I tested the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max for a week — and I’m tempted to upgrade

Testing Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max for the past 7 days has me repeating the same thought: “is a bigger iPhone always going to be the best smartphone for me?” 2024 sees Apple increasing its Pro iPhone sizes yet again, but without creating the dilemmas that sent past shoppers into frustration as they had to choose between camera features and the perfect-sized iPhone for their own hands.

Camera tech, unsurprisingly, is the big star here, with upgraded sensors as well as the Camera Control switch that’s also available in Apple’s iPhone 16 models. Other reasons to go Pro are found in its video tech, battery life and performance. Oh, and about Apple Intelligence, the company’s generative AI push, and the new Siri? Don’t you worry, I’ll cover all that, too — even if it’s something of an afterthought at this point. Grab your favorite camera app, because it’s time to put 2024’s pricier iPhones in focus to see if they stand above the entry-level iPhone 16s as the best iPhones for your buck.

What we liked about it

Bigger displays without notably bigger designs

Just like with the Apple Watch Series 10, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are slightly bigger than before. Keeping the tech under the glass the same, Apple increased its Pro iPhone displays by 0.2 inches each this year, giving us a 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro and a 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max — seeking to meet the demands of those whose ears perk up when they hear Apple made bigger iPhones. You may choose to look at this decision through the lens of Apple’s lack of a foldable phone with a giant internal display, as it’s yet to offer a phone to fight the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 or the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Better yet, these phones aren’t drastically larger than before, thanks to smaller bezels to accommodate the larger displays. We’re talking tenths (and hundredths) of an inch here, and these phones still feel great to hold around their bands.

That said, this tiny size increase might affect your buying decision. Throughout my week of testing, I wavered back and forth on the prospect of sticking with the super-sized Pro Max format or shrinking down to the iPhone 16 Pro. At first, I thought the 6.9-inch screen was too big, but throwing my trusty PopSocket MagSafe PopGrip on its back reminded me I can keep my large adult phone and its (spoiler) better battery life. Since everybody’s hands are different, I sincerely advise you to find an Apple Store near you to palm one of these suckers for yourself to see which is best for your mitts.

But we can’t talk about iPhone displays without talking about watching stuff on them, and in my week with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, I’ve found they offer the same excellent screen quality as usual. All four iPhone 16 models pack an OLED Super Retina XDR display (added in the iPhone 11 Pro) for excellent color, contrast and detail. But the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max also feature ProMotion tech (iPhone 13 Pro and later) that enables smoother scrolling and the always-on display (iPhone 14 Pro and later) that’s great for the lock screen and StandBy mode.

All those years of upgrades make for excellent picture quality, which I first noticed while streaming George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” in 4K from the Max app. Not only did bold blues glow in the night in an early scene, but green leaves in the one verdant part of that film’s desert world also popped without being oversaturated. Later, I saw tons of detailed grime on the unwashed skin of Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus character and the sickening yellow tones in the beard of Peter Stephens’ Gas Town Guardian, before warm orange flames burst out from turrets. The next day, I watched Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” on the iPhone 16 Pro, and noted how the film’s darker scenes benefitted from the strong contrast of this phone’s OLED screen— from the brilliant red phosphorus smoke billowing out of a flare to the gorgeous shots of the sun rising over Gotham.

I was also reminded how these phones are practically too-good as makeshift jamboxes. Bumping pop-punkers Charly Bliss’ recent song “Back There Now” on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I noticed how accurate singer Eva Hendricks sounded alongside the thumping bass from the start of the track and the crisp drums throughout. For a different sound, I turned on Flying Lotus’ “Garmonbozia,” which got the iPhone 16 Pro to bump bass on that moody song. I’m a bit surprised that the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s speaker is street legal considering how loud it can get — please promise me you won’t use it on public transit. It sounds good, but have some decorum when we’re trapped in the tube together.

The Camera Control button feels like a game-changer

In what feels like no time at all, Apple seemingly switched from an anti-button stance (remember the Home button in the chin of the iPhone 8 and earlier?) to a pro-button philosophy. Not only did Apple slap the iPhone 15 Pro’s Action button (a customizable godsend for tinkerers like myself) into the regular iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, it also added a new camera button to all four iPhone 16 models. Located below the Lock/Siri button on the right side of the phone, it’s pretty easy to access when you’re holding the phone in portrait orientation, and might take some getting used to using as a shutter, unless you’re already snapping shots with the volume buttons (a feature that’s been around for years).

Here’s the quick and fast breakdown of what the Camera Control button does:

While the first three motions are really easy to get used to, I had a short learning curve to get used to the rhythm and pressure needed for the double tap.

Of course, the wider adoption of the Camera Control is out of my hands, as existing muscle memory involving the lock screen’s bottom right button and right-side swipe can be hard to break out of. I would know, as it took a bit for me to actually click with the Action button (which now links to a menu of tricks I made in the Shortcuts app). Apple still gets points for finding ways to make the iPhone a better camera, and this button is one of the best in years.

The cameras are still great — and there’s no more penalty for buying the smaller phone

The iPhone 16 Pro’s cameras are an increasingly complicated array of sensors that may be the most interesting part of this phone — and most likely get the most attention — so let’s dive deep.

Last year, you had to get the bigger, pricier iPhone 15 Pro Max in order to get Apple’s 5x optical zoom for your telephoto camera, as the iPhone 15 Pro stuck you with the 3x optical zoom instead. This probably forced many to rely on the inferior digital zoom, which is never quite as crisp. Thankfully, Apple worked it out on the remix, as the iPhone 16 Pro features the same 5x optical zoom found in the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It’s great news for everyone who felt like their photo quality was being punished because they have smaller hands or just don’t want to lug around a small tablet (at 6.9 inches, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is increasingly closer to the 7.7-inch iPad mini).

All iPhone 16 models feature a 48-megapixel Fusion Camera main sensor, which gets its name because it can also capture 2x “optical-quality Telephoto” photos by using the middle 12MP of the sensor. Testing this around my apartment, the Fusion camera captured a closeup of a cacti with pretty sharp detail, while a painting also came out cleanly when I pushed in. The iPhone 16 Pro’s 48MP sensor also uses portions of the sensor for its 1.2x and 1.5x zooms, a pair of zooms you can find by tapping the 1x button again.

Testing the iPhone 16 Pro’s 5x telephoto sensor like a tourist, I snapped some long distance shots of the signage of The New Yorker Hotel in Hell’s Kitchen. Its shot is good, but the S24 Ultra’s 5x telephoto camera got a bit more clarity on the building’s bricks from a distance. Interestingly enough, the iPhone 16 Pro’s 10x digital zoom got much more clarity on the bricks than the S24 Ultra’s 10x “optical quality” zoom. The color balance on these shots edges toward the S24 Ultra, but neither looks unrealistic, and one camera could simply be the beneficent of a slight shift in the sun shining through the clouds above. The iPhone 16’s attempt at a 10x digital zoom did not end as well.

I also snapped a couple of selfies on all of the phones in question, and found my skin looked more accurate on the iPhone 16 Pro Max than the S24 Ultra, which tended to leave all colors (including my hair) a bit lighter. There wasn’t much year-over-year difference between the iPhone 15 Pro Max and 16 Pro Max, though I noticed the iPhone 16’s background-blurring bokeh effect went a smidge overboard in comparison to the Pros.

Taking my phones into Central Park, I tested the 10x with a much smaller bit of signage. It’s legible on both the iPhone 16 Pro and Galaxy S24 shots, but the S24 Ultra gave the text a slightly odd white glow. The iPhone 16 Pro, however, rendered the vinyl sign with a texture that wasn’t there. Again, on accuracy and clarity, these cameras seem neck and neck, while the iPhone 16 showed its lack of zoom prowess again.

Apple also upgraded the iPhone 16 Pro’s ultrawide camera, from 12MP to 48MP, so more of your photos can be just as sharp as your main sensor captures. I had a hard time seeing a difference in my photos here, though I can tell that the iPhone 16 Pro photos are a smidge brighter than last year’s model captured with more detail in some pedestrians and a shrub along the water. I personally prefer the 15 Pro Max’s colors here, but it doesn’t feel like there’s been any regression, just maybe a slight change (that you could tweak with Apple’s Photographic Styles). Oh, and the Pros also pack a better 48MP Fusion camera that Apple positions as having no lag when capturing full-resolution shots when shooting ProRAW and HEIF photos — which may be music to your ears (though it’s out of my wheelhouse).

That improved ultrawide camera is also used for macro photography, which automatically enables when you get up really close to your subject. I tested this sensor out by getting very close with goldenrod and Japanese knotweed flowers in the park. The wildly-flailing goldenrod may have been the toughest shot of our testing on a technical level, but both iPhone 16 models handled the detail here equally impressively. Arguably, the S24 Ultra won this round with the contrast of the bold yellow and the muted bokeh background, even though it’s a bit oversaturated. Apple got its win back with the knotweed, as the iPhone 16 Prolet more light in and captured a bit more detail, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s macro snapshots were too dark for usage.

Later, I joined some friends for drinks and grub at a tiki bar filled with opportunities to test macro photography. My favorite was the little blue skull atop a pineapple wedge in my cocktail, which the iPhone 16 Pro captured in far more clarity than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The S24 Ultra captured the little guy’s detail on par with the iPhone 16 Pro, but with the increased color saturation we expect from Samsung’s cameras.

I saw similar results looking at the macro shots I took of my heavily sauced spicy chicken sandwich, which looks sharper in the images captured on the iPhone 16 Pro than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Samsung’s tendency to super-saturate its colors was at its most obvious here, in a photo that just looks a bit unnatural and radioactive (especially if you clock the bun as a Martin’s potato roll). If you’ve previously been disappointed by the clarity of your macro photos, it looks like the iPhone 16 Pro may be the phone you’ve been waiting for.

Aspiring filmmakers will also gravitate towards the Pro phones, which now offer 4K video recording at 120 frames per second — that’s exciting news to anyone who wants to use footage for slow-motion video by reducing the frame rate in post production. Just as importantly, you can switch the speed after you shoot, for whatever section of the video you want, with 24fps, 30fps and 60fps options. Just make sure to enable 4K and 120fps in the Settings app under Camera > Record Video. I tried this out with passing cars in my neighborhood, and while I was able to make it work, I still didn’t have a vision for how to make it sing.

Similarly, Apple’s Photographic Style (don’t call them filters) image adjustments can be reversed and adjusted after you shoot your shots. I think the Natural setting may be my favorite so far, but I will need more practice before I fit this into my workflows. If you don’t see that option in Photos while editing an image, make sure Camera photo format setting is set to High Efficiency, as opposed to Most Compatible.

The other iPhone 16-only trick that I think is cool but don’t have a personal need for is Audio Mix, which lets you change what you hear in your videos. In my testing, the In-Frame setting — which eliminates sounds coming from off camera — is the easiest to understand and see the value for, as footage I shot in lower Manhattan had a lot of background noise to eliminate. Audio Mix also includes options to replicate a professional studio’s audio and a cinematic mode that puts voices in the front and other noises in the surround sound channels. Aspiring Gerwigs and Nolans may read that and immediately make up their mind about which iPhone is right for them.

Apple’s A18 Pro chips bring more powerful performance

For years, the iPhone (and especially the iPhone Pro) has set the bar for smartphone speed. Unsurprisingly, that trend continues this year, as I found the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max to be even snappier than my own iPhone 15 Pro Max. Juggling all of my favorite apps, I never found a hiccup along the way. Most noticeably, I saw speed improvements in Halide, my favorite third-party camera app. The already-minimal delays in this shutterbug software are barely noticeable anymore.

On the Geekbench 6 single-core test, which measures modestly-demanding app performance, the A18 Pro enabled marks that utterly wallop the numbers the Galaxy S24 Ultra got out of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 3 for Galaxy chip, with 50% higher scores.

Those scores are pretty close to what the iPhone 16 nailed with the regular A18 chip, only a notch above on the more demanding multicore benchmark. So, what’s the big difference between Apple’s chips? It starts with slight gaming gains on the iPhone 16 Pro, as the A18 Pro offers an additional GPU core. Apple also credits the A18 Pro as being the reason why the iPhone 16 Pro phones can do some of its other big features. Those include 4K video at 120 frames per second, faster USB 3 data transfer speeds (do you use the Files app? Let me know!) and an improved image signal processor for photography.

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max also proved capable as latest-gen speed demons when running the iOS version of Death Stranding Director’s Cut. With the exception of a brief and minor stutter in the opening video, the game flowed smoothly on screen, which is necessary when its sensitive controls mean every little second matters. That said, the game itself seems a bit wasted on these smaller screens when the camera is pulled back so far you don’t get a whole lot of detail.

Speaking of Pro features you might not notice, Apple upgraded the internal microphone array for four microphones it claims are “studio quality.” This enables an upcoming Voice Notes app feature for layered audio that musicians, such as my colleague Mike Andronico, will likely want to use with their demos.

Great battery life (but not the best)

On our recently revised looping 4K video test (which keeps display brightness at 50%), the iPhone 16 Pro notched an impressive time of 16 hours and 50 minutes, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max kept going for nearly four more hours. The iPhone 16 Pro lasted about an hour and change longer than the iPhone 16, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max beat the iPhone 16 Plus by nearly an hour.

But the iPhone 16 Pro Max is not the current battery life champion of the world. When I re-tested the Galaxy S24 Ultra on our new test, it lasted nearly 25 hours. Any time above 20 hours is pretty respectable if you ask me.

In my day to day testing, I also saw decent battery life from my more varied usage. At 50% brightness, I had 53% left after a workday with the iPhone 16 Pro Max that included some streaming video and light camera work. Another two hours of walking around town taking photos and video cut it down to 33%.?The iPhone 16 Pro drained faster, down to 38% after a 9 to 5 that included a half hour of gaming at max brightness, along with audio and video streaming.

Oh, and if you haven’t upgraded your iPhone in a couple years or more, know you’ll be refueling with USB-C instead of Lightning. Apple ditched its proprietary charging cable with the iPhone 15 last year, and I am personally thrilled with the move to the more-ubiquitous USB-C. Now, you can use the same cable that charges your MacBook Pro, iPad, popular Bluetooth speakers, mice, video game controllers and more to charge your iPhone.

iOS 18 is a fantastic software update

Apple’s big iOS 18 update is coming to most modern iPhones, but it’s still worth talking about now that I’ve used it on the iPhone 16 Pro.

Out of the gate, my favorite feature is how I can customize the home screen (as well as the lock screen and Control Center menu) in ways I never expected Apple to allow. Heck, I never knew I’d value the ability to tint all of my home screen icons with a single color, or to switch them to Dark Mode hues. But now that I can, I had fun setting an “X-Files” green to go with my lock screen photo of Mulder and Scully, and an ember-orange to match the other lock screen wallpaper of pro wrestler Adam “Hangman” Page seated in front of a burning house. The one downside of all of this is that tinted icons can be harder to visually scan for, especially for apps that are synonymous with specific colors (YouTube’s red play button and Instagram’s melange of pinks and purples come to mind).

Apple also delivered a home screen feature I’ve always wanted with the ability to move icons around in ways that leave blank spaces open. The way you do this wasn’t exactly intuitive at first, because adjacent app icons still fill each other’s spot in the grid if you drag them around the screen. I found that things worked better when I selected all of my app icons, moved them all to the blank screen to the right, and then started moving them back one by one.

Similarly, you can now change the layout and placement of Control Center menu buttons, as well as add many more buttons from the Control Gallery. I put my favorites on the very bottom to make them easier to tap. Similarly, iOS 18 allows you to swap out the Flashlight and Camera buttons on the bottom corners of the lock screen. The most curious new feature is all about personal privacy, as you can hide apps behind Face ID, or simply require Face ID to open them — but it’s easy to tell if there are hidden apps, which is its own can of worms.

What we didn’t like about it

128GB of storage feels a bit paltry for a Pro phone in 2024

While the iPhone 16 Pro has reached parity with the iPhone 16 Pro Max in cameras, it still lags behind on onboard storage, starting with 128GB — half of the Pro Max’s entry-level 256GB? capacity. This is a frustration for prospective iPhone 16 Pro shoppers who bring a lot of movies and TV shows with them on the road, and those who look forward to recording video in 4K at 120 fps.

Heck, what if you want to play the Death Stranding Director’s Cut game that Apple’s highly-touted as proof of this phone’s mobile gaming capabilities? The fully downloaded game will occupy approximately 55GB of your device’s storage, erasing a huge chunk of that 128GB? capacity.

Unfortunately, the story isn’t better anywhere else. Google’s Pixel 9 Pro phones also start at 128GB for $999, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at 256GB for $1,300. Apple sells its 256GB iPhone 16 Pro for $1,099, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max starts with 256 and costs $1,199.

Where is Touch ID?

Unless you haven’t upgraded since the iPhone 8 or an iPhone SE, you’re probably used to the fact that Apple ditched its Touch ID fingerprint readers for facial recognition in Face ID.

Anyone who plays in the wider world of phones, though, knows that Android devices didn’t leave fingerprint readers in the past, as the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL phones both let your digits act as your passcode. That said, Face ID beats the face unlock on those devices, as Apple’s tech still works when I’m wearing sunglasses or a face mask, whereas Samsung and Google’s tech tells me to take those items off first.

It still gets warm, but not as badly as before

As an iPhone 15 Pro Max owner, I’ve spent a year noticing my phone getting a little warmer than I’d like, especially while taking a ton of photos. So you can imagine my delight when I heard the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max featured new changes under the hood to better manage heat.

And while this was positioned at the presentation as improvements for sustained performance in gaming, my review units didn’t feel as hot as my personal unit during camera testing for this review. That said, 30 minutes of Death Stranding got these boys H-O-T-T-O-G-O.

Pro shouldn’t mean boring colors

The iPhone 16 Pro phones continue Apple’s trend of pricey phones with muted metallic hues, which seems to be rooted in some philosophy that “Pro” devices such as the MacBook Pro should only come in colors that won’t make a stodgy C-suite executive blanch. Maybe Apple can’t make a bold pink titanium iPhone, I don’t know. This is my challenge to them for the iPhone 17 Pro: surprise us.

That said, I’m more frustrated this year than I was last year, because at least the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max came in a shade of blue that felt a little more alive. Instead, the 2024 iPhone Pro is sold in the traditional black, white and Natural Titanium (think silver) designs, along with an underwhelming new Desert Titanium option that’s got an is-it-bronze-or-gold frame and a cream-ish back. It’s not brown, it’s not bad and it’s not thrilling, either.

Aside from the Camera Control button, the iPhone 16 Pro is basically the same as the iPhone 15 Pro, retaining its titanium band and strengthened glass front and back.

The new Siri and Apple’s new Apple Intelligence AI isn’t here on Day 1

If I were feeling truly cheeky, I would list this as something I like about the iPhone 16 Pro — as no company’s truly made me feel excited to use these new software features that shorten and lengthen text, create uninspiring images and are quite far from environmentally friendly. And so I’m not distraught that Apple’s new generative AI tools and its updated version of Siri aren’t due to hit the iPhone 16 lineup until October 2024, when the AI features will launch in beta.

This delay for such a marquee feature is unusual. Sure, Apple’s been known to pre-announce iPhone features that land as a software update after the iPhone comes out — Stolen Device Protection in iOS 17.3, iCloud Shared Photo Library in iOS 16.1 and SharePlay in iOS 15.1 — but none of those got as much oxygen in Apple’s marketing blitz as the company’s take on generative AI.

But all that said, I can’t really pass judgment on Apple Intelligence until I can test it on the new iPhones. I should be updating this review once these features actually ship. This isn’t the time to roll my eyes at the stuff Apple’s announced, such as summarizing and rewriting features, custom emoji and its Image Playground art generator. There will be time for analyzing that and Apple’s ChatGPT integration soon enough.

Some of the company’s previews of its incoming “intelligent” features have caught my eye, though they have nothing to do with generative AI or the ChatGPT nonsense I wish had never been invented. At the “It’s Glowtime” press event, Apple teased upcoming Visual Intelligence features including the ability to add an event to your calendar when you point the iPhone’s camera at a poster advertising said event. You could also search for a bike with your camera, and figure out a dog’s breed by pointing your camera at it, to name a few examples.

The new Siri is supposed to be a game-changer, packing upgrades ranging from the option to command it via text (I don’t love talking to my tech, unless it’s funny), the ability to contextualize your questions based around what you just asked previously, and the ability to follow if you stop mid-sentence and correct yourself. Oh, and it’s going to make your screen’s frame glow, instead of just showing the little ball animation on the bottom of the screen.

But, again, all of this isn’t actually out yet, so I’m withholding judgment until it’s actually in a public, non-beta release.

How it compares on specs

Bottom line

As an iPhone 15 Pro Max owner, I’m trying to divorce myself from the conversation about upgrading to the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. I’m already intrigued by the Camera Control button’s potential, delighted by sharper macro photography and am nodding my head approvingly at its battery life and that extra bit of screen space.

But when the new iPhone’s big software features aren’t here yet (not that generative AI has demonstrated its value, anyway) and the iPhone Pro colors don’t leave me tempted? All I’ll say is that if I still had an iPhone 14 Pro, and my upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro would also include the bump to USB-C — or if I had an iPhone 13 Pro and didn’t have an always-on display — this would easily be a year where I preordered my new iPhone as I turned in this review to my editor.

There you have it; Apple’s delivered another pair of best smartphone contenders, flagships it can steer into an excellent grid-worthy sunset. Now it just has to convince people that Apple Intelligence is actually the future.