iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max hands-on: Bigger displays, big camera upgrades

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are a big deal literally because they have larger displays at 6.3 inches and a whopping 6.9 inches. The latter is the largest display ever on an iPhone. But they're also a pretty big deal because of all the other upgrades Apple is packing into this year's Pro models.

Both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max get a new A18 Pro chip that's designed from the ground up for Apple Intelligence features and a new dedicated Camera Control button that's designed to make everything from zooming to changing focus depth easier. A new 48MP ultrawide camera captures impressive macro shots, and you can record cinematic slow-motion video at 4K 120fps.

Apple also promises longer battery life and better sustained performance along with more durable designs. I went hands-on with both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max and I came away impressed with the new designs and features — both could make our best phone list — but the Camera Control was a bit finicky.

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max Specs

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max price and release date

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max start at $999 and $1,199, respectively and go on sale September 20. Pre-orders start Friday, September 13.

The iPhone 16 Pro starts with 128GB of storage, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max has 256GB standard. You can get 256GB on the regular Pro for $100 more, 512GB for $1,299 and 1TB for $1,499.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max costs $1,399 for 512GB and $1,599 for 1TB.

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max design and displays

The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are bigger than their predecessors, but not overwhelmingly so, and that's because Apple managed to trim the bezels way down. In fact, these are the slimmest borders on an iPhone yet.

I put the 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max and 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max side by side and the new iPhone was only marginally bigger. However, some people may prefer the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro because it achieves that nice middle ground of device size versus display size. And it's not much heavier. We're talking the difference between 7.8 ounces for last year's Pro Max versus and 8 ounces for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Meanwhile, at a shade over 7 ounces, the iPhone 16 Pro is just 0.4 ounces heavier than its predecessor.

Apple also promises a more durable design thanks to a new Ceramic Shield display that the company claims is 2x tougher than glass on any other phone. Just as important, there's a new internal architecture that improves heat dissipation and allows for 20% better sustained performance. This is key because many users have complained about overheating on the iPhone 15 Pro series.

You still get a titanium frame on the iPhone 16 Pro but there's a new Desert Titanium color which I think is a bit more peach than gold. This joins the Black, White and Natural titanium options.

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max OLED displays themselves look good with a rated 2,000 nits of brightness, but that's behind the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL (3,000 nits). You get the same 120Hz refresh rate that's been a mainstay on Apple's Pro phones for several generations now.

Overall, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max don't look all that different, but I appreciate the slimmer bezels and the promise of better durability.

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max Camera Control

The most unique design feature of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max is the Camera Control, a dedicated button that's recessed in the design on the right side of the phone. Don't worry, there's still an Action Button on the left if you want to customize shortcuts.

The haptic Camera Control lets you launch the camera with a hard press and you can just start snapping photos with another press. From there, I could long press to start recording video.

But things get really interesting when you swipe your finger along the edge of the button. You can swipe left and right to zoom in and out on your photos. And with a double soft press you can toggle between various settings like Depth, Exposure and Styles. It works, but I found the button a bit finicky and I had to swipe more than I liked to go from one option to the next.

Still, I could see myself using the Camera Control all the time to quick launch into the camera so I never miss a shot.

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max: Cameras

In terms of camera upgrades, Apple packs a fair number of improvements into the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, starting with a 48MP Fusion main camera that's designed to cut down on shutter lag. At least based on the sample photos, it looks like these cameras can take sharp images of things like a flowing dress in motion with good sharpness, but we'll be putting that to the test.

The bigger upgrade is the 48MP ultra wide camera, which enables better wide angle shots but also much more impressive macro shots. I saw a close-up of a flower and was blown away with the level of detail.

Videographers will appreciate the ability to capture 4K 120fps videos in slo-mo mode . I saw a video of a guy on a motorcycle and when things slowed down I could see his jacket rippling in the wind.

The audio capture gets an upgrade too while recording video, thanks to improved studio quality mics. You can make it sound like the video was recorded in a studio or make the vocal tracks front and center with environmental noises in the background. You decide. And the wind noise reduction is improved, too.

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max: A18 Pro and Apple Intelligence

The A18 Pro chip inside the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max series promises a major speed boost, which makes sense because Apple wants these phones to be fully optimized for Apple Intelligence. The CPU promises to be 15% faster while using 20% less power, and there's a faster neural engine for machine learning tasks.

So what can you do with this extra oomph? I summarized a long notes in the Notes app in just a few seconds, and you can do things like create images in Image Playground and quickly summarize a long email thread. A new Siri is also on the way to handle all sorts of tasks and have more natural conversations, but that's coming in October in English first.

Gamers will like that the A18 Pro's beefed up 6-core GPU, which promises better visuals. While playing Honor: Kings World I appreciated the console-like visuals, including a stunning sunset and smooth animations.

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max: Battery and charging

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max both promise longer battery life than the previous models. We're talking 22 and 29 hours of streaming video, respectively, compared to 20 and 25 hours for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

Apple says that this is due to various factors, including the efficiency of the A18 Pro chip and larger batteries. The Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL both impressed in our battery testing, so we'll have to see if the new iPhones make our best phone battery life list.

Unfortunately, Apple is giving us the same 25W charging speeds, which is a bummer given that the best Android phones offer faster charging.

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max: Outlook

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max both look like solid upgrades, but the iPhone 16 Pro could be the better value. You get the same 5x telephoto zoom as the larger Pro Max in a smaller design, and the screen is big enough where you might  not have Max envy.

I personally prefer a larger screen and the longest battery life, so I would probably go for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. But if you're on a tighter budget go regular Pro. Stay tuned for our full rated review.