Getting to know the latest flagship from Apple

The trouble with what I do for a living is that you can’t just rip your new iPhone out of the box there and then and start using it! Nope – there has to be a strategy. You have to get that unboxing bit on camera – trust me, it always comes in handy.

Even though it is more of a job today, I still love the anticipation of getting a new iPhone or any Apple device and revel in those first few days of using it. Inevitably look at those early experiences in a slightly different way now – and after a week of use here are my first thoughts on this year’s iPhone Pro Max.

iPhone design

More of the same is the obvious point to make – but is that a good or bad thing?

There is this clamour for something special to be delivered every year – but that is not a sustainable reality any longer. For years now we have been at max-smartphone and whether you choose an iPhone, a Samsung or a Pixel they all pretty much look the same year-on-year. And there is a simple reason for that – the shape and form factor works. Not only does it work, but it identifies the brands from one another. Foldables haven’t caught on as they are just not as comfortable to carry and use. Sometimes you just have to accept that shapes and designs work.

I happen to like the shape of an iPhone but changes have been made to it that make it even more comfortable to use. The titanium that was introduced last year was a discreet but genius addition. It ages well and doesn’t show fingerprints or scratches – oh and it saves a ton of weight too.

I reached back to my iPhone 14 Pro and it felt uncomfortable because of the squared-off edges and it felt damned heavy. That phone only had a 6.1-inch panel yet was only 20 grams lighter than this year’s enormous 6.9-inch model.

If that isn’t good design then I’d love to hear what is!

Every year much is made of the colours. Given that the majority of people snuggle their phone in a case from day one, makes it an odd one to understand why such an emphasis is placed on the colours on offer anyway.

Apple makes it simple – if you want pretty vibrant, punchy colours go to the 16 and 16 Plus iPhones. If you choose a Pro model you know that you’ll be getting a more measured, muted and subtle colourway.

I plumped for Desert Titanium and am guilty of being a case-free user! Now, if you are of a certain vintage you’ll remember that cars in the late 70s and early 80s had a shade called beige that was used way too often.

In reality, Desert Titanium is the current version of beige. It lacks hue or saturation. It’s subtle enough, there’s no mistaking that, but it just needed a dob more colour to it. On the upside, it’s pretty inoffensive – but to give you an idea of how tame it is, side by side with my 15 Pro Max which was White Titanium they are virtually indistinguishable!

Niggles

To be honest they have been far and few between.

I had problems with getting my Apple Watch to pair which was eventually sorted by re-booting the watch.

Other than that the only niggle which has been an ongoing one for years now is the Ceramic Shield glass on the front of the iPhone. Whilst I completely understand that a fine line has to be trodden between making it tough as old boots and soft enough not to shatter the moment you look at it – it still suffers from micro-scratches too easily for my liking. Day 2 saw me with the first minor battle wound on my display.

Battery & Display

The battery is notably better on standby. Even though I’ve started to run betas the battery lasts well when it is just sitting on the desk. I’m guessing that’s partly due to the larger battery and heat management of this year’s phone and the continual improvements in iOS efficiency too.

I think Apple is pushing us more and more towards wireless charging and that too seems improved this year. On the wireless puck, it tops up fast – but I’ve read viewers’ comments saying that is not the case with cabled charging.

The only real test I have given to the battery away from the studio was last Sunday when I spent the day at the BMW PGA Golf Championships carrying out a pretty extensive camera test.

It went from 100% to under 20% in just six hours, but for that time it was in constant use either taking pictures or video. The video was all 4K and either at 24 FPS or 120 FPS. That new 120/4K format gives bloody amazing results – and the pause feature we now have, in certain situations will be super handy.

The slimmer bezels aren’t immediately noticeable yet when you’re using it the display now appears more edge-to-edge. It’s not quite in Pixel land yet but I adore the OLED displays on iPhones. They are bright, even in sunlight, sharp as a pin, colour accurate and vibrant. OK – my iPads screen is better, but you’d never complain about the display on the iPhone.

Camera Control

In this week’s video, I coined the big new feature on the 16s as ‘an over-engineered solution to a problem which was never there.’

For starters, how many ways do we need to open the camera? You could use the Action Button, the Camera Control button, swipe right, open it from the Control Centre, the icon on the Lock Screen or the camera app itself.

I love the idea of innovation and applaud what Apple has tried to do here, but it feels rushed to me. I reckon in time it will be tweaked to become a useful tool, but as of now, it is slow, fiddly and odd.

It’s placed in precisely the wrong place. The number of times I’ve opened the camera when picking the phone up from the charger I’ve lost count of. In landscape mode it’s about 1cm too far to the left – but I guess it may be better placed on the smaller 16’s.

It seems no quicker to take a picture or video with this new control than it is using the more conventional methods. Yeah, once you’ve got used to the pressure you need to apply you can get to menus for depth of field, tones styles and cameras but again, in reality, they add nothing to the experience. In the camera menu, I have found no way to get to the 28mm or 35mm options for the main camera.

Audio Mix

I was kind of wrong about this new feature.

Initially, I couldn’t see a use for it – but that is probably because I have plenty of studio mics around me! I made a short this week shooting with only the iPhone and onboard mics and the results were good – really good. You could easily start a YouTube channel with just this Pro Max and get great results.

As with any AI-based audio correction though, don’t pump it too hard as it will get artifacty pretty quickly – as a rule, just leave it set to the factory settings.

Sadly though, I found no way of using it in any app other than the native camera app. I tried recording in the Final Cut Camera app and importing it to my picture library, but I couldn’t find a way to use the Audio Mix feature on those videos.

Cameras

Honestly – I don’t need to waste your time over this. If you liked the cameras last year, you’ll like them this year.

They’ve added a 48MP camera to the .5 camera which is giving pleasing results – I didn’t use that camera enough last year but this year I will make more of an effort to shoot in .5 mode.

Comparing Macro photos from the 14 to the 16 it’s clear to see how that new sensor has made a big difference there as well.

The Photographic Styles have replaced filters and can give some great effects – but again just remember not to push them too hard. Less is more – the same applies to the tone map.

If you want to make sure that your chosen settings are baked in for the next time you launch the camera then head to Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings and be sure to enable Photographic Styles and Creative Controls.

Final thoughts

Minor changes possibly but changes that have made useful improvements.

Is the switch worth it for everyone? Probably not. Yes, there are all those yet-to-be-fulfilled promises of Apple Intelligence to come – but I don’t think that will define this phone.

I don’t get the naysayers – the iPhone 16 Pro Max is damn good at what it does and builds on an already good platform and continues to get incrementally better.

So far I’d have to say I’m pretty happy with my new daily – time will tell, but it has to go down as the best iPhone simply because they have just added to what was already great!