Compare / iPhone 18 Pro Max vs iPhone Air 1st gen
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs iPhone Air 1st gen
A side-by-side comparison of the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the iPhone Air 1st gen, covering display, chipset, memory, camera, battery and build.
Overview
Specifications
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Technology
- GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
- 2G bands
- GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
- 3G bands
- HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
- 4G bands
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, 106 - A3717
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 - A3473
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, 48, 53, 66, 71, 106 - A3716
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, 106 - A3718
- 5G bands
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 - A3717
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, 258, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - A3473
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 - A3716
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 - A3718
- Speed
- HSPA, LTE, 5G
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Technology
- GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
- 2G bands
- GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
- 3G bands
- UMTS 2100 / 1900 / 1700/2100 / 850 / 900 - HSUPA, HSUPA 5.8, HSDPA, HSPA+ 21.1, DC-HSDPA 42.2
- 4G bands
- LTE bands 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 - 100/50, 150/50, 300/50, 300/75, 300/100, 400/150, 450/50, 450/100, 600/50, 600/100, 1000/100, 1200/200, 1600, 2000/300
- 5G bands
- NR bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 26, 25, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79 - 1500, 2600, 3700, 4600 data links
- Dual SIM
- SIM2 supports same bands as SIM1
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Announced
- 2026, September 09
- Status
- Available. Released 2026, September 18
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Announced
- 2025 Sep 9
- Status
- Available. Released 2025 Sep 19
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Dimensions
- 163.4 x 78 x 8.8 mm (6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 in)
- Weight
- 249 g (8.78 oz)
- Build
- Glass front (Ceramic Shield 2), aluminum frame, aluminum back/ glass back (Ceramic Shield)
- SIM
· Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time; International)
· eSIM + eSIM (8 or more, max 2 at a time; USA)
· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time; China)
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 6m for 30 min)
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Dimensions
- 156.2 × 74.7 × 11.3 mm
- Weight
- 165 g
- Build
- Ceramic Shield 2
- SIM
- e-SIM
- Protection
- IP68 dust/water resistant (600 cm, 30 min)
- Extras
- Haptic touch feedback, Tactile touch feedback
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Type
- LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED120HzHDR10Dolby Vision1000 nits (typ)1600 nits (HBM)3000 nits (peak)
- Size
- 6.9 inches, 115.6 cm2 (~90.7% screen-to-body ratio)
- Resolution
- 1320 x 2868 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
- Protection
Ceramic Shield 2
Anti-reflective coating
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Type
- AM-OLED display, Super Retina XDR, 1073.7M colors, 120 Hz
- Size
- 6.6 inches
- Resolution
- 1260x2736 pixels (~460 PPI density), ~90.1% screen-to-body ratio
- Protection
- Ceramic Shield 2
- Touch
- Capacitive multi-touch screen
- Notch/Hole
- 1-hole
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- OS
- iOS 27
- Chipset
- Apple A20 Pro (2 nm)
- CPU
- Hexa-core (2x4.93 GHz + 4x2.64 GHz)
- GPU
- Apple GPU (7-core graphics)
iPhone Air 1st gen
- OS
- Apple iOS 26
- Chipset
- Apple A19 Pro L APL1V12 T8150 (Thera) 3 nm
- CPU
- 4.26 GHz hexa-core
- GPU
- Apple G18P MP5 (1470 MHz)
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Card slot
- No
- Internal
256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM, 2TB 12GB RAM
NVMe
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Card slot
- No
- Internal
- 1TB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Triple
48 MP, f/1.5-4.0, 24mm (wide), 1/1.28", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS (gen2)
48 MP, f/2.8, 100mm (periscope telephoto), 1/2.55", 0.7µm, PDAF, 3D sensor‑shift OIS, 4x optical zoom
48 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 0.7µm, PDAF
TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth)
- Features
- Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama), Cinematic from regular video
- Video
- 4K@24/25/30/60/100/120fps1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps10-bit HDRDolby Vision HDR (up to 120fps)ProResProRes RAW (up to 120fps)Apple Log 23D (spatial) video/audiostereo sound rec.
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Single
48.0 MP, f/1.60, 26mm, 1.0 x optical zoom, BSI CMOS, 1.00µm, PD AF, EIS (video), OIS, OIS (video), Pixel unification, HDR photo, HDR video, Red-eye reduction, Slow motion video, Burst mode, Touch focus, Macro mode, Panorama Photo, Face detection, Face tagging, Smile detection, Face retouch, Face retouch (video), Intelligent scene detection
- Other features
- single LED flash
- Video
- 3840x2160 pixel
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Single
18 MP multi-aspect, f/1.9, 20mm (ultrawide), PDAF
SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
- Features
- HDRDolby Vision HDR3D (spatial) audiostereo sound rec.ProRes RAWApple Log 2
- Video
- 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Dual
18.0 MP, f/1.90, BSI CMOS, PD AF, EIS, EIS (video), HDR photo, HDR video, Slow motion video, Burst mode, Panorama Photo, Face detection, Smile detection, Face retouch, Face retouch (video), Intelligent scene detection
Mono CMOS sensor (depth/mono)
- Video
- 3840x2160 pixel
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Loudspeaker
- Yes, with stereo speakers
- 3.5mm jack
- No
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Loudspeaker
- mono
- 3.5mm jack
- No
- Audio features
- Voice speakerSpeakerphoneANCHD VoiceVoLTEViLTE
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- WLAN
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, hotspot
- Bluetooth
- 6.0, A2DP, LE
- Positioning
- GPS (L1+L5)GLONASSGALILEOBDSQZSSNavIC
- NFC
- Yes
- Radio
- No
- USB
- USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2, DisplayPort
iPhone Air 1st gen
- WLAN
- 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 6.0
- Positioning
- Simultaneous GPSA-GPSDual-frequency GPSGeotaggingQuickGPSQZSSNavICSatellite MessageSatellite SOS
- Satellite details
- GLONASS (L1OF); Galileo (E1); BeiDou (B1I BeiDou receiver)
- NFC
- Yes
- USB
- USB C reversible USB 2.0
- USB features
- USB chargingUSB fast chargingUSB HostUSB OTG 1.3USB PDUSB PD 2.0
- Wireless features
- UMA, Wi-Fi Calling
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Sensors
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip)
Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Sensors
- AccelerometerGyroCompassBarometerL sensorP sensorStep counterIR face sensorNFC
- Software
- Voice CommandNavigation softwareAugmented Reality (AR)Intelligent personal assistantVoice RecognitionFace Recognition
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Type
Market-dependent versions:
· Li-Ion 5391 mAh - Nano SIM model
· Li-Ion 5567 mAh - eSIM only model
- Charging
Wired, PD3.2, AVS, 50% in 15 min
25W wireless MagSafe/Qi2, 50% in 30 min (15W - China)
4.5W reverse wired
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Type
- 3149 mAh battery 12.25 Wh Li-ion
- Charging
- 18.0 W charging wired, 20.0 W wireless (Qi, MagSafe)
- Nominal Battery Voltage
- 3.89 Volts
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Colors
- Black, Silver, Glacier, Burgundy
- Models
- A3717, A3473, A3716, A3718
- Price
- £ 1,299.00 / € 1,599.00
iPhone Air 1st gen
- Models
- iPhone Air 1st gen 5G A3517 Global Dual SIM TD-LTE 256GB
- Price
- 999
- Market
- AfricaAsiaAustraliaCentral AmericaEastern EuropeEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaOceaniaSouth AmericaSoutheast AsiaWestern EuropeWorldwide
- Countries
- Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina +83 more
- SAR (head)
- 1.190 W/kg
- SAR (body)
- 1.190 W/kg
- 2nd highest SAR (head)
- 1.490 W/kg
- 2nd highest SAR (body)
- 1.490 W/kg
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Performance
AnTuTu: 3463072 (v11)
GeekBench: 12794 (v6), 11558 (v7)
3DMark: 7931 (Wild Life Extreme)
- Display
- 969 nits max brightness (measured)
- Loudspeaker
- -25.0 LUFS (Very good)
- Battery
- Active use score 19:20h
iPhone Air 1st gen
Not listed for this device
iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Energy
- Class A
- Battery
- 62:00h endurance, 1000 cycles
- Free fall
- Class B (180 falls)
- Repairability
- Class C
iPhone Air 1st gen
Not listed for this device