The Best of Apple – iPhone 16 Pro Max
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iPhone 16 Pro Max
4.5/5 Save at AT&T
Last updated 26 minutes ago
The iPhone 16 Pro Max may not be a single giant improvement over its predecessor, but it does have a lot of improvements that are worth the high price.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is a curious device. While it has a slightly larger screen than last time around, so does the iPhone 16 Pro.
And while it does have a new camera button, every model in the iPhone 16 lineup has one.
So the easiest way to focus on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is that it’s the same as the rest, and not all that different from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. That’s a simple description, and it’s not unfair, but in regular, daily, long-term use, it doesn’t feel accurate.
If you’re thinking about getting into free technical writing, you might want to reconsider. We buy all of our own devices, and for the purposes of this review, it helps that I upgraded from an iPhone 15 Pro. So even without any other differences from the 2023 releases, there's a huge size difference for me.
At some point, though, a long-term review can’t just be about the differences between the models. It has to be about the phone itself and what’s good about it that makes it — or doesn’t make it — worth buying.
So while I can’t help but compare my iPhone 16 Pro Max to my old iPhone 15 Pro, this is really about what it’s been like to use the new iPhone consistently since it launched.
iPhone 16 Pro Max
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iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: Surprises
The size is often forgotten. It's probably the most surprising part of using what initially seemed like a huge difference compared to the smaller Pro model.
That’s despite the larger screen than before, meaning the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display. That’s comparable to the 6.7-inch screen on its predecessor, but more importantly for me, it’s comparable to the 6.1-inch display on my iPhone 15 Pro.
It seems like a waste that iOS 18 looks the same on the big screen as it does on the small screen. Every app icon is exactly the same size as before, just the spacing is different, and I wish the space was used for more apps.
Also, I’d swear that watching movies and TV on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is better than on the iPhone 15 Pro, but it’s not. The resolution is the same at 460 pixels per inch, and the brightness is the same.
There’s no denying that the screen is bigger, so maybe that’s all I’m answering. But while I used to only occasionally watch videos on my old phone, I now watch a lot more.
It shouldn't come as a surprise, because I was hoping for it, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max has given me what I was looking for in an e-reader. The phone is heavier than my Kindle Paperwhite, but I've still read a couple of novels exclusively on it, instead of mostly reading on my Kindle or iPad.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: In Daily Use
Just as I was finishing transferring everything to my new phone, it rang. And the caller commented — uninvited — on how clearly I could hear.
I'm with her. Every call I've made since getting this has been noticeably clearer and crisper.
Oddly enough, I've also had the chance to test it from both ends. By chance, I was recently invited to call into a dozen local BBC radio stations, and listening to those shows now, I can hear that the call quality is much better than when I did it on my old phone.
Combined with the overall sound quality, the new iPhone has changed the way I call people a little. For some reason, I'm now much more likely to leave my phone on the table or across the kitchen and say, “Siri, so-and-so's phone is on speakerphone.”
The new Siri animations never get boring
The speakers are certainly good enough for calls, and I enjoyed listening to music and podcasts through them. That’s partly because my AirPods Pro were faulty and I’ve now replaced them, but a speaker could still be more convenient.
iPhone 16 Pro Max review: Camera controls in everyday photography
For me, the camera control felt like a button with two halves, with the smaller half tied to its specific purpose of taking photos. This is despite the fact that, in theory, this new camera control should feel like it was made for me.
Because I never remember being able to swipe up on the lock screen to turn on the camera. Then, even though there’s a camera button on the lock screen, I almost never think to press it — I always open my iPhone and find the Camera app.
So having one button that immediately turns on taking a photo should be really ideal, but now my list of forgetfulness includes the fact that I rarely remember that there’s a camera control button. It’s inconsistent, and there are reasons why I think I’ll get used to it, plus sometimes it really is perfect.
The camera control button is hard to find without looking
My problem seems to get smaller the less I think about it, so I’ve taken a lot of really quick photos because of the camera control. But whenever I think about it, like changing the zoom or trying to switch to video, my finger can’t find the button at all.
If it were raised just a little bit, or even just a little more pressed down, my finger would land on it right away. It wouldn’t solve the problem of changing the zoom or other camera controls, but it would mean never having to tilt the phone to see where the button was again.
So in photography, I’m usually impressed with Camera Control when it works for me, and not when I can’t find the button right away.
Still, I have to stop and think about how to use it. Middle pressing opens the camera, and then lifting your finger and returning it to press and hold starts recording video.
Honestly, I’m telling myself this as much as I am you. And this middle pressing thing has proven to be key now that I’m using iOS 18.2 beta.
That’s because, on the bad side, it introduces a real need to time the press just right. But on the good side, pressing a little longer kicks in the visual intelligence.
And this completely changed my attitude to the camera control button.
iPhone 16 Pro Max review: Controlling the camera with Visual Intelligence
Right now, even though I work here for a living, I'm constantly confused about which Apple Intelligence features are out, which are in beta, and which are promised for how long. Plus I'm in the UK, and even though I can set my region and language to the US, I still don't get everything.
So while it shouldn't have been a surprise when I came across Visual Intelligence, it was.
Using Visual Intelligence on a shed. (Insert: Better view of text result.)
I was trying to take a photo of my electricity meter to document the reading for my provider, and for some reason I remembered where the camera control button was. But I pressed it for too long, and instead of taking a photo, I got a nice dialog box telling me what an electricity meter is.
The fact that Visual Intelligence takes exactly as long to launch makes it feel less obvious and straightforward than it used to be on Apple. Plus, there are times when what it tells you isn’t accurate, but overall, I’m hooked on Visual Intelligence.
This is one element, however, that reminds me that I have a larger phone. Once you hit the camera button and get into Visual Intelligence, you have three controls at the bottom of the screen, and I juggle a bit to get to them with one hand.
Still, I manage somehow, and it’s been very impressive. In the beta, it told me the American names of plants and flowers by default, but it still said them close enough that I seemed impressively informed.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: Photographic Styles
I’m also impressed by the new Photographic Styles – but that’s another feature I don’t use. I’ve never used a filter of any kind in my life, either intentionally or willingly, because I find they overpower an image and you get stuck with them. I’ll tinker in Photoshop or Pixelmator Pro, I’ll tinker for a long time, but always after I’ve taken the photo.
Photographic Styles are radical and impressive, but not destructive
I always need to take the best, most precise photos I can, and whether they’re good or not, edit a copy of them later. Photographic Styles sounds like a filter in that they give an image a certain look, so I shrugged at first, but it’s much better.
Instead of just slapping an orange filter on the entire image and calling it done, Photographic Styles looks at every shade in the photo. They then subtly alter each shade to suit the style you choose.
You can go to Settings, Camera app and set a preferred Photo Style that the camera will always use. I think this is particularly well done, but also completely unnecessary.
Whether you decide to shoot everything with Photo Styles, giving your images a rose gold hue or not, you can add that style later. And, importantly, you can remove it.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: Video
I tend to shoot more video than I do photos, and there’s a problem with that. Using my iPad Pro, Final Cut Pro for iPad and the app’s multi-camera feature, I tried to remotely control the iPhone’s zoom.
It works, you can gently swipe your finger across the iPad’s screen and the phone will zoom in on you. But when trying, it was impossible to smoothly increase the scale from 0.5x to 5x.
Precise zoom control is a problem
And then there was no way to stop at 5x, even though that's the limit of optical zoom. The iPhone automatically switched to digital zoom and kept going past 5x, 10x, and eventually to a surprisingly effective 25x.
This is remote control of the iPhone 16 Pro Max camera from an iPad, so it's not really a fair criticism of the phone. It's more accurately describing how I'm not very good at using zoom.
This Zoom actually works.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: Battery Life
If I'm going to criticize myself, let it be because I'm lazy. It just so happens that I had to go away on Friday when I received my iPhone 16 Pro Max, and as always, I brought my MagSafe charger with me.
I haven’t used it all weekend. Sure, I use wired CarPlay to keep my iPhone plugged in while I’m driving, but I’ve kind of stopped thinking about charging it.
And that’s the lazy part. After all this time, I still haven’t gotten around to putting my MagSafe charger back by the bed.
I charge my phone in the car, put it on the charger at my desk, and very rarely leave it on other people’s chargers for more than a few minutes.
Apple claims the iPhone 16 Pro Max lasts up to 33 hours if I’m constantly watching video. I can easily get through a day and a half before I start to think I should do something about its charge.
iPhone 16 Pro Max – almost two months later
I didn't realize it until I wrote that it's been seven weeks. It still feels like a new toy.
Now I’m definitely used to the larger size, and once I did, I appreciated the benefits more. The longer battery life is just great, I enjoy reading books on this screen and watching TV on it too.
Using visual intelligence to buy a mug, you have to squirm a little to switch from the camera control button to the front controls
None of this feels completely different from the iPhone 15 Pro I had, rather it’s the same and better.
It may not be a stunning upgrade over the iPhone 15 Pro Max. But for now, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a work of art – and it’s in very good condition.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: The Pros
- Battery life is great
- Camera controls are great if you have visual intelligence
- The size is noticeably larger than last year
iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: The Bad
- Heavy
- Size means you have to hold it with both hands most of the time
- Camera controls take some getting used to
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Thank goodness for 0.5. A 4 would be an underestimate for such a great phone — and 5 would be too much, considering there's no major upgrade.
That camera control button is a pretty radical upgrade, though, or at least it is when Apple’s intelligence gives it the ability to be used for more than just taking photos.
There’s not enough here to warrant an upgrade from something newer than, say, the iPhone 13 Pro Max. But for me, as an iPhone 15 Pro user, it was excellent.
Where to Buy and Save on Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max
Wireless carriers are offering aggressive incentives with bill credits and trade-in deals on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. At the time of publication, the deals offer up to $1,000 off the phone, which can be found below. You can also visit our iPhone 16 Pro Max price guide for a side-by-side comparison of current deals.
- Boost Mobile at Amazon: Save up to $1,000 (no trade-in required)*
- AT&T Wireless: Get up to $1,000 off an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a qualifying trade-in plan at AT&T*
- Verizon Wireless: Get an iPhone 16 Pro Max from Verizon for just $5 a month*
*Terms and conditions apply. See site for details.
If you're looking for deals on the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro, today's best iPhone deals can be found across the entire lineup.
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