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Video Review: iPhone 16 Pro Max, One Year Later

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We're approaching the iPhone 17 launch, and with less than a month to go, MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera decided to take a look back at his year with the iPhone 16 Pro Max.


The iPhone 16 Pro Max has held up well over the last 11 months, with no major problems with the durability or battery life. Battery health has held up well, and Dan's battery is still at 96 percent capacity.

Even with software optimizations over the last several months, the iPhone 16 Pro Max still runs hot at times. You're most likely to feel it heating up when the display is at max brightness in the sun, or when you're doing something that's demanding like playing a GPU-heavy game. Rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Pro will have a new vapor chamber cooling system, so we might see some improvement with next year's model.

There are minor scratches on the titanium frame of the device, but it otherwise looks good for a year of use. Dan doesn't use a case and shattered the back glass with a drop, but he had a no questions asked repair with AppleCare+. The iPhone 17 Pro Max will have an aluminum frame with less glass on the back, so it could be more durable. The front glass of the iPhone has deep scratches, but there's also a rumor that the iPhone 17 models will get a better scratch resistant coating that could improve things.

Camera Control isn't particularly useful except for opening up the Camera app, and it's downright annoying when a setting accidentally gets changed from a mistaken swipe. Performance with the A18 Pro chip has been impressive, and the next iPhone will be even faster.

If you have an iPhone 16 Pro Max, there's probably no reason to upgrade to an iPhone 17 Pro Max based on the rumors we've heard so far, but coming from an older iPhone, it'll be worth it. How has your iPhone 16 held up over the last year? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Link: Video Review: iPhone 16 Pro Max, One Year Later
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/18/iphone-16-pro-max-one-year-review/
My battery is 100% still even after a year. wild. Also, the camera is the first I can say that can approach a real digital cameras. It's not fully there yet, but the oversaturated cartoon colors are still reduced compared to previous generations. I'd say it's about 50% there. Most of the landscape oversaturation is fixed, but not for people. If you take a photo in real life of a person and then look at the photo on the screen, you'll immediately notice the oversaturated problem.. the iPhone gives everyone a deep tan.
 
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Camera Control was a massive, massive dud. The swipe menu sucks and I want it gone. When you use the button the tiniest movement of your finger will adjust the zoom or something. I bought this phone specifically for the camera upgrades but camera control is so bad I don't even want the button any more. I think I've used it twice since day one? Has to be the worst hardware specific gimmick they've added to the iPhone in ages
 
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I agree with the others who say the camera button is pointless. Honestly, I preferred having my phone case be able to protect the part of my phone that now has to be uncovered due to the button. Honestly, if the non-pro phones were to get the better screens, the camera button is a reason I might choose to go from a Pro to the regular iPhone.
 
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I don't see nearly as many of the people I know upgrading yearly like they used to, and most all of them have plenty of disposable income to do so. From them, not me...the wow factor of the getting the latest iPhone is long gone. I've said this to say I don't see many with the iPhone 16, or the 15 to be honest.
 
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I don't have the screen scratching (no protector here) or heat issues (and I use Project Indigo on occasion, a known heat generator) he's had, but his review mostly mirrors my experience with the 16PM.
 
ratspg said:
Is it just me or does the front glass of iPhones seem to scratch easier with every single generation?
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From everything I've read they keep getting easier to scratch but more difficult to break. Making it more difficult to break unfortunately means making it easier to scratch and vice versa.

I never listened to all the "Ceramic Shield" talk in events. I have always put a screen protector on my iPhones and iPads and I will do so until they're made of sapphire. I hate scratches however tiny and thin.
 
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no case, no screen protector, not a single scratch yet... guess i just take care of stuff that cost about £1200... 😉

did in fact get a case, but hardly use it. also, the only scratches my iphone 11 got in all its years with me were from the damn case it was in.
 
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I hate how Apple makes the iPhone lighter one year, then increases battery life the other year by making it heaver. They do this so they always have something to sell, but of course they don't mention it being heavier. They also very lazily make it bigger each year because they can't innovate my azz anymore.

Apple could actually dramatically improve picture quality. iPhones takes great photos and videos but on the photo front they can still improve a lot when I compare 16 Pro photos to Pixel photos. So there's an area they could improve on. Then there's the less reflective displays that could improve colors on the display. Put chip efficiency gains in making the phone lighter. Those things are way more interesting than lanyards imo and making the iPhone fatter and bulkier every other year.
 
jdawgnoonan said:
I agree with the others who say the camera button is pointless. Honestly, I preferred having my phone case be able to protect the part of my phone that now has to be uncovered due to the button. Honestly, if the non-pro phones were to get the better screens, the camera button is a reason I might choose to go from a Pro to the regular iPhone.
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Apple batter has 120Hz displays for the regular 17. It's unacceptable that the regular ones don't have it (not because everyone is asking for a 120Hz displays because honestly, so many people don't even notice, but because of the price of these phones. I would never think it's a must if the iPhone 17 sold for 500ۈ).
 
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I have the 16 Pro. Performance has been very good, I'm happy with the camera system on it. Mine rarely gets warm/hot but obviously that will depend on how you use your phone. Shortly after getting the phone I disabled the camera button for two reasons: I didn't like using it, and I was often accidentally opening the camera app when I wasn't trying to. I really don't like how heavy the phone is and I don't intend to get a phone this heavy ever again.

Overall though, it's a really good phone if you don't mind its heavy weight.
 
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I've been using a 16 PM since launch day. Not a single scratch on my screen. I also have never used a case with it.

I am excited however to move on from this iPhone. I'm officially done with iPhones this tall. I'll be getting the 17 Pro most likely. (I'm really hoping for a brighter and anti-reflective screen.)

Camera Control has one use for me which is to open the camera app. Otherwise I hate using it to take actual photos.
 
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BelgianChoklit said:
From everything I've read they keep getting easier to scratch but more difficult to break. Making it more difficult to break unfortunately means making it easier to scratch and vice versa.
Click to expand...
That's from the watch discussions. The aluminum watches have Ion-X glass, which is more resistant to shattering but prone to scratches. Not sure how this compares to Corning's ceramic glass used on the iPhones. Sapphire, used on the titanium watch models and the iPhone camera lenses, is more scratch-resistant but more susceptible to cracking upon impact. They could probably make a sapphire iPhone screen, but it would be more expensive.
 
iMac The Knife said:
I don't see nearly as many of the people I know upgrading yearly like they used to, and most all of them have plenty of disposable income to do so. From them, not me...the wow factor of the getting the latest iPhone is long gone. I've said this to say I don't see many with the iPhone 16, or the 15 to be honest.
Click to expand...
I still have my 14 Pro Max and really do't see a major compelling reason to "upgrade" - I used to every year… for years… but decided not to. to save some money… and now I just don't feel there is anything "wrong" with my 14Pro Max. I don't think "Apple Intelligence" is anywhere near good enough to need it for my phone. I have it for my iPad and Mac Book Pro M1 but rarely use it.
 
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"One Year Later"

Must be using those new metric years that are only 11 months long.

Weird how many people show active hatred for the camera control button. I love it. I do not use it for adjusting settings, but I use it all the time for bringing up the camera from any context - no having to choose which of several methods to navigate to the camera (is the phone closed/locked? is another app open? am I at the main menu or not?), I just double-click (yes, turned that on to avoid any chances of accidental activation) the camera button and I'm in the camera - another click to take a picture, or press and hold for video. I'll often end up with something in one hand that I want to take a picture of, and I can, with my other hand, take out the phone, switch to the camera, and take the picture, quite effortlessly. For me it's a big win.
 
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