I like big displays on my gadgets, so I forked out some serious moolah for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The screen is big (and will be too big for some folks — like my wife).
The display
However, that bigger display, better battery life, more power, and better photo/video recording abilities make this a great smartphone. Apple says the iPhone 16 Pro models now have the thinnest borders on any Apple product, thanks to a reduction in bezels. Here’s how they compare with their iPhone 15 counterparts:
- iPhone 16 Pro Max – 6.42 inches tall, 3.06 inches wide, 8.25mm thick, 227 grams.
- iPhone 15 Pro Max – 6.29 inches tall, 3.02 inches wide, 8.25mm thick, 221 grams.
- iPhone 16 Pro – 5.89 inches tall, 2.81 inches wide, 8.5mm thick, 199 grams.
- iPhone 16 Pro – 5.77 inches tall, 2.78 inches wide, 8.5mm thick, 187 grams.
Except for the bigger display, not much has changed in regards to the screen. The iPhone 16 Pro Max still sports a Super Retina XDR Display with ProMotion, 1000 nits of maximum brightness, 1600 nits of peak HDR brightness, and 2000 nits of peak outdoor brightness. The only main difference is that the screens can scale down to a minimum of 1 nits, which means you can use your phone in bed without disturbing anyone else (such as my wife).
Durability
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, as well as the iPhone 16 Pro, pack a new second-generation Ceramic Shield coating that Apple says is 50% tougher than the prior-generation Ceramic Shield coating used in the iPhone 15 models.
The tech giant says this Ceramic Shield features its most advanced glass ceramic formulation and is 50% “tougher” than the first-generation ceramic shield, and two times tougher than “glass found in any other smartphone.”
I haven’t dropped my new smartphone to test this out. And I still recommend a protective case and a screen protector. No need to take chances with a gadget that costs so much.
Power and camera features
The iPhone 16 Pro Max’s pro camera features, graphics for immersive gaming, and more are powered by the new A18 Pro processor (as well as 8GB of RAM). The chip also makes possible a new 48MP Fusion camera with a faster quad-pixel sensor that enables 4K120 fps video recording in Dolby Vision. The iPhone 16 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Pro provide the highest resolution and frame-rate combination ever available on an iPhone.
The 48MP Ultra Wide camera features include: macro; a 5x Telephoto camera on both Pro models; and what Apple says are studio-quality microphones “to record more true-to-life audio.” I have no need to record studio-quality sound; however, the mics do a great job for all the scenarios with which I tested it.
When it comes to audio on the new smartphone, I love Audio Mix, a video feature that takes advantage of Spatial Audio capture. It uses a combination of the spatial audio capture and AI to help minimize background noise. You can use Audio Mix to adjust the way that voices sound in videos, and there are three different options.
- In-frame. This only captures the voices of people on camera, even if people off camera are talking.
- Studio. This makes voices sound like the recording was done in a professional studio with sound-dampening walls. A recording will sound like the mic was close to the subject’s mouth.
- Cinematic. This captures all voices and consolidates them to the front of the screen, which is how sound is formatted for movies.
The next-generation Photographic Styles of the iPhone 16 Pro Max do a great job of letting you customize your photos by locally adjusting color, highlights, and shadows in real time. Styles also have a deeper understanding of skin undertones, so you can personalize how they appear in photos.
Here’s now Apple explains it: Unlike filters, which often use a one-size-fits-all approach by adding a color to an entire scene, adjustments are applied to specific colors of a selected style. A wider set of styles offers more creative options for editing a photo’s aesthetic, and styles can be further personalized with a new control pad and intensity slider for simultaneous adjustments across tone and color. These adjustments can be rendered during live preview, applied after a photo is taken, or even reversed later.
The design
The iPhone 16 Pro Max’s titanium design combines strength with a light weight. All of the iPhone 16 models have a new Camera Control button that’s very for taking photos and videos. The button is touch and force sensitive, so it supports swipes and other gestures for swapping through camera options.
A single click opens the camera, a second click snaps a photo, and a click and hold starts a video recording. A light press opens up control options like zoom, and you can swap tools with a double light press. You can then adjust parameters like zoom and exposure with a swipe.
Battery life
With Apple’s newly updated MagSafe charger and a 30W power adapter, the iPhone 16 models can charge at up to 25W wirelessly over MagSafe, which is 10W faster than Qi2.
MacRumors has reported that information from Brazilian agency Anatel (via Blog do iPhone) shows how much battery capacity has increased compared to the iPhone 15 lineup.
- iPhone 16 – 3,561 mAh, up 6.3 percent
- iPhone 16 Plus – 4,674 mAh, up 6.6 percent
- iPhone 16 Pro – 3,582 mAh, up 9.4 percent
- iPhone 16 Pro Max – 4,685 mAh, up 6 percent
That said, even faster charging speeds would be nice. You get just over 30% capacity in 30 minutes from a 30W charger.
If you, like me, were dying to try the promised Apple Intelligence features, you’ll be disappointed. They’ll be rolling out through the rest of the year (and even into January) — assuming Apple’s timetable stays the course.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is very pricey. However, considering that I use it as a camera, video recorder, voice recorder, GPS, mobile gaming device, and more (including as a phone!), the price isn’t unreasonable. And the iPhone 16 Pro Max is arguable the best smartphone around.
And if it’s too expensive for you, the less expensive models of the iPhone 16 are also great smartphones.
Apple World Today rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★
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