iPhone 16 Pro Max: Review and Unboxing

[cptcaveman]

What exactly are you expecting it to do that's revolutionary? Turn into a car? open out into a 70" TV??

Phone of all types are a mature techonology now and camera's are essentially the biggest feature to improve on. Everything else is software.

24MP selfie camera.
120hz across the lineup.
A suitable amount of memory for 2024 (and heaven forbid maybe even enough for a year or two after).
Centre stage for the iPhone.
The AI software features that they promised this year before next year...

This ain't exactly Jetsons stuff 😂

 

[Steve686]

Right now it’s kinda lame. Pressing it to take a photo either (1) moves the phone (you know what I mean if you’ve tried it) (2) opens up the zoom scroller (and scrolls!!) or both. None of it feels fun or clever. A lot of room to make this better so I’m hopeful for future iterations. Unfortunately that will likely mean hardware changes to not require a hard click to snap a shot.

A couple of more thoughts- I DO really like that no matter where I am in my phone I can click the button to bring up the cam, it’s basically a dedicated shortcut. I don’t care about the button from there, I will use the on screen controls for everything else (until they improve the UX as I was describing earlier).

FYI for some reason if you migrate from an existing iPhone the button may require 2 clicks to pull up the cam. This appears to be a bug as it didn’t affect me when I set up from scratch. (Meaning it was one click to open the app no matter if my screen was on or off).

Also visual intelligence is coming which will mean I will expect to use my camera even more when out and about, so I’m excited for “one click” to get there.

If you are reading this and have a 15 none of this is important, don’t worry about upgrading your phone, it’s a break even- cool idea that will require software and hardware updates to reach its potential.

My thought is, if someone wants the phone for pictures as such a priority, just assign the damn action button to camera, right?

 

[A1423]

I have the choice to upgrade every year basically for the price of a years use, tax, and the ancillary cost like cases and screen protectors. This year my bill actually dropped by $45 a month so it was financially compelling.

The iPhone 16pm is an “eh” upgrade for me, coming from a iPhone 15pm. I don’t like the camera button, and I definitely don’t like the notch in the case. But I’m getting used to that.

Here’s what I’ve noticed.

The camera is a smidge better, not really enough to get me to upgrade, at least with my limited use so far. I do think it’s a little snappier, but definitely not incredibly. Screen size isn’t really noticeable, but I wasn’t expecting that. However, the battery life is insane. I went from 5:52am to 11:30pm and had 17% battery left… and I was using my phone a lot. What made this doubly impressive is this occurred about 24h after setting up the new phone and it was still indexing my data(I have a lot).

Face ID does seem to be more reliable and I like the better password integration. But I think that’s more a software solution rather than hardware.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

24MP selfie camera.
120hz across the lineup.
A suitable amount of memory for 2024 (and heaven forbid maybe even enough for a year or two after).
Centre stage for the iPhone.
The AI software features that they promised this year before next year...

This ain't exactly Jetsons stuff 😂

I definitely agree on all those things but the poster I was replying to was suggesting it still looked like the same iPhone, like nothing has been changed for years. The things you list are nice incremental updates that Apple will likely drip-feed over the next couple of years like they usually do. None of which are revolutionary though are they? Jusy things we'd like to see from a consumer level.

 

[Downhilltenago]

A few initial impressions based on an hour of light use. I’m coming from an iPhone 13 Pro.

1. Speed. This seems so much faster than the 13 Pro, which wasn’t slow. It’s hard to describe but everything seems instantaneous.

2. The Dynamic Island is great. I know some people don’t like it, but it’s a nice visual indicator and shortcut to functions.

3. The phone feels about the same weight (it’s slightly lighter).

4. The bezels are tiny. The extra screen size is appreciated.

5. The camera control button will be used a lot. It fits nicely with my thumb in portrait mode and is more useable in landscape.

6. I like the action button. I’ll find the best shortcut for me.

7. The speakers are amazing for this small phone. You have to hear them to appreciate how good they are. Decent bass and they get plenty loud.

I haven’t tried out the camera much or other things. More tests to come tomorrow.

Great to see someone with a positive post. Keep enjoying and update us when you can.

 

[Downhilltenago]

I have the choice to upgrade every year basically for the price of a years use, tax, and the ancillary cost like cases and screen protectors. This year my bill actually dropped by $45 a month so it was financially compelling.

The iPhone 16pm is an “eh” upgrade for me, coming from a iPhone 15pm. I don’t like the camera button, and I definitely don’t like the notch in the case. But I’m getting used to that.

Here’s what I’ve noticed.

The camera is a smidge better, not really enough to get me to upgrade, at least with my limited use so far. I do think it’s a little snappier, but definitely not incredibly. Screen size isn’t really noticeable, but I wasn’t expecting that. However, the battery life is insane. I went from 5:52am to 11:30pm and had 17% battery left… and I was using my phone a lot. What made this doubly impressive is this occurred about 24h after setting up the new phone and it was still indexing my data(I have a lot).

Face ID does seem to be more reliable and I like the better password integration. But I think that’s more a software solution rather than hardware.

I’m over the moon about the battery life. There are a couple of channels on YouTube trying to claim it’s worse than the S24 ultra. It’s not, every test I’ve seen it’s won outside of 1 and that one it came in third. Either way the battery life seems to be amazing. I can’t wait to have an all day phone and no need to worry about battery life.

 

[Downhilltenago]

I definitely agree on all those things but the poster I was replying to was suggesting it still looked like the same iPhone, like nothing has been changed for years. The things you list are nice incremental updates that Apple will likely drip-feed over the next couple of years like they usually do. None of which are revolutionary though are they? Jusy things we'd like to see from a consumer level.

It’s just funny because I never see these complaints for Samsung. They have some of the same issue but I never see the weird articles saying the new ultra looks like the one from last year.

 

[golfstud]

Dan, the audio was acceptable, pretty amazing in fact for on camera mics. The 200 dollar premium for the Pro is getting narrower and narrower IMHO. If you are a camera junkie and shot A LOT maybe worth it. I'm with you on the stickers, that is a sad day in the box. Thanks for the review.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Thoughts on my 16 Pro after 3 days of use (upgraded from a 13 Pro).

1. Battery life is great. I've only been charging to 85% just to try that out but it's easily lasting a full day of normal use. I had to charge some after a 2+ hour FaceTime when I started battery around 40%.

2. I haven't done a lot of tests yet but the video looks wonderful. I don't have any I can share (family in it), but it's ultra clear and looks great. The microphones are good and I've been enjoying the audio settings -- being able to change to Studio audio, for example, makes everyone sound like they are right in front of you, even if they are behind the camera. That's impressive.

3. I've been using the action button a lot set as a flashlight. I love the action button because I keep my phone on silent mode almost all the time.

4. The cell connectivity seems the same as my 13 Pro so it doesn't appear to have any noticeable antenna or other improvements in that area.

5. I appreciate how easy it is to transfer to a new phone. It took maybe an hour to transfer from phone to phone but it was mostly a directly copy of the device. I'm amazed at how straightforward the transfer was. I've done that before in the past, but it's so rare that I forget how smooth the process is.

6. I do miss the 3x zoom in some situations but the 5x helps me capture some things much better. I don't have images I can share yet (mostly family), but I'll do some more tests later this week.

7. I really like iOS 18. I know this isn't iPhone 16 specific, but it's a really solid update. There have been a couple camera bugs (viewing photo or video in the camera app instead of switching over to photos makes it look small), but it's possible the small update that I did to the OS this morning fixed that (Apple shipped with a slightly older build). I'm not sure because I haven't had the chance to see if it was fixed.

8. Low light photos are much improved over the 13 Pro. Again, no images to share (family photos so far), but a photo in low light with just light from a TV looked like it was fully bright like daylight with minimal noise. This is what I wanted in that case.

Sure, it's not life-changing in updates but I'm pleased with the 13 to 16 updates.

 

[BrennanWDavis]

What are you doing that you got any notifications from Apple? I've received nothing, and never have... ?

Maybe because I am part of the iPhone upgrade program?

 

[wbeasley]

Thoughts on my 16 Pro after 3 days of use (upgraded from a 13 Pro).

1. Battery life is great. I've only been charging to 85% just to try that out but it's easily lasting a full day of normal use. I had to charge some after a 2+ hour FaceTime when I started battery around 40%.

2. I haven't done a lot of tests yet but the video looks wonderful. I don't have any I can share (family in it), but it's ultra clear and looks great. The microphones are good and I've been enjoying the audio settings -- being able to change to Studio audio, for example, makes everyone sound like they are right in front of you, even if they are behind the camera. That's impressive.

3. I've been using the action button a lot set as a flashlight. I love the action button because I keep my phone on silent mode almost all the time.

4. The cell connectivity seems the same as my 13 Pro so it doesn't appear to have any noticeable antenna or other improvements in that area.

5. I appreciate how easy it is to transfer to a new phone. It took maybe an hour to transfer from phone to phone but it was mostly a directly copy of the device. I'm amazed at how straightforward the transfer was. I've done that before in the past, but it's so rare that I forget how smooth the process is.

6. I do miss the 3x zoom in some situations but the 5x helps me capture some things much better. I don't have images I can share yet (mostly family), but I'll do some more tests later this week.

7. I really like iOS 18. I know this isn't iPhone 16 specific, but it's a really solid update. There have been a couple camera bugs (viewing photo or video in the camera app instead of switching over to photos makes it look small), but it's possible the small update that I did to the OS this morning fixed that (Apple shipped with a slightly older build). I'm not sure because I haven't had the chance to see if it was fixed.

8. Low light photos are much improved over the 13 Pro. Again, no images to share (family photos so far), but a photo in low light with just light from a TV looked like it was fully bright like daylight with minimal noise. This is what I wanted in that case.

Sure, it's not life-changing in updates but I'm pleased with the 13 to 16 updates.

the video is well stabilized.
have been using the SloMo to capture house video walkthroughs (to put the house on sale) and SloMo and some lights no a good mix. you get pulsing). Inherent issue but something to be aware of. Regular video copes much better and you can use AI processing to slow down video better.

 

[monstermash]

It has a USB-C port. It's all I care about and the only reason I bought it.

 

[cptcaveman]

Maybe because I am part of the iPhone upgrade program?

You make a revolving consumer loan sound like a VIP club 😂

 

[Downhilltenago]

I can’t put into words how much I love this phone. Easily the best phone I ever owned. I will keep raving about it. Apple knocked it out of the park.

 

[monstermash]

You make a revolving consumer loan sound like a VIP club 😂

A perpetual debt club.