Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max review: A towering success

The iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with the usual set of upgrades that we expect from Apple: it is faster in daily use, has better cameras, and the battery life is better than its predecessor. But there are other changes this year, notably around the screen. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a larger 6.9-inch panel, but it isn't that much bigger than its predecessor.

The increased screen size means you get an additional line of text, and the bezels are even thinner this generation. There's also a new Camera Control button that unlocks additional controls and makes it easy to shoot photos and videos. While I was initially excited about the hardware button, it was unwieldy to use in the two weeks I tested the iPhone 16 Pro Max — it should have been integrated into the power button, similar to what ASUS did on the Zenfone 10 last year.

While there's plenty of new stuff on the phone, there's a glaring omission: Apple Intelligence. Apple's much-touted AI features won't be available until early 2025, and that puts the iPhone 16 Pro Max in an awkward position; the hardware itself is an iterative upgrade over last year, and you'll need to wait at least three months to unlock what is arguably its best feature.

So should you wait until next year to buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max? Let's take a look.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Pricing and availability

The iPhone 16 Pro Max made its official debut on September 9, and the phone went on sale globally on September 20. Similar to last year, the base model has 256GB of storage, and it is available in 512GB and 1TB variants as well — I'm using the 512GB model.

In a positive move, Apple is offering the iPhone 16 Pro Max at the same price as last year's models, and this is true not just in the U.S., but also key global markets like the U.K. and Germany. This is what the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs in various regions:

• iPhone 16 Pro Max (256GB): $1,199 / £1,199 / €1,449 / ₹1,44,900
• iPhone 16 Pro Max (512GB): $1,399 / £1,399 / €1,699 / ₹1,64,900
• iPhone 16 Pro Max (1TB): $1,599 / £1,599 / €1,949 / ₹1,84,900

Interestingly, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is more affordable than its predecessor in India, and that's a great move by Apple. The brand is seeing sizeable momentum in the country, and each variant of the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs roughly $178 less this year.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Design

Apple didn't change the design of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and the phone looks identical to its predecessor. The only way to tell both phones apart is that the latest device is taller and wider than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but other than that, they share the same design.

That means you get a titanium mid-frame with a glass front and back, and the glass protection is touted to be even better this year. While I tend to test the effectiveness of these claims with Android phones (inadvertently, most of the time), I wasn't willing to risk that with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and I put it in a case shortly after setting it up.

The phone has the same flat sides with rounded edges, and the beveled sides make it easier to use than previous years. The build quality is predictably great, and while this isn't a brand-new design, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is immediately recognizable. The phone retains IP68 dust and water resistance, and like last year, it can be submerged in up to 6 meters of water — most Android phones are only rated at up to 1.5 meters.

While the design itself hasn't changed, the iPhone 16 Pro Max comes in an interesting Desert Titanium color option, and this is the variant I'm using. Apple switched out the Blue Titanium model of the iPhone 15 Pro Max with the new color option, and it looks terrific. The subtle gold hue looks great on the frosted glass back, and the color-matched camera rings and mid-frame give the phone a distinct character.

If you don't like the color, you can pick up the device in White Titanium, Black Titanium, and Natural Titanium options instead. The camera housing has the same distinctive design as previous years, and is slightly raised; thankfully, there are no issues with usability.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is 4.1mm taller and 0.9mm wider than its predecessor, and the increased dimensions make it a bit unwieldy to use one-handed. It is taller than the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro XL, and only the Nubia Z60 Ultra dwarfs the iPhone 16 Pro Max in this regard.

A major highlight this year is the introduction of Camera Control, a button that sits to the right. It is an intriguing addition in that not many brands provide hardware controls for the camera, and it is versatile: you can use it to take photos with a short press, and a long press switches to video. The best feature is the ability to adjust zoom level by sliding your finger across the capacitive button, and a double tap allows you to unlock additional controls.

While the idea is undoubtedly novel, the button is in a non-optimal location. It's awkward to access, and while adjusting the zoom level isn't that much of a hassle, it was always a bother to switch to other controls. Then there's the fact that video recording is only enabled as long as you press down on the button. After a week of use, I realized it was easier to just use the settings on the viewfinder to change controls than rely on the button. I also inadvertently pressed the button whenever picking up the phone off a table, and that was irksome.

The left side of the frame contains the usual options: volume up and down, and the Action Button that debuted last year. The SIM card tray sits to the left as well, and you get the ability to slot in a physical SIM alongside an eSIM — if you're outside the U.S. USB-C charging is intact, and it makes using the iPhone 16 Pro Max that much easier. I wrote about how the switch to USB-C last year allowed me to use the iPhone 15 Pro Max a lot longer than I usually would, and that's true this year as well.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Display

After four years of using 6.7-inch panels, Apple is increasing the screen size in the Pro Max series to 6.9 inches. The size difference is immediately evident when using the iPhone 16 Pro Max next to its predecessor, and what I like the most about is that the phone itself isn't noticeably bigger; Apple achieved this by trimming the bezels, and the overall effect is quite striking.

In real-world use, that means you get an additional line of text when browsing. The OLED panel itself is one of the best on any phone today; it has ProMotion tech — dynamic 120Hz refresh — along with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The resolution is slightly higher at 2868 x 1320, but the pixel density is the same as last year, and the Ceramic Shield protection delivers 50% increased resilience against tumbles.

Overall, this is one of the best screens available today, and that's evident when streaming HDR content or playing games. You get vibrant colors with excellent contrast, and while there isn't as much customizability when it comes to color tonality, True Tone automatically tweaks color balance based on ambient light, and it does a good job in this regard.

I didn't see any issues with brightness levels either, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max is among the best in this area as well. That said, the Pixel 9 Pro XL got noticeably brighter in outdoor use, and Google somehow managed to outdo every other brand this year. 

Dynamic Island is unchanged from last year, and while the pill-sized cutout is bigger than what you get with Android devices, it isn't as unsightly as the previous notch. The ability to use this area for actionable things like music control and navigation alerts is still great, and while Android brands have tried to emulate it, no one came close.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Performance

Apple is in a unique position in that it controls both the hardware and software stacks, and that gives it greater freedom when it comes to delivering the best possible performance. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is powered by the A18 Pro, and it brings considerable upgrades — it has 20% greater efficiency under similar workloads as the A17 Pro, increased memory bandwidth, a 16-core neural engine that's more efficient than last year, and 2x gains in ray tracing.

As you'd imagine, there are no issues in daily use; the iPhone 16 Pro Max is one of the fastest phones around, and that is noticeable when playing demanding titles. I didn't see any slowdowns or lag whatsoever, and overheating wasn't a problem during marathon gaming sessions.

While there are gains around ray tracing, rasterization is in line with last year, with the phone delivering similar scores in 3DMark's Wild Life Extreme as its predecessor — this has allowed Qualcomm to take the lead in this area. That said, the phone has the best single- and multi-core results of any device, and that's unlikely to change.

The base model of the iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with 256GB of storage, and you can pick up the phone in 512GB and 1TB variants as well, with all three models featuring 8GB of RAM as standard — just like last year.

There isn't anything missing on the connectivity front either, with the phone offering Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, dual-band GPS, satellite connectivity (in select regions), and a second-gen UWM module. The USB-C charging port uses the USB 3.2 Gen 2 standard and has the full 10Gbps bandwidth, and the best part is that it includes DisplayPort, giving you the ability to connect the phone to XR glasses like the RayNeo Air 2S and external monitors.

Similar to previous years, the vibration motor continues to be one of the best of any device, offering granular feedback when using the keyboard, navigating the interface, and other system events.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Battery life

The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a bigger 4685mAh battery, and you get noticeable gains in daily use. I got an hour and a half of additional screen-time versus the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and that's a sizeable achievement in and of itself. The phone lasts a day even with heavy use, and most of the time, I averaged a day and a half between charges.

The charging situation is where things aren't any better. The iPhone 16 Pro Max takes an agonizing amount of time to charge, and while it gets to 45% in 30 minutes, it takes an additional 80 minutes to charge the battery entirely. While the Pixel 9 Pro XL and Galaxy S24 Ultra don't have fast charging either, these devices don't take anywhere as long to charge, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max continues to lag behind its rivals.

Chinese brands are in a league of their own in this area, with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Vivo X100 Ultra taking under 45 minutes to charge their batteries. That said, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has an advantage with wireless charging, with MagSafe now going up to 25W. The phone also works with the Qi2 standard — something Android phones haven't gotten around to yet — and you can get 15W charging via a Qi2 stand.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Cameras

The iPhone 16 Pro Max doesn't have drastically different camera hardware, with the phone using a similar 48MP main camera with sensor-shift OIS as last year. The 12MP telephoto lens is unchanged as well, and it delivers 5x optical zoom and OIS. There's now a 48MP wide-angle lens, and up front is a 12MP lens with OIS.

Camera Control is a key hardware addition this time, and while it is good to quickly pull up the camera and take a photo, the button isn't in the best location, and it isn't intuitive to use. After trying out the button for a week, I went back to adjusting viewfinder controls the usual way.

What you'll like better is the overhauled Photographic Styles, which now allows you to drastically change the look and feel of a photo. There are 15 preset tones you can use out of the box, but where the feature truly comes into its own is the ability to tweak these presets to your liking by changing the undertones and contrast selection. The result is that you get wildly different photos by switching up the tones, and there is extensive customizability in this regard.

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I've always enjoyed shooting macros with iPhones, and the 16 Pro Max lets you take high-res macro shots. Video is an area where the phone continues to dominate, and this year, you can shoot 4K in 120fps with HDR, and that's just incredible. The new ISP encoder able to handle the increased bandwidth, and what I like the most about this feature is that you can slow down footage to 60fps or 30fps after the fact via the built-in editor.

You can also record spatial audio, and it is enabled by default. What's cool about this feature is that you can then reduce background noise, or create a cinematic effect with ambient noises pushed to the background. You can do this by selecting Audio Mix in the editor, and it works incredibly well.

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The iPhone 16 Pro Max doesn't deviate too much from its predecessor when it comes to color rendition, with resultant daylight shots having good white balance and color accuracy. You don't get saturated photos like Samsung's phones or the contrast-rich images that are a characteristic of Pixels. The phone does just as good a job in low-light conditions, but it is a bit aggressive with smoothening details. That said, the new Styles give you incredible customizability with tonal balance, and you can easily change the look of your photos. 

The wide-angle lens is similarly great, and it doubles as a macro shooter, giving you the ability to take close-up shots. There is some noise in low-light shots taken with the wide-angle lens, and while it has good color rendition, it doesn't measure up to the Vivo X100 Pro in this regard.

The zoom lens is relatively unchanged, and it manages to deliver clean shots at up to 5x. You get usable photos at 10x as well, but there's visible noise — more so than the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Portraits are similarly great, and you get good background segmentation. That said, they're nowhere as detailed as the Vivo X100 Ultra or the Find X7 Ultra; these two devices still have a distinct edge when it comes to portrait shots.

Overall, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does a better job than its predecessor, and it holds up incredibly well against the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro XL. Vivo's X100 Pro and X100 Ultra and the Find X7 Ultra are much better in low-light situations and portrait shots, but as an all-round package, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does more than enough to stand out against its rivals.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Software

Apple introduced a ton of new features in iOS 18, but not all are available out of the box — all the AI-focused features will debut at a later time. There's an increased focus on customization this time, and much-needed updates to a lot of the stock apps. A big update includes RCS integration in Messages, something that took a long time to arrive. You get to use emoji or stickers with Tapback, the ability to schedule messages, and so much more, and while I don't use iMessage, it clearly has a lot going for it.

Control Center has much better customizability, and you can easily add and change toggles as needed. It has scrollable pages, and if you need additional widgets that don't fit into the default pane, you can set up additional ones according to your preferences. I didn't get much utility out of this feature as I like to limit the number of toggles I use, and most of my interactions are focused on the media player.

You can now change icon size and choose between various styling options. There's the default light and dark, and automatic modes, and the tinted option in particular is interesting, as it gives you granular control in tweaking the colors of the icon. Unlike Google's Themed icons (which is still in beta), the iOS 18 implementation is consistent across all apps, and it works incredibly well. You can change lock screen controls as well, switching out the flashlight and camera toggles with ease.

On that note, you get the ability to leave blank spaces between app icons on the home screen — something that was long overdue. The default Photos app has been overhauled and now uses collections-based sorting to organize your photos and videos, and you get better control in arranging your media library. iOS 18 also gives you the option to hide and lock apps behind Face ID, which is ideal with financial utilities or messaging clients.

Of course, Apple Intelligence is a key addition to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and you get a suite of AI-enabled features around writing, image generation, and so much more. However, Apple Intelligence isn't available at the moment, and the initial set of AI features will go live starting October 28 in the U.S. with the iOS 18.1 update.

Customers in other countries have a lengthier wait, and not all features showcased at the launch event will be accessible immediately; there's going to be a staggered availability instead, and you'll need to wait until end of Q1 to get most of the AI features.

This is a unique situation; Apple usually has all of its features available on launch day, but because of the scale of the undertaking, the brand is taking its time — and that's something I can get behind. Most brands have been too hasty to introduce AI features, and they're half-baked at best. Having said that, you'll need to wait several months to unlock the full potential of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: The competition

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is the obvious alternative to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It feels like Google went out of its way to make the 9 Pro XL look like an iPhone, and it does a good job in that regard. You still get a distinctive camera housing at the back, but the flat sides and chunkier design makes it feel like an iPhone in everyday use. The 9 Pro XL doesn't have the same caliber of hardware, but it has an OLED panel that gets brighter, outstanding cameras, and the best AI features of any phone available today.

If you need a phone with plenty of power, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is a good choice to consider as well. The software isn't as good as what you get on the Pixel — or the iPhone 16 Pro Max — but you get seven years of updates, and Samsung bundles a decent set of AI tools with Galaxy AI.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if:

• You need an iPhone with a sizeable OLED panel
• You want the best hardware on a phone
• You need standout cameras
• You want better battery life

You shouldn't buy this if:

• You want the latest AI features
• You need the best charging tech
• You have an iPhone 15 Pro Max

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is a great phone that promises to get even better when Apple Intelligence becomes available. You don't need to wait until the AI features roll out if you're looking to upgrade from an older iPhone; there are enough new features to distinguish it from its predecessors. The most noticeable difference is the bigger OLED panel, and while it makes the phone even taller, it is a welcome upgrade.

But what you'll actually end up liking is the battery longevity; the iPhone 16 Pro Max lasts significantly longer than its predecessor, and that in itself is enough of an upgrade to entice older iPhone users to make the switch. Other battery-related tweaks should curb battery degradation — something that was a major issue on the iPhone 14 series — and while the charging situation is in need of an overhaul, 25W MagSafe is a decent workaround in the meantime.

There's little incentive to move if you're already using the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but if you're on an older device and are mulling an upgrade, you should get the iPhone 16 Pro Max.