The iPhone 16 Pro Max is a true powerhouse, offering premium build quality, stellar performance, and top-tier cameras. Its battery life has also seen significant improvements, making it a dependable option for power users. However, the absence of Apple’s AI features, especially in markets like India, gives the phone a somewhat unfinished feel.
It feels like a work in progress in some areas. And the new camera control button, far from being revolutionary, actually feels more like a gimmick. You have to press it hard enough that it often causes unnecessary shake and blur in your images, detracting from its intended convenience. Despite these drawbacks, the iPhone 16 Pro Max remains the best iPhone ever made.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Build and Design: Refined, not redefined
Apple continues its legacy of premium design with the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The aerospace-grade titanium frame is lightweight, yet the device feels durable and substantial. While the flat-edged design retains the signature iPhone look, slightly rounded corners enhance comfort for extended use.
Apple’s meticulous attention to detail shines through every aspect of the phone’s build. The back features frosted glass that resists fingerprints more effectively than the glossy finishes of previous models. Additionally, the phone boasts an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, offering users peace of mind regarding its durability.
Equipped with the 2024 version of Ceramic Shield protection, Apple claims this is the toughest glass on the market. However, in my experience, it scratches more easily than Gorilla Glass Victus 2 or Armor. On the audio front, the iPhone 16 Pro Max now features studio-grade microphones that deliver sublime sound. They are loud and powerful enough to enhance phone calls and media playback.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Display: Impressive visuals
The 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is nothing short of stunning. Apple has further trimmed the bezels this year, resulting in an immersive viewing experience that is truly impressive. My only hope is that Apple can reduce the pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout even more next year to enhance that immersion even further.
With a ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, the iPhone 16 Pro Max boasts one of the brightest and most fluid displays on the market. Whether you’re scrolling through apps, watching HDR or Dolby Vision content, or playing games, everything appears incredibly smooth and vibrant. Apple has refined its OLED panels to perfection; colours pop with remarkable accuracy, while blacks are deep and inky, providing excellent contrast.
While the brightness levels are outstanding, the Pixel 9 Pro XL does have the edge when it comes to brightness under direct sunlight. I measured a maximum brightness of 1,662 nits on a sunny day—though not the highest reading we’ve encountered, it still ranks among the best.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Performance
After hours of testing, it’s clear that the A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a powerhouse. Performance is silky smooth across the board, with tasks handled effortlessly. Whether it’s gaming, multitasking, or demanding applications like on-the-go video editing, this chip excels. The 6-core CPU, paired with a 6-core GPU, delivers a significant leap in graphical performance, making the phone ideal for gamers and users seeking powerful mobile computing. Built on TSMC’s 3 nm process, the A18 Pro also features a new 16-core Neural Engine, designed to support the much-anticipated Apple Intelligence features—though those aren’t available just yet.
With 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM, the iPhone 16 Pro Max tackles multitasking with ease. App-switching is fluid, and apps open in an instant, making it a joy to use, especially for power users who demand seamless performance.
In the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test, the phone scored a solid 74.40% in the stability test, which is commendable. However, while the first loop was impressive, the second loop saw some performance throttling, after which things levelled off. The phone’s surface temperature hit 39.1°C during this test, which is quite high. I also noticed some heating during simple tasks like taking photos, and it was more noticeable compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Cameras
The iPhone 16 Pro Max introduces some exciting upgrades to its already excellent camera system, particularly with the addition of a new 48 MP ultrawide sensor and support for 4K video recording at 120 FPS. The 16 Pro Max is perhaps one of the most consistent and reliable camera systems on a mobile phone in the current market. In ideal lighting conditions, the camera delivers stunning results, offering remarkable detail and outstanding colour accuracy, maintaining Apple’s reputation for top-notch image quality.
However, in challenging lighting, the phone tends to crush shadows, resulting in a loss of detail in darker areas. While this can be a downside for some users, the overall image quality remains strong. Portrait mode is especially impressive, with 5x zoom shots showcasing crisp detail and striking depth of field.
In low light, the iPhone 16 Pro Max excels at reducing noise and managing highlights, though this sometimes gives images an artificial appearance. Apple has also expanded the camera experience with a variety of Photographic Styles this year. These come in two categories: Mood and Undertones. Each style lets you tweak three key parameters—Tone (contrast), Colour (saturation), and Palette (like a colour filter). While experimenting with these styles can be fun, they may not become a daily tool for most users.
iPhone 16 Pro Max Battery Life
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is equipped with a 4,685mAh battery, which is a slight boost of 240mAh compared to the previous iPhone 15 Pro Max. This extra capacity has led to an impressive Screen-On Time of 7-8 hours. While video streaming and gaming performance remain similar to what was seen on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the new model shines in areas like call and web browsing, contributing to the overall improved battery life.
The company claims that the device can charge up to 50% in 30 minutes when using a 20W charger. The phone charged from 0-100% in 102 minutes or 1 hour and 42 minutes, according to our tests. As indicated by Apple, it reached 48% in 30 minutes, but charging the phone post that, especially the last 20%, is laboriously slow.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max also supports fast wireless charging up to 25W using the latest MagSafe charger when paired with a 30W or higher power adapter. For those using a Qi2-compatible charger, the maximum wireless charging speed is limited to 15W.
Conclusion
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is a true powerhouse, offering premium build quality, stellar performance, and top-tier cameras. Its battery life has also seen significant improvements, making it a dependable option for power users. However, the absence of Apple’s AI features, especially in markets like India, gives the phone a somewhat unfinished feel. It feels like a work in progress in some areas. And the new camera control button, far from being revolutionary, actually feels more like a gimmick. You have to press it hard enough that it often causes unnecessary shake and blur in your images, detracting from its intended convenience.
