 "Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max first impressions: Even without Apple Intelligence, this thing is a beast")
It is never easy to properly evaluate an iPhone, especially the ones that have been launched in the last couple of years. For about three years now, there has been a recurring theme with iPhones.
On the surface, not a lot seems to change, not at once at least. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll see that there are a tonne of minor tweaks here and there that elevate the experience of using the latest and greatest from Apple to a whole new level. But then, comes a conundrum — while the new features are usually very user-friendly, and potential game changers, we are always left to wonder how many people would actually use this feature.
We see that same theme with the iPhone 16 Pro Max as well. Barring the new Desert Titanium colour, and the new action button, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is virtually indistinguishable from the outgoing iPhone 15 Pro Max — even the slimming of bezels that we see on the display is virtually indistinguishable if you are not looking for it.
This time around, like it has been for the last couple of years, all the major changes have been internal — especially when we consider iOS 18, powered by Apple Intelligence. But more on that later.
Here’s our first impression of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max first impressions: Design
At first glance, you might struggle to spot the differences in design unless you know what to look for, namely the new, thin bezels and more importantly, the camera control. For some reason, Apple refuses to call it a button. Unless you’re using the new Desert Titanium colour, it would be really difficult to tell if you have upgraded to the latest series. Although I like the golden brown, almost brass-like colour, I tested the black version, and I found it to be a much more subtle and appealing option.
As for how the device feels in the hand, I didn’t notice much difference when switching from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. On paper though the new 16 Pro Max is about 6 grams heavier.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsApple iPhone 16 Pro Max first impressions: Display and Speakers
Apple usually uses displays that are made by Samsung, so you know it is going to be top-notch. Even though it might not be the brightest display to be put on a smartphone, at over 2,000 nits of outdoor brightness, it is something to behold. I also like the fact that now, the display can go down to 1 nit, which makes using the iPhone 16 Pro Max in the dark, a truly remarkable experience. And because you get a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, HDR content looks like real HDR content. Plus, you get support for HDR10+, HDR, Dolby Vision — the lot.
Then we come to the speakers. The stereo speakers continue to be the best you’ll find on any smartphone. It gets properly loud, and thumpy, with great bass. And of course, you get support for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, and Apple’s Spatial Audio, all of which makes consuming content on this machine, just divine.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max first impressions: Camera
The biggest update to the camera in terms of hardware is that now, we get two 48MP sensors — the main one and the ultrawide. The telephoto camera is still a 12MP 5X optical sensor with a periscope lens.
In terms of software thought, we are seeing some massive changes. For example, you get a much greater variety of ‘Photography Styles,’ that offer users a much more granular control over the colour tones and warmth. Think of this as colour profile for your camera, or better yet, applying a filter to your sensor, even before you shoot the picture.
As opposed to playing with filters after you have taken a shot, colour profiles give your sensor a character. As a result, no matter how you push it, you won’t see any of the degradation in quality that you get from using a filter. ones of your photos. It makes a substantial difference in how your images look and feel.
Besides this, the most significant improvements include better low-light shots. Apple has also made a notable improvement by addressing the lens flare issue that was a significant drawback in the iPhone 15 series.
There are some great additions to the video feature too. The audio quality has seen a significant upgrade, largely due to the stereo microphones. The new Audio Mix feature is a real game-changer, especially if you’re a content creator or even a professional who is trying to cut down their production time. It allows for various mix-downs like studio, in-frame, cinematic, or standard, tailored specifically for video audio.
The results are nothing short of impressive, offering a level of professionalism that surpasses features like Google Pixel’s audio eraser. The mics on the iPhone 16 Pro Max will likely make budget mics obsolete and redundant for creators who are on a tight budget or are in a fast-paced environment. There’s no beating around the bush for this one — the iPhone 16 Pro Max has some of the best microphones I’ve ever come across on a smartphone.
There are also Apple’s ProRes shooting, and the ability to shoot up to 4K@120 fps. What’s crazy is you can set the video play or rather frame rate, after you have shot your clips.
Then, there is Camera Control. At first, I believed there was Apple again, bringing a feature that no one was going to use. And perhaps very few people will actually resort to using this. I think this is a shame. Despite thinking that Camera Control is pointless, I have come to thoroughly enjoy the experience it brings.
For example, it forces you to visualise your images horizontally, how images were always supposed to be, from before social media ruined photos for us. Yes, it takes some getting used to, especially on the much more substantial Pro Max devices, but seriously, once you do, there is simply no going back. Apple wants you to shoot everything, from your photos to your videos horizontally, mainly because of the Vision Pro and Apple’s Mixed Reality ecosystem.
As complicated as the camera control button looks, it is actually very intuitive and easy to use. A simple full press to open the camera, a half-press to bring up the controls, swipe left or right, based on what you want to select, single half-press to select or enter a menu option, and double half taps to go back.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max first impressions: Performance
There is simply no denying the fact that the new A18 Pro SoC is a beast of a chip. How do we know that? Well, the A17 Pro was a solid performer, and the A18 Pro is about 15 per cent faster than the previous-gen Pro chip. In regular day-to-day usage, I did not come across any situation where I felt the device lag or stutter — the sailing has been buttery smooth, to say the least. And although I haven’t put the 16 Pro Max through the gauntlet of stets that I normally would in a review, preliminary test shows that the iPhone 16 Pro Max puts out some pretty solid numbers, which puts the device among the top performers.
Apple is really serious about the gaming performance of the A18 Pro and claims that the device is powerful enough to handle the best of AAA titles that are available for the iPhone. Initial tests in gaming show that Apple is spot on in their assessment. In games CoD: Mobile, Resident Evil 4 etc, the iPhone 16 Pro Max just flies.
Furthermore, in graphically intensive productivity tasks like shooting long 4K@120fps videos, and editing several photos and videos on the device, not once did we see the iPhone 16 Pro Max struggle. What’s even more is that unlike last year where the iPhone 15 Pro Max would heat up when pushed beyond a certain point, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, stayed relatively cool, thanks to a completely new thermal enclosure.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max first impressions: iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence
This is where things start to get a little confusing. Apple marketed the launch of the iPhone 16 as Glowtime, and spoke at length about the AI features of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, touting as the iPhone that was designed for AI. And yet, we don’t have any AI features at launch. Sure, there are workarounds, like enrolling yourself in the beta program, but not many users would want to do that.
Apple really missed the bus on this one. iOS 18.0 should have had some of the AI features at least that is available in the beta versions. The reason I say this is because I have been using the iOS18 beta 4 for some time, and am really impressed by some of the Apple Intelligence features. What’s more is that it was pretty stable, at least on my unit, so Apple would have added some of these features to iOS 18.0.
For others who aren’t keen on getting into the beta programme, Apple Intelligence will gradually roll out with iOS 18.1.
Having said all of that, even without Apple intelligence, iOS 18 is pretty impressive and has some pretty slick new features. This includes several home screen customisation options, including a new dark mode for icons and gradients, and the ability to rearrange icons around widgets.
There are also several useful features already available, such as wind noise reduction, the option to pause video recording, an enhanced dialogue feature in the Apple TV+ app, and the ability to play music in the background while shooting video, with the track seamlessly becoming part of your video’s soundtrack. We also get a new digital power button in the control centre for easier access. Oh, and Safari now blocks distracting elements like those pesky advertisements and pops from websites.
As for Siri getting a major makeover, we will have to wait for the big shift to come with iOS 18.1, which will introduce Apple Intelligence
The update is expected to make the iPhone 16 series even more user-friendly with features like system-level text summarisation and proofing, Visual Intelligence triggered by camera control, and support for third-party integrations.
Final words
There can be no doubt that the iPhone 16 Pro Max, despite its shortcomings has a lot to offer, even without Apple Intelligence. Just the camera and video system alone would warrant content creators to ditch their bulky cameras and mics and go for the new Pro devices.
However, I still have that nagging feeling — do people actually use all of the features that Apple introduces with each new iPhone Pro lineup? And even if we ignore that, we cannot overlook the fact that Apple Intelligence will be launched in India by 2025. Samsung, meanwhile is already going pretty strong with its Galaxy AI, and has enough time to tweak and fine-tune the next iteration of Galaxy Ai features, even before Indians get a chance to taste the goodness of Apple’s AI solutions.
So — should you buy the iPhone 16 Pro or the iPhone 16 Pro Max? The answer to that is a little complicated. If you’re a content creator and use your phone to shoot your content, by all means, go right ahead; the specs and the camera quality sure warrant that. Others, ought to wait a bit longer and see if they really need the Pro version. We reckon for most people, the regular iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus are more than enough. However, if you were planning to get the iPhone 16 Pro or the Pro Max just for its AI features, you might want to wait.
Regardless of where you stand, you do need to know what all does the iPhone 16 Pro Max entails if you’re planning to buy one. For that, we suggest sticking around Firstpost for the complete and in-depth review of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
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