Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

[What Hi-Fi?]

The 12 Pro Max is the biggest and best iPhone you can buy, so does that make it the pick of the range?

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max : Read more

 

[DeepGroove]

I am really puzzled by the sound review section of this article. The review states that "the 12 Pro Max sounds slightly fuller and smoother [than the 12] at the expense of just a touch of crispness."

But we know that since Apple removed the headphone jack in 2016, the DAC (a Cirrus CS42L42) and amp are inside the dongle -- not the phone. So what's the basis for saying that one model of iPhone sounds different from another?

Isn't the reviewer simply commenting on a dongle produced for 5 years, instead of a new phone?