Minor Details Make a Difference: iPhone 16 Pro Max Evaluation

On Friday, Sept. 20, I received my brand new iPhone 16 Pro Max in the heavily advertised ‘Desert Titanium’ shade. The box was slim, and the nature of its minimalism provided a sleek, clean and glowing gradient to any imagery on its cover. Opening the box itself felt like a crime because, after all, who am I to take apart something so elegantly crafted? Instantly, I saw the golden-toned back glass of a device that I will hold, use, implement and scroll on every day for the next year.

Setting it up came with the simple cleanse and transfer method I have adjusted to. Using iCloud to seamlessly transfer an estimated 500 gigabytes of storage was both smooth and relaxing. It took my phone around two days to fully index and recover all of the data I have hoarded since my first iPhone, and it has allowed me breezy access to every bit of it. In the future, it would be nice if Apple considers implementing storage sizes beyond 1 terabyte, especially for the professionals who use up space quickly.

It is quite jarring to accept that we are 10 phone generations ahead of the iconic iPhone 6, which brought a new feel, height and adrenaline to technological abilities in portable cellular devices. Despite that, Apple seemingly hasn’t recreated that iconicity with the reveal of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple focused heavily on artificial intelligence usage and support with their devices while maintaining the same structure and status quo.

With Apple Intelligence available on my phone via the Apple Developer program, I have had the luxury of trying out the new Siri that was based on machine learning technology via Apple’s new artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, the majority of what was announced from Apple during their conference earlier in September has yet to arrive to the iPhone in my hand. Apple has promptly stated that ChatGPT support, multi-track Voice Notes and dozens of other features will be available ‘later this year’. The wording radiates uncertainty, but I have hopes it will follow through.

What is available, however, is a brand new camera control titled… ‘Camera Control’. It is a neat, minimalist, silk and button-looking control on the right side of the phone under the power button. It doesn’t offer the same sensation one would receive when using the volume, power and action buttons, instead it feels more based on the pressure I apply with my index finger. I can control what time of camera I am using, the focus, color-grading and even the ability to open the camera without changing any of its default mappings. It is a nice addition to include, but it may not provide the most substantial difference to the core demographic Apple is attempting to appeal to.

Surprisingly, one of the biggest differences that I have come is the 0.2 inch difference in size. I couldn’t have guessed that such a small appearing number would cause such a stark difference. The phone feels and holds like a bigger phone and the resolution of the screen is only slightly higher, but you can sense the new pixel resolution when looking at content. The phone is incredibly thin, but holds so much power, and lastly the bezels almost disappear during usage creating a strong immersion no iPhone has been able to provide yet.

The phone offers a stunning camera system, almost the same system as last year’s model, however it offers recording at 4K and 120fps slow-motion. With large file sizes, the content within the slow-motion footage provides cinematic detail for any cinema professional to work with.

The Pro and Pro Max series phones have always felt to me like they were attempting to appeal to a professional audience, an audience that pushes their phone in directions nobody else does. The audience that will open ProRes videos that are dozens of gigabytes and then expect to edit them as if they were on a dedicated editing suite. Does this phone offer that ability? I would definitely say so with limitations. After all, it is still a cell phone.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a lackluster amount of new features compared to the stark exclusive differences that each new phone generation previously provided. It psychologically feels like technology has halted its brakes and remained steady and reusable in terms of innovation. While audiences who jump from iPhone X will have an incredible experience with the dozens and dozens of new available updates created because of their giant leap, the same cannot be said for users who hold the phone generation behind the 16.

While the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers a wide-range of abilities and technological innovation that wasn’t available four years ago, it would be a lie to say this generation says the same about what was available last year. The iPhone 15 Pro Max could heavily benefit from a software update that included the opportunity to do what the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers, but Apple has their intentions in the bank vault, and it works.

There’s debate amongst consumers about whether the iPhone is lacking innovation because it looks the same each year versus people who say there isn’t a point in fixing what isn’t broken. Regardless, some are willing to pay the thousand dollars for minimal upgrades. Individuals in our current society do not adapt easily. Negativity is one of the strongest reactions to revelations because it doesn’t fit the mold. Is Apple ready to close the bank vault and step out of the mold again, or does the money speak so loudly that they consider their tactics transparent?