by I wasn’t lucky enough to get an iPhone 16 Pro Max on launch day, but seven days ago it finally showed up at my door. I already had a good idea of what to expect when it arrived, thanks to Tom’s Guide reviews and hands-on experience with the different models and their new features, but now I’ve had the chance to try them all out for myself.
I actually always have an iPhone in my pocket with the Android device I’m testing, so since iPhones generally come out once a year, I still have a long time left with the iPhone 16 Pro Max. But here are my thoughts after a week of using the phone as my daily driver, with plenty of praise (there’s a reason it’s on our list of the best phones), but also a few areas where I’d like to see an Apple address would see the iPhone 17 next year.
The screen looks fantastic – and that’s not just me
With its new 6.9-inch display, impressively high brightness, and industry-leading color accuracy, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is tied with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL for my favorite smartphone display of the year. Two of my family members—people who normally glaze over whenever I mention something like color gamuts or delta-E measurements—have even admired how bright, sharp, and colorful the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s screen is. They couldn’t specify which aspect of the display they liked, but needless to say, the quality is apparent even to the non-technical people in your life.
That said, it’s a little disappointing that Apple hasn’t upgraded more aspects of the display. It can now drop the refresh rate all the way down to 1Hz for greater battery efficiency, but even Apple notes that the screen isn’t brighter than before. And while the Ceramic Shield material is apparently sturdier, an added anti-glare layer like Samsung users for the Galaxy S24 Ultra would have been an excellent addition.
Photography is as powerful as you would hope
I could have guessed this without even touching the phone, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a great camera phone. While the cameras don’t quite match the megapixel count of Android flagships like the Galaxy S24 Ultra or Pixel 9 Pro XL, Apple is focusing on consistency, something we see reflected in the success of our photo showdowns. (Check out our 200-shot competition between the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra).
The new 48MP ultra-wide camera already enhances my zoomed-out shots with extra detail when needed, and the massive upgrade to Photographic Styles is fun to experiment with. While I haven’t tried it properly myself, having 120fps 4K video recording capabilities is something I’m eager to try as a fan of both high frame rates and the option to enable slo-mo in every clip.
iOS runs smoother and smoother than ever
I’ve been using iOS 18 since the second developer beta, so I’m pretty familiar with how the features all work. But since moving to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the A18 Pro chip seems to have made everything even smoother. Everything from opening apps to the speed at which Apple Pay shows up and processes my purchases feels smoother, and I hope that remains the case when we eventually get iOS 19 and later versions.
It’s possible this is just a matter of optimization over time, rather than the A18 Pro meeting a certain power threshold. But whatever the reason, the iPhone 16 Pro Max feels really built for iOS 18 and for Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools and Cleanup. It’s just a shame that these features weren’t launched at the same time as the phone.
Desert Titanium looks and feels stylish
I’m always unsure about the look of gold phones. They can easily look tacky rather than sophisticated, but Desert Titanium provides a less glitzy bronze color that makes me feel confident I’ve chosen the best color available.
Not only is it easy on the eye, the phone also fits better in the hand than the iPhone 15 Pro Max that I used before. The shinier titanium side rails feel nicer both against your fingertips and in your palm, while still offering the same weight and durability benefits as last year’s original titanium-clad Pro iPhones.
A 6.9-inch iPhone might have been enlarged a size too much
Despite the positive words I had for the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s larger screen, I’m unsure about the phone’s size overall. It could be that I’m just very used to the 6.7-inch iPhone shape after using Pro Max iPhones for the past three years. But I find it difficult to reach remote parts of the screen when trying to operate the phone with one hand, even compared to similarly sized Android phones.
Apple’s Reachability tool, the oft-forgotten iOS tool that slides the interface across the screen for easier access, goes some way to helping with this. But this makes me wonder if I made a mistake choosing the Pro Max over the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro, or if I just need a little more time with the phone.
Gaming is better – and cooler
I’m one of the few people who actually plays Resident Evil: Village on the iPhone. While I know I could get a better experience on a real console, it’s just nice to be able to play this AAA game right out of my pocket on one of the best gaming phones, whether it’s just on the phone or with the help of a Backbone One controller.
It’s all the more fun on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The larger display, extra power in the A18 Pro chip make the game more visually impressive, while the improved cooling (thanks to new graphite and aluminum parts) makes it much more comfortable in the hand than the iPhone 15 Pro was.
The battery life is fantastic
Whether it’s because Apple increased the battery capacity of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, or because it improved the power efficiency of the A18 Pro chipset, I’ve seen huge improvements in battery life. On days where I used to use 80% of my iPhone’s battery, I now use 65 – 70%, a significant improvement.
On our list of the best phone battery life, the iPhone 16 Pro Max comes in third, behind the OnePlus 12R and Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro. But considering it already lasts over 18 hours on the TG battery test, and only 42 minutes less than the ROG Phone, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has more than enough battery life for everyone.
