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After a very small debate with myself, I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to upgrade. So I pre-ordered the iPhone 16 Pro Max and picked it up from the store on Friday. So I have spent the past week getting it all set up (I decided to set it up as new) and getting used to going back to a Pro Max from the 15 Pro that I had been using.
This is not going to be an in-depth review. I will look to do that in a few months’ time. However, I wanted to share my initial thoughts on the iPhone 16 Pro Max mainly because, on paper, there is not a great deal of change. So let’s see what the new features are like and what my thoughts are after a week’s use.
Design:
There is not much in terms of the design of the iPhone 16 Pro, but I did want to touch on a couple of bits that have changed and are completely new.
Screen:
Both the 16 Pro and Pro Max sport slightly bigger displays this time around. This year the 16 Pro is 6.3” compared to the 6.1” 15 Pro, and the 16 Pro Max coming in at 6.9” compared to the 6.7” 15 Pro Max. Although there is a notable change in size to me, it doesn’t feel like it is bigger. This seems to be mainly achieved by having even slimmer bezels than last year’s flagship model. And apart from the pixel resolution going from 2796×1290 to 2868×1320, that is really the only change. The display is still beautiful, and the ProMotion makes content consumption a pleasure, but that was the same on the 15 Pro.
New Button:
We have a new button, a new camera button. I am not going to talk about it much here in this section as I will cover it mostly in the New Features section below.
Apart from that, there is no real difference in the Pro version. Oh, sorry, I told a lie. We get a new Desert Titanium colour. So as with the previous few iterations of the iPhone Pro Model: not much change in terms of design, and most of the upgrades are internal.
New Features:
So in this section, I wanted to talk about a few notable new features that have come to the 16 Pro lineup as there is no difference between the two pro models other than the size.
Camera Control:
I am still getting to grips with this and it takes a bit of time to remember that this is there lol. I found that interesting when it was announced and to be honest, was one of the reasons I was swayed into hitting the pre-order button. It certainly feels like our phones are moving more and more to being a professional camera in our hands at all times. I am not saying that’s a bad thing as I have a young family so I am always taking photos and have top quality on me and all the time wellis just brilliant.
So having said that, what does this additional camera button allow us to do? Well basically what you can do in the camera app but without you having to unlock your phone and head into the camera app. One press and your camera will open andthen you can
- Use it as your shutter button.
- Light press twice and it brings up a menu with zoom, exposure, etc.
- Move your finger lightly across the button till you get the function you want and then press to select.
Now I have found it a bit fiddly, but it’s new, so I am expecting it will become more second nature as I start to use it more.Another observation is that the position of the button gears it more to landscape photography; it is still usable when taking vertical/portrait photos; it’s just a bit more awkward. I am not sure there was really another option for where to put it, though, so it is what it is. So in short, it’s a bit fiddly, but I think with time it will be pretty and useful to use.
Cameras:
So as we move into most years, we are seeing a couple of new camera features. We now have 48MP macro photography, Dolby Vision for 4K and 120 fps, and spatial photos and video. Now I can honestly say I have tried none of these yet, and I am not really one to mess too much with the cameras, but I will try and get around to reviewing these things a bit more as we see upgrades in this space every year. It’s a key area these days when people are looking to choose their next phone.
AI Features:
This is the first iPhone built with AI in mind, with the new A18 chip. The new chip will, of course, provide enough power than a normal user will ever need, and I am very much in that bracket as well. iOS 18 brings a host of AI features, but some of them you are going to have to wait till later in the year (Dec) such as:
- AI Writing Tools
- New Siri Design & Richer Language Understanding
- Chat GPT Integration
I have been using the Beta, so I have been trying the new AI features a bit, but I will look to write a full review of them. I need to spend some more time using them and integrating them into my workflow before sharing my thoughts on them, both the good and the bad.
Battery Life:
Back to one of the favourite topics on phones: Battery Life. Apple stated that we can see up to 4 hours more battery life thanks to their optimised internal design, allowing for a large battery along with the new A18 chips, which provide greater power efficiency. I am certainly seeing better battery life, but I was coming from the 15 Pro (so would expect this), plus I was running the iOS 18 Beta, which killed my 15 Pro battery. I am still running the beta, so I can test the AI features that are not yet on the nearly released iOS 18, but it doesn’t seem to impact the 16 Pro Max’s battery nearly as badly.
Final Thoughts:
So am I happy with it – Yes! Was it worth the upgrade? I am not sure lol. I do love it, but I love all my iPhones. I would say that the changes are minimal when you really think about it this year. I upgrade every year because I am a sucker, but if you already have one of the 15 Pro Series, then I would say that it might be worth holding off on this. You will still get the IA features with the 15 Pros when they come to iOS 18. If you have an older model, then it might be more appealing depending on what you are looking for.