Best Smartphones of 2023

Overall Score: 86List price: $1,100 and upApple’s latest supersized 6.7-inch flagship phone offers handy features such as an always-on display and what the company dubs the Dynamic Island, an interactive pill-shaped cutout at the top that can show system alerts and notifications. 

CR testers give the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s cameras (front and back) top marks for selfie, still image, and video quality. The phone also has an impressive battery life, clocking in at 50 hours on one charge in our labs. That’s slightly less than the 52.5 hours logged for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which has the longest battery life of the phones in our ratings but is no longer available directly from Apple.

On the flip side, the Pro Max is significantly heavier than the 6.1-inch 14 Pro and can be tough to use one-handed, even for people with long fingers. So if you’re wary of bulky phones, you might be happier with the Pro, which also performs admirably in CR’s tests and costs $100 less.

Interested in other iPhone models? Take a look at which iPhone you should buy.