iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: Beyond the Apple Intelligence Hype

After spending around two weeks with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, as a long-time iPhone user, my perception towards Apple has taken a turn this year. Like every other year, Apple took to the stage in September to unveil its latest crop of iPhones. Without any radical design change, the iPhone 16 Pro Max comes as a breath of fresh air, thanks to some rather incremental upgrades. But, is this the best that Apple has produced or could produce? Let’s find out in this iPhone 16 Pro Max review.

First, let’s look at the specs of the iPhone 16 Pro Max:

Apple Intelligence or Absent Intelligence?

This year, the stakes were high as Apple has yet to mark its presence in the AI bubble that other companies have been floating in for some time now. The iPhone 16 series is to begin the era of AI for Apple. While Apple did not parrot “AI” like we have seen lately at Google’s events, the entire soiree revolved around Apple Intelligence and how the new iPhones are AI iPhones. Even the tagline for the iPhone 16 series is “Hello, Apple Intelligence”. So, let’s talk about all the new AI features in the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Errr.. please visit again after October 28, 2024 (alleged Apple Intelligence release date) to read about Apple Intelligence features in iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Yes, to the surprise of many, Apple’s first built-for-AI iPhones are sans AI. While we have tried our hands on some Apple Intelligence features in beta like Writing Tools, Clean Up tool, Notification Summary, Reduce Interruptions Focus mode, and more, they are still in beta and nothing remarkable as compared to peers. We’ll revisit this section once the iPhone 16 Pro Max gets the first set of Apple Intelligence features with iOS 18.1.

Camera Control Button Is the New Notch!

After Apple Intelligence, the second most fascinating and highlighted feature of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the new Camera Control button. I was always skeptical of Apple adding another button to access the camera, making it the overall 8th option on iPhone to quickly open the Camera. The Camera Control is a pressure-sensitive sensor with haptic feedback you can use to mimic DSLR-like camera operations.

I have been using the iPhone 16 Pro Max for two weeks now and honestly, it took around 10 days for me to get used to this new camera opening utility. For the first 10 days, every time I opened the Camera app, I realized just after reaching the camera interface that there was another way to do it.

As for how useful the Camera Control is, I find the positioning of the button a bit awkward. It has been positioned so that you’d rarely reach out for the button to open the camera and then there’s a sudden jerk while clicking photos. Zooming in and out while capturing a video is one aspect where I find the Camera Control button to be really useful.

The UI is intuitive but has a learning curve to it. Once you master the pressure you need to apply to click the photo, toggle between different options, and return back to the main menu, the Camera Control button will start growing on you. Using Tones and Styles using the haptic-receptive button could be a game changer for clicking artistic photos.

I really feel the Camera Button is the new notch. No doubt, the notch was an eye sore when Apple introduced it. Gradually, people got used to it and then Apple expanded its functionality and turned it into Dynamic Island. I see Apple follow the same route with Camera Control. In future iterations, Apple has the opportunity to turn it into a multi-functional utility. At the same time, I pray that the Camera Control button does not get the same treatment as the Action Button, which could be the go-to button on iPhone if Apple allows double or triple-click functionality on it.

Pro Photography and Videography

While we’re at the camera, the debutant 48MP Fusion Ultra-wide lens is a welcome addition. Compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the photos are now more detailed and you can clearly see 48MP at work in macro shots.

I also experienced improvement in the shutter speed on iPhone 16 Pro Max, compared to its predecessor. If I had to pick the color representation of the night sky or a low-lit scenery, I’d pick the iPhone over Samsung and Pixel flagships.

Day Time Shots on iPhone 16 Pro Max

As you can see in the photos below, the new 48MP ultra-wide has improved the macro mode. There are more details in macro shots with accurate color reproduction. However, I faced some object detection and focus issues while capturing macro shots on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. But, it’s nothing that cannot be fixed with a software update. In other daytime shots, the iPhone 16 Pro Max performed exceptionally well in a range of scenarios. The phone was able to reflect shadows and highlights in the viewfinder and photos quite accurately.

Night Time Shots on iPhone 16 Pro Max

During nighttime and low light scenes, the iPhone 16 Pro Max performed exceptionally well. As you can see in the shots below, the shots are not saturated a bit and there is no noise in photos. The HDR in photos is also commendable as the iPhone was able to differentiate and reproduce a range of intensities of light falling on an object from different sources. 5X optical zoom also performed well. The only issue I found out with the iPhone 16 Pro Max is that there was lens flare in shots pointed directly at the light source. Last year, Apple said that there’s a new coating on lenses to avoid lens flare. I wonder if this year’s Pro Max misses out on it.

Videos

The biggest upgrade comes in the form of 4K 120FPS video recording functionality. iPhones were always favorable in video recording capabilities and the new 4K 120FPS recording reaffirms its stature. I tried recording multiple 4K 120FPS videos and the results were nothing short of spectacular. If you are someone who shoots videos professionally, I highly recommend playing with playback speeds in 4K 120fps videos recorded on iPhone 16 Pro Max for artistic creativity.

Another pro addition is the new Audio Mix tool. Available across all iPhone 16 models, Audio Mix uses AI and spatial audio to minimize background audio in recordings and focus on audio from in-frame objects and subjects. There are three modes – In-Frame, Studio, and Cinematic. The results were simply outstanding. I tried playing a podcast on the left and a song on the right just outside of the frame while capturing two people talking. The Audio Mix tool was successful in blocking the sound from both podcast and song to focus on the subjects talking in the frame.

Bigger Display, New Color

As I mentioned in the beginning, there is no radical change in the design this year as well. There are two subtle changes though – a bigger display and noticeably thinner bezels. This year, Apple has bumped the display size to 6.9-inches from 6.7-inches on the predecessor. As someone who has been using iPhone 15 Pro Max for some time, the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max isn’t that noticeably bigger but it’s a bit awkward to hold at the same time, being the biggest iPhone ever released. Thinner bezels definitely lend a more polished look to the device but there are accidental touches while watching YouTube videos and playing games.

120Hz ProMotion display is smooth and you will feel if you are switching from a non-Pro iPhone or an Android with a 60Hz display. 60Hz display is a deal breaker for many and if you are confused between buying the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro (Max), the ProMotion display is something that you should prioritize. In 2024, a 60Hz display on a $800 phone does not make sense and Apple needs to be criticized for this. However, the iPhone 17 series is expected to get a 120Hz ProMotion display across the lineup, as per current rumors.

iPhone 16 Pro Max still comes in the new Titanium build but this time, there’s a new color – Desert Titanium in addition to Titanium White, Titanium Black, and Natural Titanium. The new color option is too subtle in my opinion. I would have preferred a deeper shade akin to the iPhone XS’ gold color. But it’s subjective. My fellow editor Ajaay believes that the new iPhone 16 Pro Max color will be the bestseller this year.

As for the display itself, the Super Retina XDR display on iPhone 16 Pro Max with the 2868‑by‑1320-pixel resolution is gorgeous for media consumption and it’s ample bright in direct sunlight, thanks to 2000 nits peak brightness (outdoor). However, a few days ago I got my hands on Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, and its display was mind-blowing. I think Apple has yet to catch up to that standard. Nonetheless, watching movies and playing action-intensive games like Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage in high resolution is undoubtedly an addictive experience on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

A18 Pro-Formance

As is the norm, the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with the Pro chipset – A18 Pro. The chipset comes with a 16-core Neural Engine, a 6-core GPU, and a 6-core CPU. We ran Geekbench, 3DMark, AnTuTu, Geekbench AI, and more in our detailed A18 Pro benchmark test and the chipset brings incremental upgrades over the A17 Pro. The thing with recent iPhones is that performance has always been up to the mark and at no point while using Pro iPhones, you’d feel that you’re missing out on performance expected from a flagship device.

However, one department where the A18 Pro brings dramatic improvement is thermal performance. iPhone 15 Pro Max users would know that A17 Pro was notorious for overheating issues. Thanks to the new aluminum thermal substructure in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I have not yet encountered overheating issues on the iPhone 16 Pro Max even while playing graphic-intensive games like Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero, and Genshin Impact.

At max, the temperature reached 43 degrees Celcius when multiple apps were running in the background and I was playing Call of Duty: Mobile on max settings (Graphic Quality – High, Frame Rate 120) and shaders. It’s highly likely that you won’t notice performance upgrades in day-to-day usage if you are upgrading from a recent iPhone, bar the soaring temperature that made it uncomfortable to hold and use the last-gen flagship iPhone.

To test the capabilities of the AI chip on iPhone 16 Pro Max, I tried running the offline Llama 3.1 LLM model with 8 billion parameters and I experienced lagging and overheating issues. At one point, the iPhone 16 Pro Max restarted on its own and I had to relaunch the LLM model. In comparison, Apple’s official on-device model has 3 billion parameters. For a fair competition, I also tried Gemma 2 with 2 billion parameters and the results were satisfactory this time, with no lag in responses and no overheating.

iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with iOS 18 out of the box. If you leave out Apple Intelligence features, iOS 18 itself is an incremental update over iOS 17. Sure, there are some useful features like lockscreen and homescreen customizations, the new Control Center, you can lock apps, and more but there’s nothing substantial. Those who have used an iPhone before will not find many new features to their delight. Photos app is definitely a big mess and you will want to stop looking at your photos if you are able to find them in the first place in the new and redesigned app.

Hits the Park with Battery Life

iPhone 16 Pro Max really delivers with its outstanding battery life. With a battery life of close to 14 hours, the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers one of the best battery life I have seen so far on an iPhone. While Apple doesn’t disclose the battery capacity, teardowns have revealed a 4,747 mAh battery on the Pro Max this year, which is a mere 7% bigger than the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 4,441 mAh battery. However, the improvement in the battery life is quite considerable. When I tested the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year, it delivered around 12 hours of battery life.

This year, it’s 2 hours more. Running on iOS 18.0.1, I used the iPhone 16 Pro Max as my daily driver. To test the battery efficiency, I charged the iPhone to 100% at 9 AM and throughout the day, I scrolled through social media apps, watched videos on YouTube, listened to songs on Apple Music, used the phone for CarPlay during my commute, played Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail at night and even clicked a couple of photos the next morning. The next day, at 3 PM, I was still using the phone at around 8% battery, which is when I put it back to charging.

At the launch event, Apple said that the new Pro models can drop to 1Hz to reduce battery drain and it reflects in the battery performance.

Sadly, the charging speed on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is still archaic. While there were rumors that charging speeds on the iPhone 16 series have been bumped to 45W, in our testing, we found out it’s not true. iPhone 16 Pro Max still charges at 25W and it took around 1 Hour and 15 minutes to top up the iPhone from 0 to 100, which is disappointing.

iPhone 16 Pro Max Verdict: Another Year, Another Incremental Upgrade

iPhone 16 Pro Max is another incremental upgrade in its current state. Had Apple offered Apple Intelligence right out of the box, this verdict would have been different. The addition of Camera Control and the new 48MP Fusion lens are welcome changes but there’s nothing substantial to attract the buyers. Apple has been using the same design for years now and the iPhone 16 Pro Max is no different. The Desert Titanium color, in my opinion, is too subtle and not everyone is fond of monochrome colors if they are shelling over $1,000 for a phone.

Apple should throw a punchy color in the mix next year. Extended battery life and a great camera setup are the strong suits of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but there’s still room for improvement in charging speed, zoom capability, and Camera Control’s unwieldy position and limited functionality.

Apple is still lagging when it comes to AI features and the absence of Apple Intelligence features at the launch is an albatross around the neck of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

If you are planning to upgrade to a new iPhone this year, I’d still recommend the non-pro iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus as they bring the most pro upgrades this year. As for Apple Intelligence, in the current state, I don’t think getting an iPhone 16 Pro Max would be a wise decision if you are using an iPhone that’s not compatible with Apple Intelligence. I recommend you to wait until the iPhone 17 series so that we get the complete AI overhaul that Apple has in pipeline.

If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, upgrading to the 16 Pro Max doesn’t make sense because there aren’t many meaningful upgrades this year. If you are an Android user planning to jump ship, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a good upgrade but don’t expect Apple to catch up with AI features offered by the likes of Google and Samsung any time soon. For those who want an all-rounder with no compromises at all, the iPhone 16 Pro Max remains the best choice.