Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max review: The ultimate power play

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

When it comes to the iPhone, Apple has mastered the art of making it more than just a phone. The iPhone has become a status symbol, an emblem of aspiration. As Tyler Durden famously said in Fight Club, “The things you own end up owning you.” It will sound familiar for many a iPhone users.

Apple has been banking on incremental improvements for years now. For many other brands, that approach may backfire or become stale, but it has been nothing short of successful for Apple.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is yet another chapter in that story, focusing on refining the features that already work while throwing in a few new — and important — tweaks to keep things interesting. The result? A phone that feels familiar yet new, incremental yet essential.

With its slightly larger, razor-sharp OLED display, updated camera capabilities, and the brand new A18 Pro chip, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is once again inching closer to the ideal smartphone experience. A lot of people out there want Apple to completely overhaul the iPhone every year. That’s never going to happen as smartphones have reached a certain level of saturation. More so for Apple, it doesn’t make sense as you already have a loyal set of buyers, sometimes a little polish is all that is needed.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max review: Design and display

The new Pro iPhones may look like last year’s models at first glance, but Apple has made a few important changes The titanium build is elegant and is back with the softer edges that had everyone swooning last year. This time, however, Apple has gone supersized—the Pro Max now sports a screen that stretches to a whopping 6.9 inches. I thought that it would be unwieldily yet, somehow, it doesn’t feel much larger in your hand. I am not a fan of big screen phones but Apple has ensured that I have developed a fondness for them. Once you get used to a big screen phone, it’s hard to go back to a smaller one.

Once in hand, you might not even notice the difference between the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max. 6.9-inch is a rather big phone. While it may look like Apple’s just repeating itself, it has subtly managed to give us a bigger, better canvas without the phone feeling too bulky or heavy. the without making the phone feel like a brick in your pocket.

The OLED display on the new iPhone 16 Pro is a delight to look at. Samsung still remains the benchmark for gorgeous displays but with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple has come quite close. The 16 Pro Max display is vibrant, colours pop nicely, and the contrast levels are also on point.

The biggest design change is the addition of the Camera Control. Apple’s new “Camera Control” button on the bottom right sounds like a clever idea: a physical shutter button that lets you snap photos while holding your phone sideways, and even swipe through camera settings without ever touching the screen. But here’s the thing—while it seems brilliant in theory, in practice, it’s a bit of a letdown.

First off, the button is recessed rather than raised, making it tricky to find by touch. It is fine on the iPhone 16 and rather easy to manouevere. But on the iPhone 16 Pro Max? The placement seems to be a bit awry. I don’t have large hands and every time I had to use it, I wished it was easier to access.

Pressing it is another challenge; you’ll need a little extra force, which can easily nudge the phone out of place. Not exactly ideal when you’re trying to capture that perfect shot! With some serious practice, you could train yourself to nail the press without shifting the phone.

And then there’s the swiping. Want to switch from ultra-wide to 5X zoom? Brace yourself for a finger workout—tap to enter lens control, then swipe away, two or three times, to reach the lens you want. While it’s nice to have the option, sometimes you can’t beat the simplicity of tapping on-screen controls. Let’s just say this button is a work in progress.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Performance

Under the hood, the iPhone 16 packs Apple’s A18 Pro chip, a silicon powerhouse that doesn’t just beat the competition—it leaves them in the dust. Qualcomm, MediaTek, Tensor? They’re playing catch-up. This chip handles AAA games and complex video editing like it’s no big deal, barely breaking a sweat. The A 18 Pro is Apple’s nightly flex and it is a delight to use. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is the smoothest performer out there.

Heating issues? Yes, at times I felt that when I recorded a three-minute video in 4K and 120fps, the phone did slightly warm up. When playing games, it doesn’t heat up. And even less so, when compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Speaking of gaming, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the best gaming phone out there. You can play AAA titles and it handles with extreme ease. Even with high frame rate and graphics settings, the phone never ever lags or stutters. It’s a delight to play games on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is as fast as they come, powered by Apple’s latest silicon that breezes through every task without breaking a sweat. Not once has this phone crashed on me when using the standard iOS, and even on the beta version I’m running now, the only hiccups are minor quirks

Let’s talk about Apple’s take on generative AI — or as Apple calls it Apple Intelligence. I’ve been tinkering with the beta, and while it’s got potential, it’s still playing catch-up to Google’s wizardry on the Pixel and Samsung devices. Especially Google, which does seem to have a leg up on the iPhone’s AI features.

First off, Siri’s gotten a bit more savvy with context. Ask a question, stumble halfway through, correct yourself, and Siri’s right there with you. It has become smarter and you can pause midway in a prompt and correct yourself and Siri will understand.

The feature I have been impressed is the AI photo editing. Apple Intelligence lets you erase unwanted objects from your photos—handy, and very close to Google’s Magic Eraser. Apple’s Writing Tools is another feature I enjoyed using quite a bit.

Apple Intelligence might still be in its infancy, but it’s already showing promise. As of now, though, you’ll need a beta version of iOS to experience this glimpse of the AI future.

Battery life on the iPhone 16 Pro Max? Let’s just say it’s a massive upgrade on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This phone wrapped up almost every day with some juice left in the tank.

If you’re a “normal” user, you’ll probably never see that low battery warning. This phone is an endurance champ, easily keeping up with whatever you throw at it.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Camera

The iPhone 16 Pro Max camera hardware hasn’t seen a major overhaul this year—just a shiny new 48-megapixel ultra-wide sensor. Apple’s new ISP (image signal processor) claims to be faster and fancier, letting you tweak tones and colours to your heart’s content. The result? It’s the most enjoyable iPhone for stills in years. Apple has introduced “Photographic Styles,” which allows you to play around with colours and different tones. It works great and is a lot of fun to use.

Apple has become a bit more creative and flexible when it comes to camera controls (no pun intended). Maybe it’s the pressure that is being piled from the likes of Vivo, Xiaomi, and to a certain extent, Oppo. These brands have been winning over camera enthusiasts with bold shadows and dynamic contrast. Vivo’s X100 remains the camera champ out there but the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers a very consistent and versatile camera setup.

When I started using the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the iOS beta version perhaps was giving some trouble. So much so that the images clicked paled in comparison with the iPhone 16 — running on a non-beta iOS. However, with an update the issues were fixed.

In broad daylight, the iPhone 16 Pro Max does an excellent job of capturing images, which have a lot of details and colours. The dynamic range is good and skin tones are accurately reproduced. I won’t call it the best camera out there but it can be safely said that whatever you click will make you more than satisfied. Apple has solved the ‘flare’ issue to a great extent during night shots but it is still around.

Where Apple does reign supreme, though, is video. The camera system has these two killer features worth bragging about. First up, the iPhone 16 Pro models let you shoot video at a crisp 4K resolution with 120 frames per second. This exclusive trick means you get silky smooth slow-motion footage that’s perfect for capturing all the glorious details.

Next, we have the so-called “studio-quality mics” on the Pro models. To be honest, they don’t sound worlds apart from the regular iPhone 16, except when you’re dealing with noisy environments. That’s when they really shine, isolating your voice (or your subject’s) from the chaos.

But the real star of the audio show? That would be Audio Mix, which, by the way, isn’t just for Pro models. This nifty feature lets you tweak your video’s sound output and pick from three modes: In-frame, Studio, and Cinematic. In-frame homes in on the voices of people in the shot, Studio mimics a professional audio setup, and Cinematic focuses on voices in the center while adding a touch of background ambiance for that movie-like vibe.The four upgraded microphones, along with Audio Mix, deliver the best audio I’ve ever captured on a phone.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Should you buy it?

After a month with this powerhouse, I’m seriously impressed. It’s tough to find flaws here, aside from the fact that Apple’s Intelligence AI features aren’t quite fully cooked yet. For the vast majority, this is the phone to beat. And it should be as it starts a whopping Rs 1,34,900.

We often end up giving Apple a lot of stick for making iPhones expensive but compare it to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the Google Pixel 9 Pro, the pricing doesn’t seem too exorbitant. What Apple does is using the A18 Pro processor to the best of its ability to leave competition in its wake.

Sure, the Googles and Samsungs have the AI edge for now. The Vivo X100 may have the best camera but if you want the best all-rounder, this iPhone sets the bar high.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max proves once again that when it comes to reigning supreme, Apple’s strategy is not to reinvent the wheel but to refine it to a glossy, irresistible shine. Sure, it’s expensive, but if you want the best of everything, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is your unapologetic tech indulgence.