A17 Pro chip perform any better than the 13 Pro Max's A15 chip is in very extreme use case scenarios, like exporting 4K video or when using very CPU-intense gaming applications.
So, the 13 Pro Max is quite compelling in 2024, especially when you consider its price. You can get a used iPhone 13 Pro Max 128 GB unlocked in good condition for around $550 to $600 on eBay, Amazon, or other used marketplaces. When you compare the price of $550 to $600 to the entry-level price of a new iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is $1,200, and also considering how similar the experience of using these two phones is, the 13 Pro Max just gets even more compelling in 2024. If you're someone who prefers that higher-end Pro Max iPhone experience or design but doesn't want to or are unable to spend $1,200 for the newest 15 Pro Max, the 13 Pro Max in the used market is a fantastic option right now, in my opinion. The iPhone 13 Pro Max is in the sweet spot right now in terms of overall value for iPhones in the used market, as it's a few generations old to the point where you can get it for a decent price, but it's still new enough that it's a phone that has a long life ahead of it in terms of the processor, the cameras, and the design. It's a phone that'll remain usable and relevant for several years. If you're about to buy one of these used, I recommend making sure the battery health capacity of the phone is somewhere around 90% or higher to ensure that the device has close to the full original battery capacity. This is often stated in listings on used marketplaces, but if not, you could ask the seller. By the way, the 13 Pro Max I'm using in this video has a battery capacity of 94%.
Now, when in stock, Apple does sell the iPhone 13 Pro Max refurbished officially on their website, but I strongly do not recommend buying this phone from Apple's refurbished store because it's pretty overpriced at $759. The whole appeal of buying this phone right now is saving some money while getting a Pro Max iPhone, and as much as $759 is still a lot less than a new 15 Pro Max that would be $1,200, it's still not worth it in my opinion, as you're paying close to $800 for a three-year-old phone. So definitely stick to the used market if you're looking to buy one of these right now. That being said, there are some real benefits to getting an officially refurbished product from Apple, like the fact that they inspect and clean them very carefully and that they install brand-new batteries in all of them. But again, I don't think paying close to $800 for an almost three-year-old phone is worth it.
All right, we're going to head on over to the gym now for 40 minutes of music streaming from the iPhone 13 Pro Max using Spotify while I work out here. Going into this, we're at 86%. So, of course, throughout these 40 minutes, we're going to keep an eye on how much battery consumption occurs, and checking in after, we're currently sitting at 82%. So we dropped 4% from 40 minutes of music streaming to Bluetooth headphones. So not bad. After heading home and taking a quick shower, I still have around 3 hours of work to knock out today. As usual, I'm going to take care of that, by the way, throughout this time working, I did use my phone for around 30 minutes just to browse Instagram and Twitter. But once again, for the most part, the phone was just asleep while I was working. After around 3 hours of work with a little bit of time using the phone in between, we're currently sitting at 75%. Next up, as usual, we're going to do a 20-minute FaceTime call with the iPhone 13 Pro Max just to see how much battery consumption occurs during that time. So, we're just going to call another iPhone that I have here. By the way, going into it, we're at 74%, and checking in after 20 minutes of FaceTime, we're sitting at 68%. So we dropped 6% in a 20-minute FaceTime call, which is not bad at all considering FaceTime is one of the most battery-taxing tasks on the iPhone. But of course, this entirely varies on a variety of factors like your internet connection, your screen brightness, the temperature of the room you're in, etc. After that, I responded to a few emails on my computer while streaming music from Spotify to my Bluetooth headphones from the iPhone 13 Pro Max for around 30 minutes. After that, I used