A bigger screen without software designed for it is like giving someone a larger canvas but the same set of brushes.
As smartphones grow larger, the software running on them has not kept pace — a quiet contradiction Apple has yet to resolve. The iPhone Pro Max carries a 6.7-inch screen, yet operates identically to the smallest iPhone in the lineup, while the iPad, a device it increasingly resembles in size and ambition, enjoys a richer, more capable software ecosystem. This commentary asks a simple but pointed question: at what point does a large phone deserve to be treated as something more than a small phone made bigger?
- Apple's largest iPhone shares its software with devices nearly half its screen size, leaving a vast canvas underused and premium buyers underserved.
- The tension sharpens when you consider that iPadOS — a platform Apple formally separated from iOS in 2019 — offers multitasking, floating windows, and stylus support that the Pro Max cannot access.
- Android manufacturers have already moved into this space, offering split-screen and stylus features on large phones, quietly eroding the case for Apple's premium pricing.
- Adapting iPad features like Slide Over into interactive floating panels could reduce app-switching friction without requiring a wholesale software overhaul.
- A miniaturized Apple Pencil designed for phone-scale screens would create a new revenue stream while giving photographers and note-takers a concrete reason to choose the Pro Max over smaller models.
Apple's largest iPhones have a quiet design contradiction at their core: the hardware has grown, but the software has not followed. The iPhone Pro Max carries a 6.7-inch display — the biggest Apple has ever placed in a phone — yet runs the same operating system as the compact iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the iPad operates on iPadOS, a platform Apple formally distinguished from iOS in 2019, one that offers multitasking, floating windows, and tools built for larger screens.
The argument here is not for a dramatic reinvention, but for a thoughtful extension. The iPad's Slide Over feature — which opens an app as a floating panel alongside another — could translate well to the Pro Max, perhaps implemented as an interactive widget that lets users glance at Slack or a calendar without abandoning whatever they were doing. It would not be a perfect replica of the tablet experience, but it would be a meaningful improvement over constant app-switching. Android phones have offered comparable features for years.
The Apple Pencil presents a parallel opportunity. Despite Steve Jobs's famous dismissal of styluses, the Pencil has found a devoted audience on iPads among photographers, annotators, and note-takers. The Pro Max already attracts buyers willing to pay premium prices for the best screen and camera — a smaller, phone-optimized Pencil with a finer tip would serve that same audience and give Apple both a new accessory to sell and a clearer reason for the Pro Max to exist as a distinct product.
The Pro Max is already a commercial success — its predecessor ranked among the world's best-selling phones in 2021. But market success and missed opportunity are not mutually exclusive. Right now, Apple's largest phone is essentially a scaled-up version of its smallest one, and the features that could justify its size and price remain locked inside a different product category entirely.
Apple's biggest phones have a problem that feels almost absurd once you notice it: they're designed like smaller phones, just stretched. The iPhone 13 Pro Max and its predecessor both sport 6.7-inch screens—the largest Apple has ever put in a phone—yet they run the same software as the standard iPhone 13, which has a 6.1-inch display, and the iPhone SE, which squeezes into just 4.7 inches. The hardware scales up. The software doesn't.
Meanwhile, the iPad sits in Apple's product line with a fundamentally different operating system. In 2019, Apple even renamed it iPadOS to acknowledge how far the software had diverged from what runs on iPhones. Tablets get multitasking. They get floating windows. They get features designed for larger screens. Phones, no matter how large, get the same experience as their smaller siblings.
The gap is worth closing. Not with a dramatic rebrand—no one needs "Pro Max OS"—but with thoughtful software features that acknowledge what a 6.7-inch phone actually is: a device big enough to do more than one thing at once. The iPad's Slide Over feature, which lets you open an app in a floating panel on either side of the screen, could translate beautifully to the Pro Max. Imagine checking Slack messages in a narrow column while your email takes up most of the display. You'd stop constantly switching between apps. Apple could implement this by treating Slide Over apps like interactive widgets—a format already designed to show useful information in a small footprint. It's not a perfect port from iPad to phone; the Pro Max is still small compared to a tablet. But it's workable, and it's something Android phones have offered for years.
Then there's the Apple Pencil. Steve Jobs once mocked the idea of a stylus for mobile devices, but the Apple Pencil has proven its worth on iPads, and there's a clear audience for it on phones too. The iPhone Pro Max attracts people willing to pay premium prices for the biggest screen and best camera. Photographers who edit photos in Lightroom or Pixelmator on their phones would benefit from the precision a stylus offers. Note-takers and document annotators would too. Samsung's Galaxy Note line—now folded into the Galaxy S Ultra family—demonstrates there's genuine demand for this kind of tool. A smaller Apple Pencil, designed specifically for phone-size screens with a finer tip, would make sense as an optional accessory. It's not essential, but it's the kind of thing that justifies the Pro Max's premium price tag.
The iPhone Pro Max is already successful. The iPhone 12 Pro Max ranked as the world's second-best-selling phone in 2021. Rumors suggest Apple will ditch the iPhone Mini and release another 6.7-inch model this year, signaling that large phones are where the market is heading. But success doesn't mean there's no room to do more. These features would give Pro Max owners tangible reasons to choose the larger model beyond just screen size. They'd give Apple another product to sell—the Pencil—and another way to differentiate its premium line. It's a straightforward win for both the company and its customers. Right now, Apple is leaving that opportunity on the table.
Notable Quotes
The iPhone Pro Max's lack of multitasking and Apple Pencil support aren't necessarily shortcomings. But it feels like Apple is missing an opportunity.— CNET commentary
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that the Pro Max runs the same software as a smaller iPhone? Isn't a bigger screen enough?
A bigger screen without software designed for it is like giving someone a larger canvas but the same set of brushes. You can see more, but you can't do more. The Pro Max costs significantly more than a standard iPhone, so owners are paying for something that should feel genuinely different.
But Apple has always kept iOS consistent across all phones. Wouldn't adding Pro Max-specific features break that philosophy?
It would, but Apple already broke that philosophy when it created iPadOS. The company decided tablets needed different software. The Pro Max is large enough that it occupies a middle ground—too big to ignore the extra space, too small to be a tablet. That's exactly where multitasking makes sense.
The Pencil idea seems like it contradicts Jobs's original vision for the iPhone.
It does, and that's worth acknowledging. But Jobs was thinking about styluses as the primary way to interact with a phone. An optional Pencil for specific tasks—photo editing, note-taking—is different. It's a tool for people who want it, not a requirement.
Would adding these features actually make people buy the Pro Max, or are they already committed to large phones?
That's the real question. The Pro Max is already successful, so these features aren't necessary for sales. But they'd justify the premium price more convincingly. Right now, you're mostly paying for a bigger screen and a better camera. With multitasking and Pencil support, you'd be paying for a genuinely different experience.
What's stopping Apple from doing this?
Mostly philosophy. Apple values consistency and simplicity. Adding Pro Max-specific features complicates both. But the company has shown it's willing to make exceptions—the iPad got its own OS, the Apple Watch got its own OS. At some point, you have to ask whether the Pro Max deserves the same treatment.