The Pro Max's size is already an asset. The question is whether Apple will finally treat it like one.
Apple's iPhone Pro Max occupies a curious paradox: it carries the largest screen in the iPhone lineup yet runs software indistinguishable from its smallest sibling. As tools grow in physical stature, human expectation tends to follow — we assume greater size implies greater capability. The argument emerging from technology observers is not merely about features, but about whether Apple is willing to honor the implicit promise a larger canvas makes to the people who choose it.
- The Pro Max's 6.7-inch screen sits largely underutilized — users pay a premium for size but receive no software advantage over a phone half as large.
- The tension is sharpest when compared to the iPad, which earned its own operating system in 2019, while the Pro Max remains tethered to a one-size-fits-all iOS.
- Multitasking modes like Slide Over — already proven on iPad — could be adapted for the Pro Max, letting users anchor a secondary app alongside their main one without cramping the experience.
- A smaller Apple Pencil tailored to the Pro Max could unlock a market of photographers, note-takers, and professionals, following a path Samsung already blazed with the Galaxy Note.
- Apple's commercial confidence in the large-screen form factor is growing, yet the software identity of the Pro Max remains undefined — a premium device still waiting for a premium purpose.
Apple's iPhone Pro Max finds itself in an uncomfortable position. At 6.7 inches, it dwarfs every other iPhone in the lineup, yet it runs the exact same iOS software as the smallest model. The iPad, by contrast, graduated to its own operating system in 2019 — a recognition that a larger canvas deserves a different kind of thinking. The Pro Max, despite its size, has never received the same treatment.
The case for change centers on what that extra screen space could actually do. iPad's multitasking features — running two apps side by side, or floating one in a narrow panel while another takes the foreground — are designed precisely for moments when a larger display can change how you work. On the Pro Max, those moments go unclaimed. Slide Over, the floating-panel mode, seems like the most natural starting point: rather than splitting a phone screen awkwardly in half, a secondary app could live as a slim column alongside the main one, functioning much like an interactive widget.
Beyond multitasking, there's a compelling argument for an iPhone-compatible Apple Pencil — smaller and more refined than its iPad counterpart. Samsung demonstrated real appetite for stylus input through the Galaxy Note line, and the Pro Max's core audience — people who pay top prices for the best camera and largest screen — overlaps naturally with photographers who edit on their phones and professionals who annotate documents in motion. Steve Jobs once dismissed the stylus, but the market has long since moved on from that position.
The Pro Max is already a proven commercial success, and signals suggest Apple is doubling down on the large-screen form factor. But popularity and potential are not the same thing. Giving the Pro Max software features that smaller iPhones cannot match would sharpen its identity, make its price premium feel genuinely earned, and open new revenue through accessories and differentiation. The size is already there. The question is whether Apple will finally build something worthy of it.
Apple's iPhone Pro Max sits in an awkward middle ground. At 6.7 inches, it's the company's largest phone—substantially bigger than the standard iPhone's 6.1-inch screen, the Mini's 5.4 inches, or the SE's 4.7. Yet despite this physical advantage, it runs the exact same iOS software as every other iPhone in the lineup. The iPad, by contrast, got its own operating system, iPadOS, back in 2019. Apple recognized that tablets had evolved enough to warrant their own interface. The Pro Max, it seems, hasn't earned the same consideration.
There's a case to be made that it should. The iPad's larger canvas supports features the iPhone simply doesn't offer—multitasking modes that let you run two apps simultaneously, or float one in a panel while another dominates the screen. These aren't frivolous additions. They're designed to make use of extra real estate in ways that actually change how you work. On the Pro Max, that extra real estate sits mostly unused. You still switch between apps one at a time, the way you would on a phone half its size.
Slide Over, iPad's floating-panel feature, seems like the most natural fit for the Pro Max. Rather than splitting the screen down the middle—which would feel cramped on a phone—you could anchor a secondary app to one side as a narrow column while keeping your main app front and center. Imagine checking Slack messages in a sidebar while composing an email, or glancing at a reference document while writing. Apple could adapt this by treating Slide Over apps like interactive widgets, which are already designed to convey useful information in confined spaces. The technology exists. The question is whether Apple sees the Pro Max as distinct enough to warrant the engineering effort.
The company has hesitated before on this exact question. Part of iOS's appeal has always been consistency—the software works the same way whether you're holding a compact phone or a Max model. Breaking that uniformity, even for a premium device, carries risk. Yet Apple has tailored software to specific hardware before. The original iPad got its own interface. The Apple Watch runs watchOS. The precedent exists. What's missing is the will to apply it here.
Another possibility is an iPhone-compatible Apple Pencil—a smaller, refined version designed for a phone's screen rather than a tablet's. Samsung proved there's an audience for this with the Galaxy Note line, which users adopted for note-taking, photo editing, and document markup. Adobe Lightroom and Pixelmator already support the Apple Pencil on iPad; extending that compatibility to the Pro Max would appeal to photographers who edit on their phones and professionals who mark up documents on the go. Steve Jobs once mocked the stylus as a crutch for bad interface design, but the market has moved past that argument. The Pro Max's audience—people willing to pay premium prices for the largest screen and best camera—seems like exactly the demographic that would value a precision input tool.
The Pro Max is already a commercial success. The iPhone 12 Pro Max ranked as the world's second-best-selling phone in 2021. Rumors suggest Apple will replace the smaller Mini model with another 6.7-inch variant, signaling confidence in the larger form factor. But success doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. Adding Pro Max-specific features would sharpen the device's identity, justify its price premium more convincingly, and give owners tangible reasons to choose it over the standard model. For Apple, it would also open new revenue streams through accessories and software differentiation. The Pro Max's size is already an asset. The question is whether Apple will finally treat it like one.
Citas Notables
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 opinion
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why hasn't Apple already done this? They're usually ahead of the curve on these things.
Because iOS's whole identity is consistency. Every iPhone works the same way. Breaking that for one model, even a premium one, feels risky to them—like they're admitting the software isn't good enough for the hardware.
But they did it with the iPad. They created iPadOS specifically because the tablet had evolved.
Exactly. And that's the argument. The Pro Max has evolved too. It's not just a bigger phone anymore—it's a different category of device. But Apple seems reluctant to acknowledge that officially.
What about the Apple Pencil angle? That seems more straightforward.
It does, but it also contradicts Apple's design philosophy. Jobs spent years saying styluses were a sign of failure. Even though the market has proven him wrong, that legacy still hangs over the company.
So it's pride?
Partly. But also caution. Add a pencil, and suddenly you're positioning the Pro Max as a productivity device, not just a phone. That changes how people think about it—and how they compare it to the iPad.
Which would be bad for iPad sales.
Potentially. Apple guards those boundaries carefully. The Pro Max can be big, but it can't be so capable that it cannibalizes the iPad's reason to exist.
So we're stuck.
For now. But the pressure is building. Samsung's Galaxy S Ultra sells partly on the stylus. If Apple keeps ignoring that market, they're leaving money on the table.