Mine is left on 24/7

If all your settings are left on then yes, normal...

If you plan to use the phone for 2 years or more then yes, 256GB is definitely the better value over the 128GB since you're getting twice the storage for RM500 - plus it's a faster storage and you can use Pro Res (if you're into that )

I bought a cheapo Moft wannabe on Lazada for RM20 - the magnets aren’t strong enough and the stand can’t hold up my 13 Pro Max with its compatible MagSafe case, hahaha….

Same dilemma for me. My 2014 MacBook Air still going strong (even Windows 8 still running smoothly with Bootcamp) but it won’t receive the latest update for macOS already, hahaha.. Been looking for an excuse to upgrade but the prices of the M1 MBAs and MBPs still haven’t come down yet due to the M1 Max and M1 Pro MBPs cater to a different market. There’s a rumour that new MBAs will look like the new iMacs, with the colours and all. Will have to wait till next year then!

For more than RM7k, I’m sure there aren’t too many eager buyers for this storage size!

I have two cases, a Ringke Onyx and a Gear4 Brooklyn Snap with MagSafe which I’m using now. Eyeing another premium case next month on Black Friday so we’ll see I used to buy a lot of clear cases but the yellowing and micro scratches drove me nuts so I stopped buying clear cases

You didn’t get the Moft with MagSafe magnets? That eliminates the adhesive problem…

The Brooklyn Snap is decidedly heavy and bulky but it’s really solid. Protection is more than adequate. Yeah, Gear4 is not a popular case so getting real life pics or testimonies on it is kinda difficult.

I wonder how much maxis pays Switch and Machines for this collaboration? You don’t see DiGi or Celcom offering such…

Ya bro, my question is I wonder how much maxis pays Switch or Machines as a service fee or commission to plant their staff there to sign up for maxis plans using Switch/Machines stock. Or perhaps it is an arrangement maxis makes directly with Apple Malaysia…

3 weeks after using the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the time has come to pass the phone to my better half for her to use the phone now (happy wife, happy life guys... no two ways about it!)

My thoughts of the 13 Pro Max, both good and bad: -

Good

- First up, the battery life. Damn, the phone just won't die on you in a day. I've done everything from using Waze, to streaming music and movies on 4G LTE, web-browsing, online shopping, etc. Have gone 7-8 hours screen time with over 30% battery life remaining at the end of the day, which is insane. On balanced usage (4-5 hours screen time a day and no navigation), the phone easily takes you into the second day. There's enough juice in the phone to please even heavy users with no need for power banks anymore - and that's a good thing coz the phone does weigh like one (but more on that later).

- The cameras are still the best, no-fuss, point and shoot cameras on a phone for me. Now with the photographic styles, Apple has given us the options to choose the more saturated colours of a Samsung/Huawei if we want, or stick to the natural iPhone ones. In terms of the camera performance over iPhone 12 Pro Max, there's really not much in it to be honest. The good lighting, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the 13 Pro Max and 12 Pro Max.. in poor lighting, the 13 Pro Max probably has slightly better photos with the ultra wide but for most folks, the 12 Pro Max cameras will do adequately. The macro mode is super useful and really cool - beats all the 2-Megapixel macro cams in all those Android mid-rangers. The annoying part about the macro camera has been fixed too - Apple has allowed users to disable the auto-switching in iOS 15.1, so that's good. I don't capture lots of videos so I can't appreciate cinematic mode or the Pro Res format.

- The speakers on the 13 Pro Max are the best I've heard from a phone, period. Granted, the last Samsung flagship I tried was the Note 10 Plus so I can't compare it to the S20, Note 20 or S21 series so there's a bit of a disclaimer there. But the output from the speakers of the iPhone 13 Pro Max can easily retire a few bluetooth speakers I know off. The bass is good, the mids are balanced and the vocals are clear and crisp. Oh, and it can get really, really loud!

- Having used iPhones since iPhone 4, I've not really had an issue with the 60hz refresh rate displays on iPhones as most of the time, everything is pretty smooth. But I do appreciate the 120hz refresh rate on the 13 Pro Max - it takes the smoothness of scrolling to another level. Damn you Apple - you should have given us this Pro Motion display on the iPhone when you implemented it on the iPad Pro! Apple's display remains very colour-accurate and I do like True Tone though I get why some people don't and disable it.

Bad

- The ergonomics are not great. The phone is slightly thicker and heavier than the 12 Pro Max, which already wasn't that ergonomically friendly already. I get that the stainless steel frame makes the phone standout and feel so much more premium than other flagships out there using aluminium but really, it's time for the folks at Cupertino to rethink this as the stainless steel does add to the overall weight of the phone. I do welcome the bigger battery hence I'll let the battery's contribution to the weight and thickness slide for now.

- That lightning USB 2.0 port is kinda unforgivable in 2021.

- A notch is a notch, even if it's 20% smaller. The worst part is the smaller notch doesn't add anything to the status bar, say for example the battery percentage. I get that you can have widgets for that now, but still, it's just plain lazy. And speaking of the notch and Face ID, I'm one of those who don't mind the notch as a trade of for the security of Face ID but really, if you could put Touch ID into the power buttons of the iPad Air and Mini and I don't see us "unmasking" anytime soon, it would make some sense to give everyone the option of Touch ID (I do have an Apple Watch and it is useful for unlocking when wearing a mask, but it's still a hit and miss sometimes).

- The same limitations of iOS remains - whether you are using iPhone 12 Pro Max or iPhone 13 Pro Max. So yeah, that doesn't change.

- Oh, and have I mentioned that the phone is heavy AF?

All in all, I would say the 13 Pro Max is what the 12 Pro Max should have been. The improvements are subtle but it does make the phone slightly better than the last one although I'm not really sure if the improvements in the camera system is enough to justify switching from the 12 Pro Max, unless you take and edit lots of videos. It's still a great phone overall, but it's definitely not for everyone.

Good point bro, but yeah, Apple being Apple they could figure out a way to go around it. Anyways. I do like the feel of stainless steel vs aluminium, but the weight and fingerprint stains not so much

Hahaha, yeah, not the most pleasant experience holding the phone single-handed for too long - especially to take a selfie

How’s the overall experience compared to your Note 20U though? I stopped buying Samsung flagships with Exynos chips after being severely disappointed with the Note 10+

Yeah, the squarish edges look really cool but they can be a pain to hold for prolonged periods without a case. Anyways, I think Apple assumes the majority of iPhone users will buy a case

Adoi, cannot compare a tablet with a phone la bro… two different animals

Yeah, I avoid getting into the iOS vs Android debate as well - both have their pros and cons and as consumers we can choose to have the best of both worlds (pity about Windows Mobile though. Harmony OS, perhaps? Haha). I’ve been buying and trying Samsung’s latest and greatest since the S6 onwards but just recently gave up after the Note 10+. They’ve become too expensive to just buy and try and sell after a couple of months or so But you sum it up well, the same reason the iPhone remains my go to phone is due to how predictably boring (and dependable) it is.

I’ve done 10 hours SOT over two days with another couple of hours or so of streaming Apple Music with the screen off. Depending on what you use it for, definitely 8 to 12 hours SOT in a day is achievable.

You don't watch movies on your iPad? I think the Mini's screen is a little too small compared toe the 11 Pro for media consumption....

So are you now bringing your 13 Pro Max for runs/jogs? It's a bit heavy for that, no?

Haha, yeah, I suppose that insane battery life is worth the trade off for that little extra weight to carry around in your runs.

Haha, yeah, can use MacBook at home instead. My iPad Pro's Zerolution contract ends in April next year. Will see if I wanna downgrade back down to the Mini

That’s pretty fast delivery from Apple’s website. Which variant and colour did you order?

The last time I bought an Incipio case was iPhone 4 or 5

Ordered online? Machines used to sell them though not sure if they still do..

DIY Repair, yay or nay?

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/11/appl...service-repair/

The main thing about choosing a telco to sign a 24-month contract with should always be the coverage in the area where you work, live and play. If all telcos have great coverage then you can choose the one with the lowest cost of ownership for the phone by adding the monthly commitment and the device price together. But if one telco has far more superior coverage than the others in your area, you might want to choose that telco even if it means paying a bit more. No point getting the phone on a cheap but the data coverage sucks.

Ahh Ok, great then. I have horrible coverage from U, DiGi or Celcom back where I live, so every two years I routinely sign a contract with maxis like an obedient sheep

And mind you, I don't live in a remote, obscure kampung... I live in Klang... Oh wait... Hahaha