DisplayMate Says iPhone 12 Pro Max Has Best Smartphone Display It's Ever Tested - MacRumors
Skip to Content

DisplayMate Says iPhone 12 Pro Max Has Best Smartphone Display It's Ever Tested

DisplayMate today published its in-depth analysis of the iPhone 12 Pro Max's Super Retina XDR display, with the device earning a "Best Smartphone Display Award" and highest-ever display performance grade of A+.

iphone 12 pro display video
DisplayMate said the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a "state-of-the-art" display that sets or matches 11 smartphone display performance records, including high peak brightness, high contrast ratio, low reflectance, and color accuracy. DisplayMate said the iPhone 12 Pro Max's display is also up to 10 percent more power efficient than the iPhone 11 Pro Max's display.

With a 6.7-inch display, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the largest iPhone ever, sporting a 2778x1284 pixels resolution, 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, peak brightness of 800 nits or 1,200 nits for HDR content, and P3 wide color gamut support.

Read the full DisplayMate article for in-depth analysis of the iPhone 12 Pro Max's display and the methodology behind its testing.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple CEO Tim Cook Stepping Down, John Ternus Taking Over

Monday April 20, 2026 1:33 pm PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple's chief executive officer, and hardware engineering chief John Ternus is set to take over, Apple announced today. Cook will continue on as Apple CEO through the summer, with Ternus set to join Apple's Board of Directors and take over as CEO on September 1, 2026. Cook is going to transition to executive chairman, and he will "assist with certain...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in September With These 10 New Features

Monday April 20, 2026 7:13 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not launching until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component will be moved under the...
macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

macOS 27 Will Mark the End of an Era

Saturday April 18, 2026 6:45 am PDT by
During its Platforms State of the Union segment at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe is the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. The upcoming macOS 27 release will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. macOS 27 should be available...

Top Rated Comments

71 months ago
MR members say otherwise... ;)

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/yellow-screen-tint-display-seem-warm-check-here-first.2262691/
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
71 months ago

A DisplayMate review is completely irrelevant. Apple pays DisplayMate for a glowing review. I know this for a fact considering I worked at Google and we paid DisplayMate for a positive review on Pixel.
Wait. Your "proof" that Apple does something is that Google does it? Not sure you know how evidence works.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
71 months ago
A DisplayMate review is completely irrelevant. Apple pays DisplayMate for a glowing review. I know this for a fact considering I worked at Google and we paid DisplayMate for a positive review on Pixel.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
71 months ago
But there’s no 120 Hz so it’s just useless.
Throw it away, get rid of it, one of the worst screens I’ve ever seen.
Tim Crook and his worthless little minions, not giving me what I want when I want it and how I want it.
/S
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
csalm87 Avatar
71 months ago

A DisplayMate review is completely irrelevant. Apple pays DisplayMate for a glowing review. I know this for a fact considering I worked at Google and we paid DisplayMate for a positive review on Pixel.
lol so because Google paid them it means Apple does too?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Refurbished_ Avatar
71 months ago

MR members say otherwise... ;)

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/yellow-screen-tint-display-seem-warm-check-here-first.2262691/
I heavily prefer my XS Max’s screen.

All of the display 12’s had yellow tinted screens at the T-Mobile store I returned my phone to.

BTW, I calibrate my TVs with ISF calibration. I care about calibration. The 12 Pro looked yellow compared to my TVs and iMac, which all have calibrated screens.

Since then I have returned my 12 Pro, with one of the reasons being the yellow screen. The XS Max has much more pop and better white balance. Glad to be home, sorry I abandoned you XS Max.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)