iPhone 13 Pro Max Earns DisplayMate's Best Smartphone Display Award

DisplayMate today awarded the iPhone 13 Pro Max with its "Best Smartphone Display Award." The device earned the company's highest-ever display performance grade of A+ and set or matched 12 of its smartphone display performance records.

iphone 13 pro max display
iPhone 13 Pro models feature a new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion, which is Apple's branding for a variable refresh rate between 10Hz and 120Hz. This technology allows the display to refresh from a power-preserving 10 times per second to an ultra smooth 120 times per second depending on the type of content that is on the screen.

One of the records that the iPhone 13 Pro Max set was highest full-screen brightness for smartphones with OLED displays, according to DisplayMate's in-depth analysis. Apple says the iPhone 13 Pro Max has a max brightness of 1,000 nits for typical content and 1,200 nits for HDR content. By comparison, the iPhone 12 Pro Max has a max brightness of 800 nits for typical content and 1,200 nits for HDR content.

Other records set or matched by the iPhone 13 Pro Max include highest absolute color accuracy, highest contrast ratio, lowest screen reflectance, and more.

Samsung is the exclusive supplier of the LTPO OLED panels used for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, according to Display Supply Chain Consultants, but LG is reportedly aiming to begin supplying Apple with LTPO OLED panels as early as next year.

DisplayMate extensively tested the iPhone 13 Pro Max's display, so make sure to read the full analysis for more details.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Two Breakthrough Features

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:26 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include two standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
amazon black friday

Amazon Kicks Off Black Friday Sale With Major Discounts on Apple Accessories, TVs, and More

Sunday November 23, 2025 7:12 am PST by
Black Friday deals have begun, and Amazon is one of the best places you can find steep discounts on numerous products this week. We've already collected all of the best Apple-related deals you'll find at Amazon (and other retailers) in our Apple Black Friday Deals post, so below you'll find other discounts on devices like Anker accessories, Beats headphones, video games, TVs, and more. Note:...

Top Rated Comments

spiderman0616 Avatar
54 months ago
That's weird, I read just a couple of days ago on these here very forums that the OLED displays Apple uses for iPhone are "garbage" and "unusable".
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
XXPP Avatar
54 months ago

Produced by Samsung, calibrated for color accuracy by Apple.
You are completely wrong. These are 100% screens made according to technology developed by Apple. They have nothing to do with Samsung, except that Apple is hiring them as the final contractor. The same screens are produced for Apple by several other companies, including LG.
Apple is brighter, has a different coating, has a different color scheme.
Not many people know about it, but Apple has powerful laboratories dealing with screen technologies.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
the future Avatar
54 months ago

You are completely wrong. These are 100% screens made according to technology developed by Apple. They have nothing to do with Samsung, except that Apple is hiring them as the final contractor. The same screens are produced for Apple by several other companies, including LG.
Apple is brighter, has a different coating, has a different color scheme.
Not many people know about it, but Apple has powerful laboratories dealing with screen technologies.
Exactly. The displays are „from Samsung“ in the same way the A15/M1 chips are „from TSMC“.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
54 months ago

iPhones with OLED displays use PWM, therefore they automatically are garbage and should not be winning any awards.

Shame on Apple for using PWM in their displays.

Shame on MacRumors for never reporting about this as being a major issue.
That would be because, for the vast majority of people, it isn’t an issue. And blue light doesn’t prevent sleep. And you are almost certainly not allergic to gluten.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
827538 Avatar
54 months ago
My 13 Pro has the best display I've ever seen, it really blew me away. Coupled with the 120Hz VRR it's incredible, worth every penny.

Also I compared it side by side with my wife's 13 Mini and I do notice the difference the 120Hz makes, the 13 Mini felt a bit choppy. I think if you don't let yourself get used to it then it's fine.

I just wish the new MacBook Pro's had a 120Hz VRR OLED display.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ahmed7 Avatar
54 months ago
Actually both iPhone 11 Pro and 12 Pro had 1,200 nits max brightness for HDR. Only the typical brightness increased from 800 nits to 1000 nits.

Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)