Quick LinksiPhone 16 Pro Max: Pricing and availability iPhone 16 Pro Max: Design and hardware Cameras Software: Apple Intelligence Software: Performance Should you buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max?

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is one of the harder smartphones I've had to review in recent years, because most of what the Apple marketing focused on this year -- Apple Intelligence -- is not quite ready. Consumers who pick up the new iPhones in a few days will find that Apple's take on generative artificial intelligence is not actually in the phone yet. Instead, they'll have to wait until October to get a software update which gives them some (but still not all) of the announced AI features; and that's if they don't live in the EU and China, whose strict regulatory government bodies have not yet confirmed if Apple Intelligence will be allowed.

In fact, during this testing period, I was specifically told by Apple to review it using a developer beta of iOS 18.1 (which has Apple Intelligence). Thankfully, Apple's developer betas are more stable than anything of this sort on the Android side, so I did manage to use the iPhone 16 Pro Max as my daily driver for the past seven days without many bugs, but it's still jarring to have to do this.

The good news is that the hardware of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is very good. The photography experience is more personalized and customizable, the iPhone's best-in-class video recording capabilities make another leap thanks to the addition of 4K/120fps recording and some tremendous new microphones, and there's the newest Apple silicon, the A18 Pro, which will likely hold the crown for most powerful mobile phone chip again. So if you've been an iPhone user who has been pretty happy with past iPhones, the iPhone 16 Pro Max will satisfy you -- as long as you're jumping from an iPhone 14 series or older.

But I can say same thing for the other side: I don't think this new iPhone does enough to tempt existing Android users this year. If anything, I think the Google Pixel 9 series' strong showing, and Gemini being already available now, do give Android fans more reason than ever to stay put.

Last year's 15 Pro phones improved so much, this year's 16 Pro phones were bound to be a lower key upgrade, and that's exactly what happened.

About this review: Apple provided an iPhone 16 Pro Max for review. The company had no input in the content of this article.

iPhone 16 Pro Max 7.5/ 10

Apple's newest and biggest iPhone gets a slightly larger screen, new A18 Pro chip, a better ultra-wide camera, a new physical button for controlling the camera, and the ability to run Apple Intelligence. But with many Apple Intelligence features not quite ready, the overall experience here is still very similar to last year's iPhone, although it's a bit better in every way.

ProsTremendous video recording capability and a more versatile photography experienceThe most powerful silicon in any phoneiOS 18 is a lot more customizable than before ConsApple Intelligence only available in beta form even at launch, and some features won't be available until December or later; plus, not all regions around world will even get these featuresThe camera control button is more troublesome to use than just ... tapping the screenThis overall back design is now six years old $1200 at Best Buy$1200 at AT&T iPhone 16 Pro Max: Pricing and availability

The iPhone 16 Pro Max (along with the other three iPhone 16 models) is on pre-order now and goes on sale September 20. You'll be able to find it virtually everywhere that sells consumer tech products and every major carrier around the world. The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1200 for the 256GB model, while the smaller iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999 for the 128GB model.

Specifications

SoC Apple A18 Pro Display 6.9-inch 1320 X 2868 OLED, LPTO, 1-120Hz, 2000 nits RAM Not disclosed Storage 256GB/512GB/1TB Micro SD card support No Rear camera 48MP, f/1.8, 1/1.3-inch main; 48MP f/2.2 ultra-wide; 12MP f/2.8 Prism 5X zoom; LIDAR scanner Front camera 12MP f/1.9 with TrueDepth camera system Battery Not disclosed Charge speed Wired: 25W; Wireless: 15W (Qi2); MagSafe: 25W Ports USB-C Dimensions 163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm (6.42 x 3.06 x 0.33 in) Weight 227g IP Rating IP68 Colors Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium Operating System iOS 18 Expand iPhone 16 Pro Max: Design and hardware

First things first. The iPhone 16 Pro Max and the 16 Pro are exactly the same this year other than screen, frame, and battery size. There's no disparity between zoom lens prowess like there was last year, so even though I tested only the Pro Max model, this review will apply to the standard Pro model too, aside from my comments on battery life.

Design wise, the iPhone 16 Pro Max looks almost identical to last year's model at arm's length, but upon closer examination, you may notice that the new model is slightly taller, because it has a larger 6.9-inch screen. The bezels wrapping around the screen are thinner, so the phones are still almost the same width.

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There's one more noticeable physical change: a new button located on the bottom right side of the phone specifically for camera related use, but Apple doesn't call it a button -- the official name is "Camera Control."

This button is different from conventional phone buttons in that it can not only be pressed, but it can also register swipes, hence why the design sees the button sitting flush with the rest of the phone's titanium frame.

I will elaborate more later in the performance section, but I will spoil it right now that Camera Control is a bit underutilized at the moment, and I predict within a year or two Apple will open up the button for general use, not just within the camera app (which would require a name change, if so).

Another hardware upgrade you can't easily see are the four new microphones hidden on the back, sides, and front of the phone. Apple claims these are "studio quality" mics, and while I'm not an advanced enough audio engineer to judge that claim, I can say they are the best mics of any phone I've seen, with a noticeably lower noise floor and the ability to record spatial audio. Apple also uses machine learning and AI wizardy to do a very convincing audio mix that allows the user to remove background noise or focus audio from one direction only. I'll talk more about this in the camera section soon.

Powering the phone is the Apple A18 Pro, still built on 3-nanometer architecture, but it's Apple's second generation 3nm which apparently carries even more transistor density. Apple's silicons have a long track record of being very capable and efficient, and that is the case here. Benchmark numbers are class leading, of course, but Apple says the 18 Pro chip is specifically needed to drive some of the on-device Apple Intelligence features and video capabilities. The A18 Pro chip is also capable of running some AAA video game titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider which was previously exclusive to iPads powered by the M silicon. Needless to say, you won't have to worry about raw power when using the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

GeekBench 6 CPU scores: iPhone 16 Pro Max with A18 Pro (left); iPhone 16 with A18 (middle); and iPhone 15 Pro Max with A17 Pro (right) 2:27 Related Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: The most feature-packed, do-it-all phone in the world

The Galaxy S24 Ultra's new AI features along with (slightly) improved camera system and build make for the most maximal, do-it-all phone

Cameras

The iPhone 16 Pro Max only gains a new 48MP ultra-wide camera this year. The other lenses, from the 48MP main, to the 12MP 5X Prism zoom, to the 12MP selfie camera, remain the same as last year. But the iPhone photography experience feels different, because Apple has embraced the recent trend of "film simulations" (popularized by both the viral Fujifilm cameras and recent batch of flagship Chinese phones which have partnered with the iconic camera brands like Leica, Hasselblad, and Zeiss). Film simulations, if you're not familiar, are specific color-tuning profiles that deliver a more unique look, whether it's black and white photography, or photos with more contrast, resulting in shots that look more organic, more raw, and less digital and overprocessed (a direction that phones from Apple, Samsung and Google had veered too far towards in recent years in my opinion).

Apple calls its film simulations "Photographic Style," and to be fair, this has been around a few years, but there's a greater emphasis placed on them this year; there are more options to choose from, and they're also customizable.

The new iPhone camera hardware has not changed much, but the photography experience is notably different because Apple has embraced the "film simulation" trend

The first time you open the camera app on the newly set up iPhone 16 phones, a guide will pop up asking you to choose the Photographic Style you prefer, along with instructions to adjust the color scale and tone via a color grid. As you move your finger along the grid, you'll see the image adjust highlights, shadows, color temperature, and tone in real-time.

Perhaps a flex of the A18 Pro chip's power is that you can do this after the shot too, meaning that for any photo you take with the new iPhones, you can apply these Photographic Styles after the fact. This is different from applying, say, an Instagram filter, by the way, because the changes affect undertones, and take into account skin rendering and layers within the image. There's a lot of computational photography work at play here. Check out the images below -- they're actually the same image, just changed with Photographic Style.

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Android phones can do this too, by the way, but I don't think many can apply the changes in real-time, instantaneously, like the iPhone 16 phones can. Being able to add some visually striking contrast or even "dirty up" the shot a bit is much welcomed for me, someone who loves the more organic vibes of images snapped by recent Chinese phones like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Vivo X100 Ultra. Those phones have partnered with iconic camera brands like Leica and Zeiss to fine tune color science for a more film-like look. I'm glad the iPhone 16 Pro Max can offer a version of that too. Conversely, shots taken with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro have a too-glossy digital sheen.

I really enjoyed shooting with the iPhone 16 Pro Max over the past week and playing with different looks, giving each shot a specific mood. This is a far more versatile and fun camera experience than before.

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The main camera, with a 1/1.3-inch sensor size, isn't the largest around, but Apple's image processing algorithm has improved a lot, and there's zero shutter lag. The 5X zoom lens is pretty good, though I still think the Periscope zoom lens from a Vivo X100 Ultra has a higher ceiling. In the collage below consisting of two 5X shots by the new iPhone and the Vivo, we can see clearly the Vivo zoom lens produces shots with more detail and depth.

iPhone 16 Pro Max 5X (left) and Vivo X100 5X (right)

But I'm nitpicking here -- the Vivo X100 Ultra is a niche enthusiast phone that's only selling officially in one country. The iPhone 16 Pro Max's cameras will be mostly put to the test against the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro, and I think Apple's cameras have an edge here.

One area the iPhone has always been strong in is video recording, and the new iPhone widens the lead again. The iPhone 16 phones can shoot video at 4K up to 120fps, and in typical Apple silicon fashion, you are able to shoot that clip first, then adjust the playback speed later however you see fit. With 120fps to play with, you can slow down footage four times and still get a workable framerate that's not choppy.

Then there's the aforementioned "studio quality" mics (exclusive to the iPhone 16 Pro series). They record some of the best audio I've heard from a phone, with sound that is fuller and livelier than other phone microphones. The new iPhones have a new Audio Mix feature that allows you to quickly separate your voice from background noise. It's akin to applying a voice isolation feature in video editing apps or Pixel's Audio Eraser. When paired with Apple's best-in-class video recording prowess and great microphones, this makes the iPhone 16 Pro phones the best device for aspiring or beginning content creators who just want to shoot with a phone without requiring other gear like wireless microphones.

Camera Control button

On to the aforementioned new button for controlling the camera. You can use this button as a physical shutter button, or as a swipable menu to cycle through camera lenses or Photographic Style. I find this button to be much better in theory than in practice, because number one, the button is flush with the phone's body, so it's harder to press, which naturally means you'll use more force than pressing a conventional button. This has resulted in the camera moving right when I'm snapping the photo. I suppose if I use this button as a shutter regularly, after a few weeks my finger muscle memory will become used to it and press with less force, but as of now, after even 100 shots, I just do not trust using it as a shutter button.

The second issue is that the UI to swipe through the menu system is tedious. You can achieve the action of cycling through Photographic Styles or switching lenses much faster by just tapping the on-screen buttons. Your mileage may vary, but after trying to use this button for four days, I gave up entirely and stopped using it the final three days of this review.

Software: Apple Intelligence

As mentioned at the beginning, I reviewed this phone running a developer beta of iOS 18.1 just to be able to test the Apple Intelligence features. The software that ships out of the box for consumers is iOS 18, which does not feature Apple Intelligence.

So, what is Apple Intelligence? It's Apple's branding on the same type of generative AI features Samsung and Google have been offering since last year. Generative AI is a relatively new phenomenon in which large language models can create original images and text. Here's what Apple Intelligence offers:

On-device generative AI photo object eraser, Apple calls its take "Clean Up" On-device writing tools, which can help a user summarize large chunks of text, or change writing style to another tone, or translate to another language Photo Gallery can be searched via natural language text Real-time transcription can turn recorded voice memos into a transcript with text A more intelligent Siri that's aware of context, meaning you can ask follow-up questions, or if you stumble your words when asking a question, Siri will still understand Generative AI image creation using text prompts, Apple calls this "Image Playground" Generative AI emoji creation using text prompts, Apple calls this "Genmoji" A Google Lens-type feature in which the iPhone camera can scan an object or scene and identify it, Apple calls this "Visual Intelligence"

None of these features are things we have not seen before. The Google Pixel phones can do most of them now. And the last three on the list are not available on iPhones right now, even in developer beta; these three features will roll out at the earliest in December, possibly even next year.

The AI stuff that is available to test in beta now does work well. Clean Up works okay -- I find Google's Magic Editor to be more sophisticated at generating original pixels. The writing tools can indeed summarize large chunks of text or help me turn a casually written paragraph into a "more professional one." Siri is noticeably smarter. I can ask for the time in London, and then follow up with "but how's the weather" and Siri will know I'm asking about London weather. Searching for photos by typing in contextual information like "photos of dogs in Tokyo" or "concerts in Los Angeles at night" works with 65-70% accuracy.

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The rest of the software experience has been great. iOS 18 is more customizable than before, and addresses some of my very longstanding complaints, namely the ability to place apps anywhere on the home screen (instead of following a static top-down grid). I can also change the color scheme and shades of app icons. I particularly really like the dark icons I am using below. While I am happy to see these changes in iOS, I also have to ask why it took so long. These are very basic home screen customizations that I've been doing on Android for 12 years.

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Even though I am running beta software, the only bugs I've encountered is a widely reported one where the keyboard would get stuck every so often. This is purely a developer beta bug, as the "regular" version of iOS does not suffer from this. In other words, if you're not running the beta, you can be assured of a zippy, smooth performance.

The iPhone does little things better than many Android phones

The iPhone does little things better than many Android phones. The haptics are more precise. When making edits to a video clip in the Photo Gallery, the results save in real time. Some apps, like Instagram, Insta360, and most of my banking apps, have a superior iOS version than Android version. Battery life has been excellent too, with the 16 Pro Max easily finishing a full 12-13 hour day with more than 30% left to spare. The iPhone Pro Max has always had the best battery life for me and this year continues the trend. Overall, I really like using the iPhone this year around.

Should you buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max?

You should buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max if:

You are on an iPhone 14 series phone or older and want to upgrade You want the phone with the best video recording capabilities You want an excellent all-round phone

You should not buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max if:

You already own the iPhone 15 Pro Max, as the hardware improvements aren't that significant and Apple Intelligence will roll out to the 15 version too You want the phone with the absolute best cameras -- I still think Chinese flagships from Xiaomi and Vivo capture better photos though You are expecting to get Apple Intelligence right out of the box

My initial thoughts after a day of testing this new iPhone were that it's less polished than in years past, mainly because the advertised AI features aren't quite ready, and I have to install beta software. But that's just the woes of testing a device this early, if I were to get this iPhone on October 10th, there's a chance that Apple Intelligence features will have rolled out and the software will feel much more polished by then.

Throughout my review period, my mindset shifted, and I didn't think this experience was so unpolished after all. But with that said, Apple Intelligence is still merely offering what Google and Samsung have been offering us for a year, and Apple has some catching up to do.

Instead, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the small hardware upgrades, like the superior microphones and the thinner bezels. I think the new Photographic Style enhances the iPhone camera experience too, though I still think much prefer to shoot with the telephoto lens of any recent Chinese flagship phones (they have much larger sensor sizes and thus can produce sharper zoom shots with more bokeh).

Like I said, I don't think this iPhone moves the needle that much for people on either side. iPhone fans will love this; those who are on "team Pixel" or love what Chinese phones are doing camera-wise, the iPhone 16 Pro Max hasn't done enough to win them over.

iPhone 16 Pro Max 7.5/ 10

Apple's newest and biggest iPhone gets a slightly larger screen, new A18 Pro chip, a better ultra-wide camera, a new physical button for controlling the camera, and the ability to run Apple Intelligence. But with many Apple Intelligence features not quite ready, the overall experience here is still very similar to last year's iPhone, although it's a bit better in every way.

ProsTremendous video recording capability and a more versatile photography experienceThe most powerful silicon in any phoneiOS 18 is a lot more customizable than before ConsApple Intelligence only available in beta form even at launch, and some features won't be available until December or later; plus, not all regions around world will even get these featuresThe camera control button is more troublesome to use than just ... tapping the screenThis overall back design is now six years old $1200 at Best Buy$1200 at AT&T