Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Apple iPhone Air - Which is better?

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Apple iPhone Air

90 out 100
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
VS
88 out 100
Apple iPhone Air
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Apple iPhone Air

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Manufactured in September, 2023, with display 6.7 with chipsetApple A17 Pro, vs Apple iPhone Air, Manufactured in September, 2025with chipsetApple A19 Pro. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4441mAh vs 3149mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone Air
  • Lighter design: 165g vs 221g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.3

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/1024 GB		 - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Apple iPhone Air
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
iPhone 15 Pro Max
vs
Apple iPhone Air

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.7 in 6.5 in
Resolution 1290x2796 pixels 1260x2736 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 2000 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 89.8 % 88.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
1789 nits
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
sRGB gamut99.8 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time1 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 159.9 mm (6.3 in) 156.2 mm (6.15 in)
Width 76.7 mm (3.02 in) 74.7 mm (2.94 in)
Thickness 8.25 mm (0.32 in) 5.6 mm (0.22 in)
Weight 221 g (7.8 oz) 165 g (5.82 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue		 - White
- Black
- Gold
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor No No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
89.8 %
Apple iPhone Air
88.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Apple iPhone Air In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A17 Pro Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 3780 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.11 (Sawtooth)
- 2/3.78 (Everest)		 4/2.51 ()
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 3 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Neural Engine
Graphics Apple A17 GPU n/a
GPU Cores 768 n/a
GPU Frequency 1398 MHz n/a
FLOPS 2147.2 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
2935
Apple iPhone Air
3756
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
7328
Apple iPhone Air
10670
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)29353756
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)732810670
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
1544984
Apple iPhone Air
2118157
CPU375584511982
GPU531835790667
Memory267777370651
UX339788444857
NanoReview Score15449842118157
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
10006
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz n/a
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity256 GB256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 17 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5) iOS 26
OS Size 17.6 GB n/a

Battery

Volume 4441 mAh 3149 mAh
Max Charging Power 23 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (20 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes
Fast Charging Yes (46% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:49 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
31:37
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Web Browsing12:36 hn/a
Video Playback22:07 hn/a
Games06:58 hn/a
Standby Mode139 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8064x6048 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom 142 Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Depth		 Standard: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX803n/a
Sensor size1/1.281/1.56
Pixel size1.22 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/1.78 - 2.8n/a
Focal length120 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX913n/a
Sensor size1/3.06n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX633n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
153
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
158
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
154
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Bokeh80n/a
Preview86n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels n/a
Aperture f/1.9 f/1.9
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 n/a
Sensor size 1/3.6 n/a
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes Yes
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
145
Apple iPhone Air
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
156
Apple iPhone Air
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM TypeeSIMeSIM
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)n/a
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE ()LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
92.3 dB
Apple iPhone Air
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2023 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date September, 2023 yr September, 2025 yr
MSRP ($) 1199 999
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
8 (47.06%)
9 (52.94%)
Total Votes: 17

User comments

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