iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Is It an Upgrade?

At “It’s Glowtime” event today, Apple finally unveiled the new iPhone 16 lineup, comprising the iPhone 16/16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max. The latest line of iPhones come with all the new iOS 18 features, Apple Intelligence and improvements to system-on-chip, display, design, and cameras. If you’re one of those who is interested in getting the iPhone 16 Pro Max and are wondering whether it’s an upgrade over last year’s top-of-the-line model, you’ve come to the right place. In this iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max comparison, we’ll help you figure that out.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Specs At a Glance

You can check out the specifications chart below to see how the iPhone 16 Pro Max differs from the 15 Pro Max on paper.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Display

Starting off with the display, the newer Pro Max model features a significantly bigger 6.9-inch panel with a resolution of 2868 x 1320 pixels. Whereas, the last year’s iPhone has a 6.7-inch unit, the same as its cheaper Plus sibling, so the resolution is slightly lower at 2796 x 1290 pixels.

The bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro Max have also been trimmed to fit into a form factor that’s not much different to its predecessor. It’s just not the bezels that contribute to the improved screen real estate, as Apple has shrunk the cutout at the top too. So, the Dynamic Island that you interact with will also be smaller than before.

Besides these size differences, the capabilities of the displays remain the same. Both models use Super Retina XDR LTPO OLED panels with 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate and support for HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. The max brightness for SDR (1,000 nits), HDR (1,600 nits) and outdoors (2,000 nits) are unchanged.

Build and Design

With the larger display, the iPhone 16 Pro Max also gets a size bump. The newer model measures 163mm in height and 77.6mm in width, compared to the 159.9mm height and 76.7 width of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The thickness, however, remains the same at 8.3 mm.

Both phones feature matte-finish glass panels on the rear, with the latest iteration getting a much glossier titanium frame, thanks to a new titanium processing technique. The newer model has the same button layout as the 15 Pro Max, but there’s an additional button on the right. This is the Capture Button which will be a dedicated mechanical key to access the Camera app and click pictures inside it. This button is also pressure-sensitive, so you can map different actions to various kinds of touch.

While the last year’s model came in Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, Black Titanium, and White Titanium, the 16 Pro Max comes with a more established and solid color scheme. You can get it in Space Black, White, Gray, and our best pick Desert Titanium.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Hardware

The iPhone 16 Pro Max replaces the Apple A17 Pro on last year’s version with a brand-new Apple A18 Pro, which is also built on the same 3nm N3E processing node. It’s an enhanced version of TSMC’s N3B process which is significantly 15% more powerful and packs upgraded 16-core Neural Engine to make the device perform Apple Intelligence actions faster. The iPhone 15 Pro Max also packed a 16-core Neural Engine for AI tasks but the latest unit can do 35 trillion tasks per second.

Apple has also upped the internal thermal design with upgraded metal casing for the battery and a new graphene heatsink instead of copper. The upgrade also transitions towards the connectivity front as it gets the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard as well as a new Snapdragon X75 5G modem for 4x faster data throughput speeds and a 20% improvement in energy efficiency. The 15 Pro Max, on the other hand, came with Snapdragon X70 and Wi-Fi 6E standard.

Software and AI

As is the case with any iPhone release, you get all the features available with iOS 18 as well as some new AI functions. With iOS 18, you get a redesigned and more customizable home screen, new Control Panel, lock screen controls, a Passwords app that replaces the password keychain section, a Game mode for better gameplay, and much more. All of these features are accessible on both models, so this is somewhere you won’t see many differences when upgrading.

This year’s iOS release also accompanies the first time we see Apple’s version of AI on their lineup. The company calls it Apple Intelligence and while both the models support it, the 16 Pro Max has a few exclusive ones. This new system packs a bunch of meaningful AI features and experiences like a new and powerful Siri, ChatGPT-integration, Writing Tools, Notification Summaries, AI Genmojis, and more.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Camera

Last year, Apple delivered major improvements to the cameras across its iPhone 15 lineup. That’s because the primary sensor on all models, including the base iPhone 15 got bumped up to 48 MP wide f/1.8, 24mm sensor.

This time, the company has taken a more conventional route and retained this sensor as well as the secondary 12 MP 120mm periscope telephoto lens in the same f/2.8 aperture configuration. The latter offers the same level of optical zoom ~ 5x and 3D sensor‑shift OIS like its predecessor.

The only major change is the new 48 MP 0.7µm ultra-wide sensor. That’s a significant improvement over the 12 MP ultra-wide sensor which is present on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and previous versions. Other than that, you’ll also see a TOF 3D LiDAR scanner for depth, the same as before.

With changes to the display and a smaller Dynamic Island, you may have expected a different camera configuration on the front. But that’s not the case. The iPhone 16 Pro Max keeps the 12 MP wide f/1.9, 23mm sensor for selfies with HDR support. Similarly, there are no differences between the device in terms of video recording. You can record 4K footage using the front and back cameras at 24/25/30/60 FPS.

Battery and Charging

Apple is using a stacked battery technology to power the latest Pro model. This ensures increased lifespan and better energy density compared to the single-layer battery on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The Cupertino giant doesn’t market battery life as other OEMs do, and instead shares an estimate of how long the phone may last for different usage scenarios. The 15 Pro Max is rated to last up to 95 hours on audio playback, up to 29 hours on video playback, and up to 25 hours on streaming video. With a slightly larger battery, the newer model can last you much longer, thanks to the more efficient Apple A18 Pro chip.

The 16 Pro Max also gets an upgrade on the charging front. You can now juice it up with 25W MagSafe charger, up from 15W on the 15 Pro Max. Wired charging remains unchanged, and both models are rated to charge from 0-50% in 30 minutes.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Should You Upgrade?

Every year, when an iPhone releases, it’s perhaps the Pro Models that get the most improvements throughout the lineup. And that’s essentially the case with the iPhone 16 Pro Max as well. It gets a larger display, better internals, a new Capture button, and improved charging support over its predecessor. While most of the camera setup remains unchanged, the new 48 MP ultrawide sensor is indeed a welcome change.

But does all of this warranty upgrading from an iPhone 15 Pro Max? Personally, no. Unless you get really-good trade-in value, I won’t recommend switching to the newer model. That’s because the 15 Pro Max can still perform anything that the latest iPhone does, thanks to the underlying iOS 18 software. It even gets the Apple Intelligence features as the 16 Pro Max, barring a few handful ones.

If you own a much older device, however, suggesting the iPhone 16 Pro Max becomes easy. With AI getting major traction from Apple, you’ll certainly get a sense of FOMO since you won’t be able to try out Apple Intelligence on older iPhones, or even the non-Pro iPhone 15 for that matter.