Halide Developer Does Deep Dive Into iPhone 12 Pro Max Photographic Capabilities

The iPhone 12 Pro Max is Apple's most expensive and most advanced iPhone this year, offering camera technology that's not present in any of the other iPhones in the 2020 lineup. The ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ features a larger sensor for the wide-angle camera, DSLR-like stabilization, and a longer telephoto lens.

rearcameradarkiphone12pro
Sebastiaan de With, the developer behind camera app Halide who often do detailed looks at new camera features in iPhones, has shared an in-depth account of the updated hardware in the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ and what that means for camera quality.

The blog post shared by de With has a great visualization of the larger sensor in the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌, which is 47 percent larger than the sensor in the prior-generation ‌iPhone‌. The sensor lets in more light, resulting in less noise and sharper results.

As with other camera tests, straight out of the camera comparison shots during the daytime featuring the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ do not show a major difference, and according to Halide's developers, this is because the larger sensor primarily shines in lower lighting conditions.

In lower lighting, such as during sunset, the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ is able to pull out more detail, but Apple's own camera algorithms have enough noise reduction that the difference is tough to see. A comparison of RAW photos, however, shows a more stark difference between the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ and the ‌iPhone‌ 12 because Apple's noise reduction isn't a factor.

de With believes that the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ could stand to have less processing to "show off its higher signal to noise ratio," and when shooting in RAW, the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ demonstrates a "big leap ahead in image quality."

Sensor-shift stabilization, which applies stabilization directly to the sensor, also helps the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ put out significantly better images in lower lighting because it works more quickly. The ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ can manage longer shutter times in a handheld mode than are possible with a DSLR, which de With describes as "very cool stuff."

halide camera comparison

Photo by Halide developer Sebastiaan de With. Night Mode on ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌, an unsteady ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro RAW, and an unsteady ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ RAW.

With a traditional DSLR, nobody would dare take a one-second photos handheld. Yet the iPhone 12 Pro Max can take sharp images at ridiculous exposure times.

In this last comparison, you can see that Night Mode can get this shot, but it sacrifices lots of fine detail and makes the scene look a bit unnatural. The iPhone 12 Pro, with its more basic stabilization, can't get a steady frame. It would be impossible to get a shot like this on the iPhone 12, 11 Pro, or heck, the high-end digital cameras I have lying around the studio.

All in all, de With says that the ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ marks a huge leap forward in camera quality, especially for advanced users.

As developers of a camera app, the results mind-blowing. It achieves images previously only seen in dedicated cameras, with sensors four times its size. It allows photographers to get steady and well exposed shots in conditions that weren't imaginable a year ago. It captures low-light shots beyond anything we've seen on an iPhone. By a lot.

The full in-depth article from de With is well worth checking out. It includes a closer look at the telephoto lens, notes on ProRAW, and comparison images that clearly show the differences between the 12 Pro Max and other ‌iPhone‌ 12 models.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in a Few Months With These 12 New Features

Thursday June 26, 2025 2:00 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Friday June 27, 2025 9:52 am PDT by
Apple last month announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. There was news this week about which automakers will and won't offer CarPlay Ultra, and we have provided an updated list below. CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Fortunately, if you cannot...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...

Top Rated Comments

itsmeaustend Avatar
60 months ago
Still not worth its size...
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0lf Avatar
60 months ago
Halide guys does not understand the iPhone 12 pro max is 47% bigger by area. This is confirmed by the focal length of the lenses : 5,1mm for the max and 4,25mm for the iPhone 12. So, in fact, by diagonal, the max sensor is 1,2x bigger. This is how it looks :


Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zakarhino Avatar
60 months ago
I can't believe I'm saying this but so far most of the images I've seen are inferior to pics taken on the 11 Pro, simply because it seems like the 12 Pro/Max cranks up the HDR effect wayyyy too much resulting in really 'flat' looking images with no depth to them. It's probably just a software thing but does anyone else notice this?

Night Mode looks better though. The real test for me will be seeing what people can do with RAW images taken on the 12PM, is there more room to play with light and color in post? So far the only RAW images I've seen have come from the Halide blog and they look extremely promising.

SmartRAW looks like a fad so I'm not interested in that, I saw some examples on Twitter showing how much detail is lost in SmartRAW compared to straight up RAW taken with something like Halide.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
agsystems Avatar
60 months ago
Yea - I upgraded to the 12 Max but I must be old/blind, etc. About the only difference/improvement I've seen its with night video and photography and that's about it - anyone on the plain 12 should not feel they are missing a lot here
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hammerd Avatar
60 months ago
The pro max is such a better competitor. The crispiness is crazy
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
60 months ago
Most people aren’t good enough at photography to understand or realize benefits.

Most people also think brighter means it’s better.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)