A Week with the BIGGEST iPhone Ever! iPhone 16 Pro Max

Welcome to review week! There’s a bunch on the way this week, but let’s start off with Apple’s latest, which somehow has been controversial since it came out - and… I’m really not sure why. But… is it good? Am I keeping it? Do I need trousers with bigger pockets. Lets talk.

So context first - I’m upgrading from the iPhone 14 Pro and up to the !6 Pro Max, which means going from a 6.1 to a 6.9” display (which is WAY bigger), gets double the storage, better cameras and for me, my first USB-C connected iPhone. And Apple Intelligence. I wouldn’t have got that on the last one. And as I said in one of my recent videos, if you have last year’s phone, you almost certainly shouldn’t be upgrading. And if you’re not a HEAVY Camera user, you probably don’t need a Pro phone either - this year the base 16 is an incredible phone, and If the iPhone wasn’t my main camera for this channel, I would probably have gone for that. Hell, Jon Prosser even went for a base iPhone 16 this year, not a pro. And those new colours? Chef kiss, they look amazing in person.

But this year I went for the White Titanium iPhone 16 Pro Max - and it is pretty beautiful. While it’s by no means light, picking it up for the first time out of the box, it gave the impression of being light. Confusing I know, but coming from the 14 Pro with its stainless steel body, having the bigger size your brain expects it to be heavier than it is, and the titanium has certainly helped reduce the heft. That being said, the novelty of your brain being fooled won’t last long, so it’s not a reason to buy, I just found it interesting.

Build quality is of course second to none, as is the setup experience, especially if you’re moving from another iPhone. And this year, you can plug your old phone into your new one, either with a double ended USB-C or USB-C to Lightning cable depending on your previous phone’s age. That will speed things up quite a bit compared to the old wireless transfers too.

I have slapped the phone into Amazon’s cheapest case and screen protector, no-longer trusting myself after scratching up the display of my 14 pro within a week by having it in my pocket with another phone - those camera glass covers are pretty tough! - And also, for the first time since the channel started, I had zero offers of cases to review this year - I have 3d printers, vacuum cleaners, headphones and fitness trackers coming up this week, but no phone case for an Apple channel - go figure, so feel free to suggest your favourites in the comments below, and slap the subscribe button while you’re there.

As usual, the new iPhone does all the stuff the last one did, but a little better and a little quicker. We’ll come to Apple Intelligence in a moment as that’s probably where the most controversy is, but first cameras.

Honestly, this is why I upgrade when I do. The iPhone 14 Pro did look fantastic, but this is better, and as I shoot every video on this channel on iPhone, you know, it seems like a good place to put my investment. I also shoot my second channel on iPhone, so if you fancy having a look at my Apple themed Space Marines, head over to @iCaveGames. But yes, the vast majority of the videos here are also shot direct on to the Mac using continuity camera too, so I don’t have to transfer or AirDrop the files, they’re just right there to start editing. Nice.

The ultra wide camera gets the biggest upgrade from 12 up to 48mp this year, and that’s really useful for me not as an ultra wide, but for the Macro, especially when photographing those miniatures. Plus, the 5x zoom is probably more useful than the 3x from my 14 pro. If you’re taking casual pictures, will you see much of a difference? Probably not. But it IS something that’s useful to me, and I’m the only one whose perspective I can speak from. I’ve already tried out the 4k 120FPS video too, and I’ve got some really fun ideas to make use of that going forward too. And of course there’s Camera Control. Not Capture button. That’s not what it’s called.

But while a lot of reviewers have found it awkward and difficult to use, I’ve found the opposite. I’ve found myself more likely to pull the phone out of my pocket and snap something just because it’s there, and it feels natural to use. The half- press and double half press will take a bit of time to remember to use, and it’s a subtle difference between the pressures needed, but it is on the Force Touch trackpad for MacBooks too. And the swipe to switch modes or zoom levels? Maybe it’s just me but it feels kind of sci-fi to me, I really, really like it.

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Join the conversation

[slowercuber]

My wife just jumped from a 2020 SE to an iPhone 16 and is loving it.

[rkm]

Hey man, I used to watch your videos back in 2020. Been real busy nowadays and just stumbled across your channel. Looks like youre doing great! Keep it up !

[ChristopherGavin]

Nice Video - i want a straight 16 as I'm rocking a 13, but its still going fine so finding hard to justify

[techhubwiltsuk]

Cool video pal, I went for 16 plus ultramarine and super happy

[slowercuber]

Last April I switched from 11 pro to 15 pro, and suspect I’ll be on it for a while. Congrats on getting the new 16 pro max. Your channel vid looks good to me, not that I’m qualified to judge…

[teamkinetixmedia]

iPhone hack:
My partner got the iPhone 16 Pro, I’m still rocking the 15 Pro as there’s no compelling reason to upgrade.
But I still want new shiny things.

So I changed my wallpaper and got a new case when I updated to iOS 18.
Feels like I got a new device, and saved £1100 👍

My 2yr old daughter now can’t tell the difference between mummy and daddy’s phones, so I guess that’s a win?

[slowercuber]

airpods get grim? I prefer to think of my airpods as well waxed...