Screen size
iPhone 12 Pro MaxWinner: 6.7"+3%
iPhone Air6.5"
Quick verdict
iPhone Air leads the measured specs 13-4.
Measured wins
iPhone 12 Pro Max
4
spec wins
Ties
6
equal specs
iPhone Air
13
spec wins
Overall winner
Screen size
Technology
iPhone 12 Pro Max
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
iPhone Air
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
2G bands
iPhone 12 Pro Max
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
iPhone Air
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
3G bands
iPhone 12 Pro Max
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
iPhone Air
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
4G bands
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Resolution
Refresh rate
Peak brightness
Pixel density
CPU speed
RAM
Storage
Main camera
Front camera
Battery
Wired charging
Weight
Thickness
IP rating
equal specsWi‑Fi
Bluetooth
USB
equal specs5G support
equal specsNFC
equal specs3.5mm jack
equal specsSD card
equal specsStereo speakers
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66, 71 - A2342, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66 - A2411, A2412, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66, 71 - A2410
iPhone Air
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66 - A3517, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66, 71 - A3260, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 66 - A3518
5G bands
iPhone 12 Pro Max
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 71, 77, 78, 79, 260, 261 Sub6/mmWave - A2342, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78, 79 Sub6 - A2410, A2411, A2412
iPhone Air
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3517, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3260, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3518
Speed
iPhone 12 Pro Max
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
iPhone Air
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
Announced
iPhone 12 Pro Max
2020, October 13
iPhone Air
2025, September 09
Status
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Available. Released 2020, November 13
iPhone Air
Available. Released 2025, September 19
Dimensions
iPhone 12 Pro Max
160.8 x 78.1 x 7.4 mm (6.33 x 3.07 x 0.29 in)
iPhone Air
156.2 x 74.7 x 5.6 mm (6.15 x 2.94 x 0.22 in)
Weight
iPhone 12 Pro Max
228 g (8.04 oz)
iPhone Air
165 g (5.82 oz)
Build
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Glass front, glass back, stainless steel frame
iPhone Air
Glass front (Ceramic Shield 2), titanium frame (grade 5), glass back (Ceramic Shield)
SIM
iPhone 12 Pro Max
· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China)
iPhone Air
eSIM + eSIM (8 or more, max 2 at a time)
Other
iPhone 12 Pro Max
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 6m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)
iPhone Air
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 6m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)
Type
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 800 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak)
iPhone Air
LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 1600 nits (HBM), 3000 nits (peak)
Size
iPhone 12 Pro Max
6.7 inches, 109.8 cm2 (~87.4% screen-to-body ratio)
iPhone Air
6.5 inches, 104.9 cm2 (~89.9% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution
iPhone 12 Pro Max
1284 x 2778 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density)
iPhone Air
1260 x 2736 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
Protection
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Ceramic Shield glass
iPhone Air
Ceramic Shield 2, Mohs level 5
Other
iPhone 12 Pro Max
-
iPhone Air
Anti-reflective coating
OS
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iOS 14.1, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
iPhone Air
iOS 26, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
Chipset
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)
iPhone Air
Apple A19 Pro (3 nm)
CPU
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm)
iPhone Air
Hexa-core (2x4.26 GHz + 4xX.X GHz)
GPU
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
iPhone Air
Apple GPU (5-core graphics)
Card slot
iPhone 12 Pro Max
No
iPhone Air
No
Internal
iPhone 12 Pro Max
128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM
iPhone Air
256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM
Other
iPhone 12 Pro Max
NVMe
iPhone Air
NVMe
Triple
iPhone 12 Pro Max
12 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/1.9", 1.7µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS 12 MP, f/2.2, 65mm (telephoto), 1/3.4", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2.5x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.4, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.4", 1.0µm TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth)
iPhone Air
-
Features
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
iPhone Air
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
Video
iPhone 12 Pro Max
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, 10‑bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), stereo sound rec.
iPhone Air
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), stereo sound rec.
Single
iPhone 12 Pro Max
-
iPhone Air
48 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS
Single
iPhone 12 Pro Max
12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.0µm SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
iPhone Air
18 MP multi-aspect, f/1.9, 20mm (ultrawide), PDAF SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
Features
iPhone 12 Pro Max
HDR
iPhone Air
HDR, Dolby Vision HDR, 3D (spatial) audio, stereo sound rec.
Video
iPhone 12 Pro Max
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS
iPhone Air
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS
Loudspeaker
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Yes, with stereo speakers
iPhone Air
Yes
3.5mm jack
iPhone 12 Pro Max
No
iPhone Air
No
WLAN
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot
iPhone Air
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, hotspot
Bluetooth
iPhone 12 Pro Max
5.0, A2DP, LE
iPhone Air
6.0, A2DP, LE
Positioning
iPhone 12 Pro Max
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
iPhone Air
GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, QZSS, BDS, NavIC
NFC
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Yes
iPhone Air
Yes
Radio
iPhone 12 Pro Max
No
iPhone Air
No
USB
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Lightning, USB 2.0
iPhone Air
USB Type-C 2.0
Sensors
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
iPhone Air
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Other
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support
iPhone Air
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip) Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite
Type
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Li-Ion 3687 mAh (14.13 Wh)
iPhone Air
Li-Ion 3149 mAh
Charging
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 15W wireless (MagSafe) 15W wireless (Qi2) - requires iOS 17.4 update
iPhone Air
Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 20 wireless MagSafe/Qi2, 50% in 30 min (15W - China) 4.5W reverse wired
Colors
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Silver, Graphite, Gold, Pacific Blue
iPhone Air
Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue
Models
iPhone 12 Pro Max
A2411, A2342, A2410, A2412, iPhone13,4
iPhone Air
iPhone18,4, A3517, A3260, A3518, A3516
SAR EU
iPhone 12 Pro Max
0.99 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body)
iPhone Air
1.49 W/kg (head) 1.49 W/kg (body)
Price
iPhone 12 Pro Max
$ 305.00 / C$ 499.00 / £ 259.00 / € 306.00
iPhone Air
$ 849.92 / C$ 1,899.00 / £ 727.00 / € 850.00
SAR
iPhone 12 Pro Max
-
iPhone Air
1.19 W/kg (head) 1.19 W/kg (body)