iPhone 16 Pro Max: Is it still worth buying? Price, features and our verdict
iPhone 16 Pro Max. | Image by PhoneArena
What's changed vs iPhone 15 Pro Max:
- Larger 6.9-inch display with thinner bezels (up from 6.7 inches)
- New Camera Control button on the right side for quick photo and video capture
- Upgraded 48MP ultrawide camera (up from 12MP)
- 4K at 120fps video recording in Dolby Vision
- Apple A18 Pro chip (3nm) with improved Neural Engine for Apple Intelligence
- Larger battery with better efficiency
- 25W MagSafe wireless charging (up from 15W)
- Apple Intelligence support
Release timeframe:
- The iPhone 16 Pro Max and Pro were announced on September 9, 2024, and became available for purchase on September 20, 2024.
Price:
- At launch, the iPhone 16 Pro Max started at $1,199 for the base 256GB model, which is the same price as the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Is the iPhone 16 Pro Max still worth getting versus the iPhone 18 Pro Max?
- The iPhone 18 Pro Max has a noticeably bigger battery at around 5,567 mAh versus the 4,685 on the 16 Pro Max. It also comes with faster 60 W wired charging (vs 27 W), Apple's 2nm A20 Pro chip with 12 GB of RAM (vs 8 GB on the 16 Pro Max), variable aperture for the main camera with manual controls, an upgraded 18 MP front camera with Center Stage, and a 35% smaller Dynamic Island. All of this, however, comes with a $100 higher starting price.
- If you want to upgrade from the iPhone 16 Pro Max to the iPhone 18 Pro Max, that would be a noticeable change, but it's not a must. Battery life is the biggest real-world win, and the variable aperture is great for creative people. However, the core experience remains roughly 90% identical. If you see a good trade-in deal, go for it, but otherwise, there's no reason to rush.
- The iPhone 16 Pro Max is still a great phone in 2026, and it remains a capable flagship. Its camera, performance, and display hold up well against the competition in 2026, and with iOS 27 now, it's as current as could be on the software side as well.
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iPhone 16 Pro Max release date
- The iPhone 16 Pro Max was announced on September 9, 2024.
| iPhone device family | Announcement date | Market release date |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16 series | September 9, 2024 | September 20, 2024 |
| iPhone 15 series | September 12, 2023 | September 22, 2023 |
| iPhone 14 series | September 7, 2022 | September 16, 2022 |
| iPhone 13 series | September 14, 2021 | September 24, 2021 |
iPhone 16 Pro Max price
- The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts with 256 GB of storage for the price of $1,199.
| iPhone model | 128GB of storage | 256GB of storage | 512GB of storage | 1TB of storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | - | $1,199 | $1,399-$1,499 | $1,599-$1,699 |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | - | $1,199 | $1,399 | $1,599 |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | $1,099 | $1,199 | $1,399 | $1,599 |
There is no price hike for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The device costs just as much as the iPhone 15 Pro Max did at launch, but various iPhone 16 deals might make it slightly more appealing. The iPhone 16 Pro Max flagship starts at $1,199 for the entry-level 256GB model.
iPhone 16 Pro Max camera
- Main: 48MP, 24mm, f/1.78
- Ultra-wide: 48MP, 13mm, f/2.4
- Telephoto: 12MP, 120mm (5X optical zoom), f/2.8
The iPhone 16 Pro Max camera comes with a 48MP Fusion sensor but now also features a new 48MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture, a big leap from the 12MP ultra-wide cameras on previous iPhones. For telephoto shots, the phone sports the same 5X telephoto tetraprism camera from the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which hasn't scored any upgrades.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max boasts a 48MP Fusion camera, a 48MP Ultra Wide camera, and a 5x Telephoto camera. | Image by Apple
The iPhone 16 Pro Max adopts a new ultra-wide camera, similarly to the iPhone 16 camera.
After years of using a 12MP ultra-wide sensor, Apple finally transitions to a 48MP ultra-wide camera with a 0.7um pixel size and a sensor size of 1/2.6", a serious upgrade over the 12MP ultra-wide with 1.0um pixels and a 1/3.6" sensor that Apple has previously used, which will help with low-light image quality.
Like the rest of the range, the iPhone 16 Pro Max can also capture Spatial Video for the Apple Vision Pro headset.
We are also getting 4K at 120 fps video recording in Dolby Vision, making the new Pro models deliver the highest resolution and frame rate combination ever seen on an iPhone.
iPhone 16 Pro Max design
- Thinner bezels than its predecessor
- Customizable Action button
- Camera Control button
- Four neutral colors
Here is an iPhone 16 Pro Max size comparison compared to the rest of the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup:
| iPhone model | Height | Width | Depth | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | 163mm | 77.6mm | 8.25mm | 227gr |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | 159.9mm | 76.7mm | 8.25mm | 221gr |
The iPhone 16 Pro Max features thinner bezels than its predecessor, without adding too much heft to the overall dimensions of the device. This has allowed Apple to super-size the display to 6.9 inches across, up from 6.7-inch on previous iPhones.
But that is not all: one of the new design features that debuted on last year's iPhone lineup was the customizable Action Button, which allows users to choose between a handful of options and features to quickly enable or disable. This hardware feature is back on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The phone itself features a titanium frame once more, though the new one is more vibrant in contrast with last year's mostly muted iPhones in terms of color. You can choose from the following iPhone 16 colors:
- Black Titanium
- White Titanium
- Natural Titanium
- Desert Titanium
iPhone 16 Pro Max Camera Control Button
With the new Camera Control Button you can simply slide your finger to adjust camera functions like exposure or depth of field. | Image by Apple
A novelty on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the addition of a new capacitive Camera Control Button. This new button is located on the right side of the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro, just a bit below the power button. As you might guess from its name, this handy addition acts as a multifunctional shutter button, making it super easy to focus and capture photos or videos.
You can even zoom in and out by swiping the Camera Control button left or right, or adjust the zoom, exposure, or depth of field with a single press and swipe. Later this year, Apple will bring two-stage focus, which allows you to lock the exposure and focus and reframe your photo.
iPhone 16 Pro Max display
- Display grew from 6.7 to 6.9 inches
- OLED, ProMotion support
- Dynamic Island
A very big change with the iPhone 16 Pro Max is its larger 6.9-inch display, a significant improvement over the 6.7-inch display that we've enjoyed ever since the iPhone 12 Pro Max days. Apple achieves this display real estate increase by further minimizing the bezels.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max has the largest display on an iPhone ever. | Image by Apple
The iPhone 16 Pro Max uses a smooth OLED display with ProMotion that can go up to 120Hz. OLED screens have exceptional contrast, superb viewing angles, and lovely, deep colors.
Just like all other iPhone 16 models, the iPhone 16 Pro Max arrives with the Dynamic Island punch-hole.
iPhone 16 Pro Max storage
iPhone 16 Pro Max storage versions:
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1 TB
Last year, Apple ditched the 128GB entry-level storage version on its largest iPhone, so the device featured 256GB in its base version. On the other end of the spectrum, the device was still available with up to a terabyte of on-board storage. That's the storage selection on the iPhone 16 Pro Max as well.
iPhone 16 Pro Max battery
- Efficiency gains from the A18 Pro chip
- No wired charging upgrade
What about the iPhone 16 Pro Max battery? At launch, Apple claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the most durable iPhone in terms of battery life, partly due to a battery size increase and partly thanks to the boosted efficiency of the Apple A18 Pro chipset.
| iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro battery life in hours | iPhone 16 Plus vs iPhone 15 Plus battery life in hours | iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15 battery life in hours |
|---|---|---|
| Video Playback 27 / 23 | Video Playback 27 / 26 | Video Playback 22 / 20 |
| Video Playback (Streamed) 22 / 20 | Video Playback (Streamed) 24 / 20 | Video Playback (Streamed) 18 / 16 |
| Audio Playback 85 / 75 | Audio Playback 100 / 100 | Audio Playback 80 / 80 |
Charging speed upgrades
The iPhone 16 Pro Max didn't receive a wired charging speed upgrade. Yet, it kind of did: in certain scenarios when you're charging the phone and using a power-intensive app, the phone will draw more power in order to compensate for the increased draw. We saw hikes up to 38W in our tests, though normally the device will charge at around 25W.
However, it got a nifty wireless charging speed improvement in the form of much faster 25W MagSafe charging; the phone is also Qi2-certified.
Is there a charger in the box? The iPhone 16 Pro Max won't come with a charger in the box. Apple stopped including chargers with the iPhone 12 generation and instead moved onto slim shipping boxes.
iPhone 16 Pro Max features and software
- iOS 18 out of the box
- Supports iOS 27 and Siri AI
The iPhone 16 Pro Max arrives with iOS 18 (our iOS 18 review available here) out of the box, but the interesting Apple Intelligence suite of features arrives with iOS 27. This means that you don't get everything as a whole package from the get-go.
Here, AI stands for two things: not only "artificial intelligence", but "Apple Intelligence" as well. The long-awaited Siri AI with personal context awareness and the ability to take action across apps on your behalf arrives with iOS 27.
Writing tools will be available in any text-based app, enabling rewriting, proofreading, and style changes. The Photos app adds a Clean Up tool for removing unwanted objects, plus generative emoji and images on supported devices (iPhone 15 Pro/Max and newer).
The iPhone 16 Pro Max will be supported for at least five years, but certainly more. iPhones usually get supported for seven to eight years before being dropped from the support list.
iPhone 16 Pro Max hardware and specs
- Apple A18 Pro chip, 3nm process
- Improved Neural Engine for AI
The iPhone 16 Pro Maxarrives with the 3nm Apple A18 Pro chip, which is built on TSMC's second-gen N3E manufacturing process. It features a hexacore GPU, whereas the regular Apple A18 chip that powers the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus comes with a pentacore GPU.
Aside from that, all A18 chips feature dual 4.05GHz performance cores and quad efficiency cores.
Apple also put an improved Neural Engine inside the iPhone 16 Pro Max to supercharge the artificial intelligence of the phone. The 16-core Neural Engine unit will be a serious upgrade in both machine learning and artificial intelligence processing.
iPhone 16 Pro Max reviews and comparisons
- iPhone 16 Pro Max review: bigger screen, bigger opportunities: We take a deep dive into Apple's 2024 top flagship phone. It delivers excellent battery life, notable additions to the camera, and superb performance. Read our full review to learn more.
Let's take a look at how it stacks up against other flagship phones and its siblings in the iPhone lineup.
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