iPhone 16 Pro Max Review - A Gamer Perspective
This is a progressive review of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, with ongoing updates on gaming performance, hardware, and software throughout the year. Stay tuned for more insights!
Table of Context
Please Note: This review is for gamers. While some aspects can benefit regular users, the focus is primarily on gaming hardware and software.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max has finally made it to the studio, this time from the correct Apple Store, and is now restored from backup. If you know, you know. Let’s get to testing and opinionating!
HUGE CAVEAT: Since I’m running iOS 18.1 Beta 4 on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, this iPhone 16 Pro Max will also be running it. To restore from the backup, I had to install the beta on the new phone, too. Is it ideal? No, but ¯\(ツ)/¯. All the testing will happen in the 1-month update.
Unboxing and First Impressions.
Here are my first impressions of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It feels almost the same as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, just a smidge heavier, and the screen is low-key noticeably bigger.
The sound quality, though, is noticeably different. The speakers are louder and clearer, especially when playing "Crab Rave." There's better separation between the left and right channels, and side by side with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the 16 Pro Max is noticeably louder and has more bass.
One cool thing is the camera control—it has this clicky click when you press the button, I didn't expect that, but it's pretty satisfying. On the downside, the screen protector I got sucks. And I don't recommend it. It cuts off right at the pixel line, making the Camera Control UI look weird.
I have also yet to test the battery life, gaming experience, camera, or heat management. Those will come later once the phone is out of beta.
2 Days
The phone feels great; Mom, who had the iPhone 15 Pro Max, said it feels a little bigger. The battery, despite being on a buggy beta, is OUTSTANDING! I guess it’s because the battery is new and at 100% capacity. It’s like it just doesn’t die!
The camera action button is cool and useful, but it still feels redundant. If anything, it’s great for launching the camera, and I see no issue with that. As for the camera itself, I haven’t noticed a big difference. Sure, it can read out images twice as fast, but I don’t think I’m ever in a situation where I need to take photos at that speed. Recording in 4K at 120fps isn’t something I’ll do often—the files are too big. As the family photographer, airdropping something that large doesn’t make sense to me.
7 Days
It’s been a week since unboxing the phone, and honestly, not much has changed since day two. The battery is still incredibly hard to drain, lasting well past midnight after taking it off the charger around 8 am, with some intermittent charging while in the car. The cameras are fantastic, and the Spatial photos and videos are amazing to watch on the Vision Pro. (Fun fact: these are just regular 3D files, so you can view them on other VR headsets, too—it’s not exclusive to the Apple Vision Pro, despite what some might suggest.) The audio quality is still top-notch.
I’ve been using the camera control button more, but it still feels a bit redundant. I’m really looking forward to iOS 18.1 coming out of beta—it’s a bit buggy at the moment—so I can dive deeper into testing. I’ve played a few games, like Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and Sonic Dream Team. While they look great, I suspect the software and hardware aren’t fully optimized yet, so I’ll give it a little more time.
2 Weeks
During this time, we had a birthday party for my cousin. As the family photographer, I took about 98% of the photos. I want to remind you that the phone is still in beta, and I’ll be fully reviewing the camera once it’s out. That said, I do have some thoughts on the current experience.
Obviously, the photos turned out outstanding, but Camera Control could be a lot more work. It keeps changing settings unexpectedly. I often had to use the screen to zoom in or out and adjust the exposure back to where I wanted it. Apple really needs to rethink how this button works—it’s too easily activated and gets in the way when all I want to do is capture the moment. I think a double press to bring up the slider and another double press to change settings would be a much better approach.
Another issue was the heat. The phone got so hot it became uncomfortable to hold. I actually had to dip it in a cold pool to cool it down before I could continue taking photos. Again, this could be a beta issue, and I’m hoping it gets resolved in the official