In my iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max review, I test out Apple Intelligence, the new A18 Pro chip and the new Camera Control to explain the difference between iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. I also tested the bigger displays with the improved 48MP ultrawide camera and new video features like Audio Mix and 4K 120fps slo mo in my iPhone 16 Pro Max camera test. We’ve got all the benchmark and battery life results and break down the iPhone 16 Pro specs, colors and pricing. Overall, these are impressive flagships, but the iPhone 16 Pro upstages the Pro Max now, in my eyes.
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00:00There's some big questions that kept nagging me as I was testing the new iPhone 16 Pro
00:04and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
00:06Do the larger screens make for designs that are just right or too big?
00:09Is the new camera control a game changer or a gimmick?
00:12How well do the new Apple Intelligence features actually work?
00:15And if Apple is calling the iPhone 16 Pro Max the longest lasting iPhone ever, how long
00:20does it last on a charge?
00:22Let's get into all of that and more in my full iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max review.
00:27Just a quick cheat sheet, the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999 once more for 128GB
00:33of storage.
00:34But there's a big upgrade in the form of the 5X Tetra Prism Zoom that was a Pro Max
00:38exclusive last year.
00:39So now the only differences are the screen size, starting storage, and battery life.
00:44The ginormous 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at 256GB of storage, and both phones go up
00:51to 1TB.
00:54I've been a Pro Max user for years, since the iPhone 11.
00:59But after testing the new iPhones, I'm actually torn between the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone
01:0316 Pro Max.
01:04That's because the iPhone 16 Pro sports a 6.3-inch display, up from 6.1 inches.
01:10So overnight, the smaller Pro has grown from a small to mid-sized phone.
01:14Don't get me wrong, this is a bigger device, but it's still fairly easy to use with one
01:18hand.
01:19The more dramatic change is the $1,199 iPhone 16 Pro Max, which has the largest display
01:24ever of any iPhone at 6.9 inches.
01:27Yes, the thinner bezels help keep the device somewhat compact, but it's still taller,
01:31wider, and heavier than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which I thought was the near-perfect
01:36size and weight for a big-screen phone.
01:38I've gone from feeling like I cheated the system to being slightly cheated.
01:43This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think it's just too big, at least for my
01:46hands, as it's more of a stretch to do things like scrolling through webpages or
01:50TikTok.
01:51And once you put a case on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, it's like a mini-tank.
01:54The good news is that both the new iPhone 16 Pros are built to be more durable.
01:58In addition to having a titanium band, Apple claims that the ceramic shield display is
02:02now 50% tougher.
02:04We can't drop these units, but on paper, it's encouraging.
02:07The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max both come in four colors, Titanium White, Titanium Black,
02:12Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium.
02:14Our iPhone 16 Pro came in Natural, which looks fairly modern, but I prefer the Desert
02:18color as it pops more.
02:20The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max displays don't get any upgrades in terms of brightness or
02:24refresh rate, but they're still among the best OLED panels on a phone.
02:28The only main difference is that the screens can now scale down to a minimum of one nit,
02:32which means you can use your phone in bed without disturbing anyone else, and get an
02:36even dimmer alarm clock.
02:37Otherwise, these panels are largely the same, which has allowed the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro
02:41XL to surge ahead in terms of brightness.
02:44We measured a max of about 1,500 nits for both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, while
02:48the Pixel 9 Pro can reach over 1,800 nits, and the XL hits over 2,300 nits.
02:54Outside in direct sunlight, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max were both dimmer than the
02:58Pixel 9 Pro XL, though Google's phone dimmed faster over time in response to the heat.
03:03One of the key features of the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Pro is camera control, and it's
03:07a dedicated button that is recessed on the right side when you're holding it in landscape
03:12mode, but you can actually use it in either direction.
03:15So you can use it with your thumb like this, or if you want to use your iPhone as a traditional
03:19camera, you can use it like this, and when you're using it, you just press the button
03:23to launch into the camera, and then from there, press the button again to shoot.
03:27So by default, if you slide your finger over this camera control, you can zoom in from
03:31far away, but you can also switch between multiple modes, and that includes with the
03:36light press.
03:37So you can control the exposure, your focus, the depth, switching between the cameras themselves,
03:43and you can also choose between multiple styles and the overall tone of your image.
03:47So there's lots at your fingertip, but there is a little bit of a learning curve.
03:51The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max get a bunch of camera upgrades, starting with a 48 megapixel
03:56fusion camera that's designed to read data faster.
03:59The result should be zero shutter lag and faster focus.
04:02I took some shots of people passing by on scooters and moving taxis at the same time
04:06on the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the new phone was indeed faster.
04:12Both the new iPhone 16 Pros sport a new 48 megapixel ultra-wide camera, up from 12 megapixels.
04:17I got a very crisp shot of a reservoir with this phone, complete with colorful echinacea
04:22flowers in front and a bright blue sky.
04:24The Galaxy S24 Ultra's pic is more vibrant, but has less realistic colors.
04:29Speaking of colors, you can easily change the look of your photos before and after,
04:32now with photographic styles.
04:34This is exclusive to the iPhone 16 series.
04:37In the camera app, you can choose from five different skin undertone styles that impact
04:40only the skin tone in the image, and nine mood-based styles ranging from vibrant and
04:44cozy to stark black and white.
04:46You can even adjust the style in real time with this nifty control pad.
04:50That 48 megapixel ultra-wide camera also upgrades your macro photos to a higher resolution,
04:55and I got a pretty stunning shot of a pink zinnia flower.
04:57You can easily make out the veins in the petals.
05:00And I prefer this shot over the oversaturated S24 Ultra and the blurrier Pixel 9 Pro XL pic.
05:06The good news is that both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max now have the same tetraprism zoom
05:10lens, which gives you a 5x optical zoom.
05:13It performed well when I zoomed in on these boats, though the Galaxy S24 Ultra's shot
05:16is a bit sharper.
05:18At the max 25x digital zoom, both iPhones fall behind the competition when I zeroed
05:22in on this sign.
05:23The lettering is fuzzier, and the Galaxy can go up to 100x, and the Pixel, 30x.
05:29In low light, the iPhone 16 Pro does a great job illuminating this park in complete darkness,
05:33and I prefer this shot over the Samsung and Pixel because it actually looks like a night
05:37sky, and the lettering on the sign is clearer.
05:40It's not just the still cameras that are getting an upgrade this time around.
05:43There's also a cool new capability when it comes to recording 4K video.
05:47The iPhone 16 Pro's video gets an upgrade with 4K video capture up to 120 frames per
05:52second, and there's some pretty neat things you can do with that footage.
05:55Using the playback speed controls, I can slow down a ping pong match to 50, 25, or 20%,
06:01and it still looked sharp.
06:03To test the video quality of the iPhone 16 Pro and the Pro Max versus other flagships,
06:07I shot this clip of the beach at 4K and 30 frames per second.
06:10The iPhone does a smoother job transitioning to 5x zoom, and the rippling water looks great.
06:15There's also a natural-looking gradation in the sky, though I prefer the brighter trees
06:19in the Samsung clip.
06:21The coolest new iPhone 16 Pro video feature is Audio Mix.
06:23It uses a combination of the Spatial Audio Capture and AI to help minimize background
06:28noise.
06:29So the idea is that you can hear the people who are in the frame, and you can choose from
06:33four different modes.
06:34So there's standard, there's in-frame, there's studio, and then cinematic.
06:39In-frame means that you're going to be concentrating on the people just in front of you.
06:43Cinematic is going to be just a little bit of background noise, but you're still going
06:46to hear the people just fine.
06:48And then studio is as if you were recording in a studio.
06:52And I've come out to Bryant Park to see just how well it works.
06:55So Mike, we have lots of background noise, we have kids behind us, we have a stage over
06:59there to the right.
07:00How well do you think this feature is going to work?
07:03I'm really curious, because if you're in a place with a lot of ambient noise, like New
07:09York City, it's definitely going to be a challenge to isolate it, so to speak.
07:14I'm curious about the other features as well, there's a big crash right behind us there.
07:20So the hope on Apple's part is that with the four studio microphones in combination with
07:24this feature and audio mix, that we're going to hear just us, or just what we want to hear.
07:29Do you want to see how well it does?
07:31Yeah.
07:32To be clear, the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus also have audio mix, but only the
07:35pros benefit from four studio mics.
07:38Apple Intelligence is Apple's version of AI that's designed to be more secure and helpful
07:42than what Samsung and Google offer.
07:44But right now, it's more of a tease, since it doesn't launch until October.
07:48And even then, certain features won't come until later, such as visual intelligence and
07:51chat GPT integration.
07:52It starts with a new Siri.
07:54The Assistant has been revamped, starting with a redesign that makes the whole outside
07:57of the display glow when summoned.
08:00And you can type to Siri now when you're in a situation where you don't want to use your voice.
08:05Siri is definitely more forgiving of screw-ups too, as you can correct yourself on the fly,
08:08and it will still get your command right.
08:10I started a timer and changed the time mid-sentence without a problem.
08:14Siri, set a timer for five minutes.
08:16No, I'm sorry, ten minutes.
08:21So you don't have to get Siri's stage fright.
08:23You can also ask follow-up questions, and Siri will get the context most of the time.
08:27Who do the New York Giants play next?
08:34What are the odds?
08:41What's the over-under?
08:47But Siri did get tripped up on other follow-up questions, giving general info instead of
08:51a relevant answer.
08:52Apple Intelligence also delivers a wide range of writing tools.
08:55You can have the iPhone 16 Pro proofread your copy for grammar and word choice, or get help
09:00rewriting if you want to go for, say, a more professional tone.
09:03I think my boss is going to write me about this.
09:05You can also have Apple Intelligence summarize long passages of text, as I did with a few notes.
09:10I wish you didn't have to select all text first.
09:12But I did get a fairly good summary of key points for my shot list for this video.
09:16Don't want to look up how-to articles?
09:18Siri also leverages large language models and Apple Support info to give you step-by-step
09:22instructions on how to do lots of stuff on your iPhone, from making screen recordings
09:27to scheduling a text.
09:28This is a game-changer for kids who play IT Person for their parents, like me.
09:33This next feature is overdue versus the Pixel and Galaxy, but it's nice to see clean-up
09:36in photos.
09:37You can remove unwanted objects or people in the frame with just a tap.
09:41It worked fairly well when I tried to remove a person from my selfie, but you'll get
09:44the best results if the background isn't too complicated.
09:47You can't talk about Apple Intelligence without strong performance, and that's why the iPhone
09:5116 Pro and Pro Max both get 8GB of RAM and Apple's new A18 Pro chip built on second-generation
09:563nm tech.
09:58This blows away the Android competition in CPU performance, but not graphics.
10:02I was sucked in by the Infinity Nikki game, which was in beta testing.
10:05The open-world puzzler has console-like visuals, complete with realistic-looking ripple-in-water
10:10and smooth animations.
10:12The new iPhones are nearly 50% faster than the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Snapdragon HN3 chip
10:18on single-core and 15% higher on multi-core performance.
10:22The latest Tensor G4 Pixel phones aren't in the same league.
10:25The new iPhones were also twice as fast as the S24 Ultra in our video editing test using
10:30Adobe Premiere Rush, where we time how long it takes to transcode a 4K clip to 1080p.
10:35They also shave off a few seconds versus the iPhone 15 Pros.
10:39So what about graphics?
10:40The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max both pack a 6-core GPU compared to 5 cores for the regular
10:46iPhone 16 series, and Apple claims that it's up to 20% faster than the iPhone 15 Pro's
10:51A17 chip.
10:53On the 3DMark Solar Bay graphics test, which has support for ray tracing, the iPhone 16
10:58Pro was 22% faster than the iPhone 15 Pro.
11:01However, that's still 18% behind the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which also delivered higher frame
11:06rates on the same test.
11:08There's one other performance test we ran to see if Apple's claims of better sustained
11:12performance are legit.
11:13There's a new internal design with a graphite-clad aluminum substructure that's supposed to result
11:18in 20% better sustained performance.
11:21On the TomSka battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over 5G at 150 nits
11:25of screen brightness, the iPhone 16 Pro Max lasted for an insane 18 hours and 6 minutes.
11:32That's four hours longer than the iPhone 15 Pro Max and over an hour longer than the already
11:37great Galaxy S24 Ultra.
11:39The iPhone 16 Pro endured for 14 hours, which is a big 3-hour jump from the iPhone 15 Pro.
11:44It also edges out the Pixel 9 Pro's runtime.
11:48And now we come to my biggest disappointment with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, and that's
11:52that they offer the same lame charging speeds.
11:55You get just over 50% capacity in 30 minutes from a 30-watt charger.
12:00We tried it with a 45-watt charger and saw no difference.
12:04The iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max are indeed iterative upgrades, and maybe it
12:08wouldn't feel that way if Apple Intelligence was available today, along with all of the
12:12promised features.
12:13Instead, it's going to trickle out over time, so I would not be in a rush to upgrade.
12:18Having said that, I think the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the best phone money can buy right
12:22now if you want the biggest screen and the longest battery life.
12:25It lags in zoom and graphics versus the S24 Ultra, but you get more endurance, better
12:30camera quality, and plenty of creative features like photographic styles and audio mix.
12:35Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 Pro is the better value of the two.
12:38It has the same 5x zoom and the same speed as the Pro Max in a design that's easier
12:42to use in one hand, and yet the display is big enough now, in my eyes, at 6.3 inches.
12:49So tell us what you think about the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max in the comments.
12:52Are you going to upgrade or wait for the possibly slimmer iPhone 17?
12:57And be sure to follow us at Tom's Guide across all of our social channels.
13:00This is Mark Spunower for Tom's Guide, and I'll catch you in the next video.