Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max review

Design, build quality, handling

The iPhone 16 Pro Max looks a lot like the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which looked a lot like the 14 Pro Max. Apple has been changing the standard color options each year - whether to spice things up or for the users to be able to tell the new iPhone from the old one - we do not know.

The iPhone 16 lineup

What we do know is that the iPhone has been one of the toughest smartphones on the market, built to last, and it has been universally praised for that. This means there is very little Apple can change to make it even better. In fact, the only real improvement for the new models is the third-generation Ceramic Shield Glass touted as the toughest across all phone shields.

Let's start from the beginning. The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max is your typical glass smartphone with a premium titanium (now grade 5) frame. The front is covered by a Ceramic Shield, while the back is another Corning-made glass of unspecified version. Everything is flat and has a matte finish.

Plus, each side of the phone has at least one signature design treat. The front has the pill-shaped notch with the Face ID tech, the rear panel has the odd triangular camera setup, and the frame now has the new Camera Control key.

As we said, the third generation Ceramic Shield that keeps the screen safe is advertised as two times tougher than the previous version, which means it is even more shatter-proof.

The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance, but Apple has gone beyond the standard rating, and it can actually survive into 6m deep water for up to 30 minutes.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is available in Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium and the new Desert Titanium (replacing the Blue Titanium).

The most notable change on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is its minor bump in height due to the new larger screen - now a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED with a pill-shaped cutout, something Apple calls a Dynamic Island. It comprises of two perforations, but Apple connects those with black pixels in-between.

The screen bezels have been trimmed even more and the screen now can probbaly be described as near bezel-less.

The back has a lone Apple logo, where the matte surface changes to glossy. The square camera housing is here to stay - it is a polished piece that raises from the flat glass and encapsulates the three cameras, the LiDAR system and the flash. There is also a microphone around there.

We like how Apple has manufactured the rear panel to be one-piece instead of an assembly with a separate camera bump.

The titanium frame looks and feels premium, but if you are an iPhone 14 Pro Max user, you will immediately feel how much lighter this new phone is due to the switch from stainless steel to titanium (and probably an aluminum internal chassis).

The Action Button remains on the left side, but now there is this new Camera Control key with capacitive and force-touch sensors (it is also mechanical and does travel down, too).

The Camera Control key can do a bunch of stuff - from immediately starting the camera, taking photos or capturing videos, swit ching cameras, zoom levels, exposure or bokeh, and more! Two-step autofocus/capture functionality is in the works, too.

The Face ID sensors and selfie camera haven't changed since the previous model. The earpiece also acts as a speaker, while the second speaker is at the bottom.

Apple has upgraded the iPhone 16 Pro Max with studio-grade microphones, something you cannot see, but should be able to hear it.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max measures 163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm and weighs 227 grams, this means it is 3mm taller and 6g heavier than the 15 Pro Max.

The phone doesn't feel larger than the previous Max models in your hand, in fact, it feels the same. We do love the iPhone's build even if the rear camera design is not our cup of tea. The phone has been made with outstanding precision and exceptional execution across the board and, for that reason, it can be easily considered as the best smartphone assembly on the market.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is not that grippy, but not that slippery either. It is fingerprint resistant thanks to the matte finish and the oleophobic coating atop the screen, and we think many people will find its grip good enough to be used without a case.