iPhone 16 Pro Max
World's Biggest iPhone Screen, 48 MP Stills at 10 FPS, 4K/120 Dolby Vision HDR, 1,080/240p: The World's Most Advanced Camera (2024 ~ 2025)
NEWEST: iPhone 17 Pro Max
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iPhone 16 Pro Max. bigger. |
iPhone 16 Pro Max. bigger. |
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium (1TB, 512GB or 256GB storage, titanium edge with integral Ceramic Shield screen protection, 7.970 oz./226.0g). bigger. It's at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium. bigger. It's at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium (sapphire lens covers and matte glass over titanium edge). bigger.
This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
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Sample Images top
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These are all shot in the native Camera app; daylight or starlight, I just point and shoot like everyone else. Any editing was done later.
Daylight
Sunflower and Bee, Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, 1:26 P.M, Saturday, 12 July 2025. Cropped from Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 5× (15.7mm actual or 120mm eq.) camera at f/2.8 at 1/1,227 at Auto ISO 50 (LV 14¼), free Snapseed app in-phone, Radiant Photo software to help it pop and Skylum Luminar Neo to add deliberate vignetting. bigger.
Two-Car Pileup, Barstow, California, 2:37 P.M, 06 February 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.765mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/1,949 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 12.6), Radiant Photo software to help it pop and Skylum Luminar Neo to add more pop and add deliberate vignetting. More tech details. bigger.
Porsche Carrera GT, San Diego, California, 9:57 A.M, Saturday, 26 October 2024. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.765mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/827 at Auto ISO 64 (LV 12.0), as shot at 48 MP in HEIF MAX mode. bigger or original © 48MP image, AirDropped as Most Compatible (12 MB JPG).
Love the colors!!!
Here's a 1,200 × 900 pixel (6.7×) crop from the above:
1, 200 × 900 pixel (6.7×) crop. bigger or original © 48MP image.
This 1,200 × 900 pixel crop will vary in size to fit your screen.
If it's about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a solid 16 × 20″ (38 × 50 cm) at this same sharpness and magnification.
If it's about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print gallery-sized at 30 × 40″ (2½ × 3⅓ feet or 76 × 101 cm) at this same sharpness and magnification.
If it's about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a wall-filling 60 × 80″ (5 × 6.7 feet or 1.5 × 2.0 meters) at this same sharpness and magnification.
Torrey Pines State Reserve, La Jolla, California, 2:26 P.M, Sunday, 10 November 2024. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 0.5× (2.22mm actual or 14mm eq.) camera at f/2.2 at 1/3,125 at Auto ISO 50 (LV 14.9), free Snapseed app edit in-phone. bigger.
Secret Underground Book Preserve, San Diego, California, 12:58 P.M, Thursday, 24 July 2025 A. D.. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 0.5× (2.22mm actual or 14mm eq.) camera at f/2.2 at 1/1,656 at Auto ISO 50 (LV 14.0), Skylum Luminar Neo software, split-toned print. bigger.
Dusk sample images top
Roy's Sign at Dusk, Route 66, California, 5:41 P.M., Saturday, 08 February 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1.5× (6.785mm actual or 35mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/60 at Auto ISO 160 (LV 6.9), Skylum Luminar Neo software. More tech details. bigger.
Decaying Home in the Sand, Barstow, California, 5:24 P.M., 06 February 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.765mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/121 at Auto ISO 64 (LV 9¼), free Snapseed app in-phone, Skylum Luminar Neo and Radiant Photo software to pump it up. More tech details. bigger.
Route 66 Coming in to Amboy, California, 5:01 P.M., 08 February 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 0.5× (2.2mm actual or 14mm eq.) camera at f/2.2 at 1/107 at Auto ISO 40 (LV 10⅓), Radiant Photo and Skylum Luminar Neo software for wire removal and to pump it up even further. More tech details. bigger.
Leaving Amboy, California, at Sunset on Route 66, 5:07 P.M., 08 February 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 2× (6.785mm actual or 48mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/1,013 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 11⅔), Skylum Luminar Neo software to pump it up and add detail to the highlights and shadows. More tech details. bigger.
Kelp at Sunset, Cardiff Seaside Reef, San Diego, California, 4:40 P.M, Friday, 22 November 2024. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.785mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/555 at Auto ISO 80 (LV 11.1), free Snapseed app edit in-phone. bigger.
Maybe I could have jammed a conventional camera into the wet sand inches away from the kelp and only God knows how I could see through a finder on the ground or see anything on a tiny Nikon screen, while with my iPhone 16 Pro Max I just reach my arm down and see its huge, brilliant screen from a comfortable distance in comfort. Likewise it's easy to press the Camera Control button as I'm holding it to shoot. The iPhone's magic autofocus just knows how to focus; I didn't have to do anything to get perfect focus — point and shoot!
Roy's Spaceport, Amboy, California, 5:46 P.M., 08 February 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 0.5× (2.2mm actual or 14mm eq.) camera at f/2.2 at 1/30 at Auto ISO 1,250 (LV 3.5), Radiant Photo software to amplify it, Skylum Luminar Neo software for more amplification and adding deliberate vignetting, perspective correction Photoshop 2021. More tech details. bigger.
Moonlight sample images top
Conway Summit Under Moonlight, Lee Vining, California, 7:06 P.M., 16 October 2024. iPhone 16 Pro Max 1.5× (6.8mm actual or 35mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1 second at Auto ISO 640 (LV minus 0.7), free Snapseed app in-phone, Radiant Photo software. More tech details. bigger or fit-to-screen.
I think I used my Oben CT-2491 Carbon-Fibre Tripod, Oben GH3W-15 Geared Head and Oben SPA-1000 iPhone adapter for this shot. It lets the iPhone make longer exposures in the dark for cleaner results — or maybe I handheld it. I forget; it looks great either way.
I deliberately waited to tap the shutter until a truck glided by so I could get the red and yellow lines above, as well as light on the well-stickered guard rail.
Redwood Motel Rooms 14 and 15 Under Moonlight, Bridgeport, California, 7:51 P.M., 16 October 2024. iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.8mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/40 at Auto ISO 800 (LV 4.0), Radiant Photo software. More tech details. bigger or fit-to-screen.
Redwood Motel Under Moonlight, Bridgeport, California, 8:03 P.M., 16 October 2024. iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.8mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera handheld at 1/7 of a second at f/1.8 at Auto ISO 1,250 (LV 0.9), pumped-up in Skylum Luminar Neo and Radiant Photo software with perspective correction in Photoshop CC. More tech details. bigger.
Luna deficit nubibus (Luna eclipsată de nori or Moon Eclipsed by Clouds), 8:58 PM, Thursday, 13 March 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 2× (6.8mm actual or 48mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 handheld at 1/5 second (indicated, night mode) at Auto ISO 800 (LV 0.1), Radiant Photo software. bigger.
Virginia Creek Settlement at Night, Bridgeport, California, 6:48 P.M., 19 October 2024. iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.8mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/40 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 5.3), Radiant Photo software with perspective correction in Photoshop CC. More tech details. bigger.
This scene has very difficult lighting from big light sources like the VIRGINIA CREEK sign at the top and bare neon to dim starlight at the bottom. Normal cameras like my Canon R5 II rarely can handle huge variations in light like this (I'll admit I didn't try the R5 II's handheld HDR mode), and the results from my R5 II were awful due to the huge lighting range, while my iPhone 16 Pro Max just got the shot above as it always does.
Indoors
Le Mobile Recording, Carlsbad, California, 12:59 P.M., Saturday, 26 October 2024. iPhone 16 Pro Max 0.5× (2.2mm actual or 14mm eq.) camera at 1/24 at f/2.2 at Auto ISO 250 (LV 5.5), Radiant Photo software. bigger.
Sharp even in dim light, even when shot ultra-ultra wide!
Introduction top
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Look at the pictures. What more do you need to know? I get great shots hand-held from daylight to moonlight. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is the world's most clairvoyant camera. It does a better job making the best out of poor lighting or other difficult situations than any other camera.
Every new iPhone outdoes the last at getting every shot perfectly: in-focus with color and exposure that matches the scene exactly as we saw it. No matter what the light, from daylight to weird indoor light to starlight, no other camera gives rendition as accurate as my iPhone 16 Pro Max. This is most apparent under nasty mixed artificial light, under which no other camera gets white balance and color rendition correct all by itself in every shot. With my fancy cameras it takes a lot more work in weak light getting the colors to look right, while iPhone just gets it.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max easily deals with extreme dynamic range with its auto HDR shooting and display, which renders sunsets and other scenes brilliantly on screen, far more bright and vivid than anything from any traditional camera maker. Unlike my fancy cameras, I can't get highlights to blow-out or shadows to disappear with my iPhone unless I do that deliberately in an editing app!
The iPhone 16 Pro Max makes superior images not because of anything listed in marketing claims or specifications, but because of the brilliance programmed into its software and firmware. While innocent people believe baloney like "200 MP Ultra-Wide Camera" or "1,200 image layers" or "Six Cameras working at different exposures for HDR" or whatever from lesser brands, what really matters is if the camera has the intelligence programmed into it to get the exposure, automatic white (color) balance and HDR all looking perfect in every situation.
Few people realize that crucial basics like automatic white balance, which is what creates the correct colors — or not — are extremely difficult to program well. The magic of iPhone 16 Pro Max is how it always gets this right, making every shot exactly as we wanted it. Claims of processors or resolution are easy for laypeople to digest, but not at all related to picture quality. What really matters is how well hardware and firmware are programmed to work together to capture and process data into the final images, and that's where Apple has more resources and smart people working together to create this magic than anyone else.
Cameras do not simply "capture" an image; there is a lot of art and secret science that goes on under the hood to fine-tune what comes off the sensor to create the "natural" image we want. This is because our brains do an extraordinary amount of processing to create what we perceive based on the raw data captured by our eyes, and the iPhone has to replicate this as best it can to create a natural image. Laypeople rarely understand the highly advanced processing magic that happens in our minds or inside an iPhone to create a natural image from the raw crud that comes out of a sensor.
For over a decade people have been asking me what settings will let their Canon/Nikon/LEICA etc. just get the same consistently great images that we all get from our iPhones, and sadly the answer is that you can't. Traditional cameras lack the synthetic cognition programmed into an iPhone that lets it see as our own eyes and minds do. Traditional cameras make do with just one "capture" and lack the ability to interpret the continuous flow of images that are collected by our iPhones and used to create an image when we tap its shutter button.
iPhone works in many more dimensions at a time than a traditional camera does. A traditional camera takes a single shot and it's done. iPhone is continuously grabbing frames with different exposures, and when you tap the shutter button then takes several of the very best of these frames in HDR and magically creates the file it saves. There’s a lot going on inside an iPhone that Apple does not talk about which is where the magic happens, things requiring far more advanced technology than anything a traditional camera can do.
Traditional camera companies have never really wanted us to be completely happy with our pictures; they want to keep us buying new cameras, hoping the next nonsense new marketing feature will somehow make the pictures better. Apple is in a very competitive market and wants to be sure that our images always look great — and has more money and talent to make it happen than any other company on the planet.
See also my iPhone 15 Pro Max review for many more great things which also apply to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
New since iPhone 15 Pro Max intro top
Dedicated Camera Control Button, which I use all day. I can hit it by feel as I draw my iPhone from my pocket. It wakes, calls up the camera and lets me shoot, all by feel with one button. Bravo!
48 MP 0.5× ultrawide camera, up from 12 MP. This is important because the 0.5× ultrawide camera is the camera used in most Macro shots, with the iPhone cropping from it to create the 1×, 2× and 5× zoom settings when closer than about 7" (17cm). Likewise at zoom settings between 0.5× and 0.99× the iPhone crops from the ultrawide camera, so the best part of having a 48MP 0.5× ultrawide camera is for macro and zoom settings just wider than 1× where you might not realize it's actually using just a crop from the 0.5× ultrawide camera.
Superior speakers. While subtle to most people, it's obvious to audio engineers: the speaker sound for playing music is much smoother, eliminating the upper midrange peak present in prior models. Bravo! You probably won't notice this unless you play some music and compare the sound of the speakers to an older model, in which case it's significant if you know how to listen. Bravo, Apple! Hint: For stereo, you have to hold the iPhone horizontally, and pretty much have to hold it on your face to get it close enough to have an speaker separation. Hint: For bigger sound, put your iPhone in a corner, like the corner of a bathroom or kitchen counter.
Slightly bigger screen, the biggest iPhone screen in history. I LOVE this; every little bit counts!
The Photos app now offers a very handy Styles control which makes it trivial to adjust brightness and saturation with but one gentle finger. It's easy to adjust al this after we shoot, so long as it was shot on the iPhone 16 Pro Max— not that I ever need to, because the images are dead-on 99.99% of the time.
Newest iOS 18 now allows three different overall system text sizes, up from two in prior iOS.
4K/120 Dolby Vision HDR, up from 4K/60.
32 watt USB-C charging (measured), up from 25 W (measured) in iPhone 15 Pro Max.
25 watt MagSafe charging.
Up to 29 hours claimed streaming video playback (33 hours if played from a file stored on your phone).
Up to 105 hours claimed audio playback (presumably from files stored in your phone).
This also works back to iPhone 14: free satellite roadside assistance, SOS and some text messages covered for two years. In other words when you get back to your car in some remote off-the-grid area and need help after backpacking for a week — but there's no cell signal, you still can get help!
Good intro top
Great pictures! It's just a little better at everything as iPhone is continuously refined.
Video stabilization so solid it makes gimbals completely unnecessary. It also has an ACTION video mode with more extreme stabilization that gives smooth results if you're running or doing other very active things, no gimbal required!
My battery lasts forever — but we all use our iPhones differently.
Splash, water, and dust resistant.
Live support at (800) APL-CARE.
I could go on all day. iPhone is the most advanced consumer product ever created in all of humanity's history, replacing and improving on innumerable things like cameras, telephones, record players, wristwatch chronometers, printed books, iPods and MP3 players, film, photo labs and photo albums, road maps and atlases, clocks, CD and SACD players, AM, FM and shortwave radios, GPS navigation systems, flashlights, thermometers, calendars, bibles, cassette recorders, barometers and weather stations, stopwatches, camcorders, and, well, you get the idea.
See also my iPhone 15 Pro Max review for many more great things which also apply to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Bad intro top
Not free, but for something we all use all day, every day, it's worth it.
Missing intro top
Still no automatic leveling mode a la Canon EOS R7.
Specifications, 16 Pro Max top
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Specs Cases Chargers Lenses, Gimbals & etc.
Filters Microphones Performance User's Guide
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Apple's Specs.
Display
6.61" (168mm) diagonal, actual measured size. Apple specifies 6.86" diagonal, which is only if you include the parts that would be there if the corners weren't rounded. Apple then rounds 6.86" to 6.9" in its sales literature.
2,868 × 1,320 pixels at 460 PPI.
6.235 × 2.870 inches (153.36 × 72.89 mm).
Always on, except when it's not.
Brilliant 1,000 nits, 1,600 nits peak with HDR and 2,000 nits peak outdoors.
2,000,000:1 contrast ratio OLED at up to 120 Hz.
P3 color gamut.
True-Tone adapts the screen's color balanced to the ambient light.
iPhone 15 Pro Max StandBy Display. bigger.
Cameras, Lenses & Sensors specifications top
Every iPhone has about as many cameras as a spacecraft.
In addition to an infra-red LASER RADAR (LiDAR) 3D sensor array on the back and an infra-red emitter and camera system on the front for Face ID, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has four separate visible-light color cameras: one on the front for selfies, and three on the back:
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Camera System. bigger.
Front Camera |
0.5× |
1×, 1.2×, 1.5× & 2× |
5× |
|
Also called |
TrueDepth, Selfie or Screen |
Ultra-Wide |
Main & Digital Zoom |
Telephoto |
Diagonal Angle of View |
86º (or 71º crop) |
120º |
83º 75º 1.2× crop 63º 1.5× crop 48º 2× crop |
20º |
23mm (or 30mm crop) |
13mm |
24mm 1× 28mm 1.2× crop 35mm 1.5× crop 48mm 2× crop |
120mm |
|
Actual Lens |
2.69 mm f/1.9 6 elements |
2.22 mm f/2.2 6 elements |
6.765 mm f/1.78 7 elements |
15.66 mm f/2.8 7 elements + tetraprism |
Crop Factor |
8.55× or 11.15× |
5.856× |
3.5406× 4.25× 1.2× crop 5.3× 1.5× crop 7.08× 2× crop |
8.56× |
Close Focus |
about 2.2 inches (55mm) from the screen |
about 0.5 inches (12mm) from the lens cover |
6.5 inches (165 mm)1 |
3 feet (92 cm)1 |
Lens Diaphragm |
None, always shoots at f/1.9 |
None, always shoots at f/2.2 |
None, always shoots at f/1.8 |
None, always shoots at f/2.8 |
Still Image Stabilization |
"Auto image stabilization" |
none |
"second generation sensor shift optical image stabilization" |
"3D sensor shift optical image stabilization" |
Video Stabilization |
"Auto image stabilization" |
electronic |
sensor-shift & electronic |
"3D sensor shift optical image stabilization" |
Electronic Lens Distortion Correction Available? |
Yes, but I've not seen it make any difference. |
Yes |
No |
No |
Resolution |
12 MP or cropped to 7 MP |
48 MP |
12, 24 or 48 MP3 at 1× 12, 24 or 34 MP3 (1.2× crop) 12 or 22 MP3 (1.5× crop) 12 MP 2× crop |
12 MP |
Image Sizes (pixels) |
4,032 × 3,024 or 3,088 × 2,316 (crop) |
48 MP: 8,064 × 6,048 12 MP: 4,032 × 3,024 |
48 MP: 8,064 × 6,048 34 MP: 6,720 × 5,040 (1.2× crop) 24 MP: 5,712 × 4,284 22 MP: 5,376 × 4,032 (1.5× crop) 12 MP: 4,032 × 3,024 |
4,032 × 3,024 |
Actual Sensor Size |
4 × 3mm (5mm diagonal) or 3.1 × 2.3mm (crop, 3.83mm diagonal) |
5.6 × 4.2mm (7mm diagonal) |
9.8 × 7.3mm 8.2 × 6.1mm 1.2× crop 6.5× 4.7mm 1.5× crop 4.9 × 3.65mm 2× crop |
4.5 × 3.4 mm (5.64mm diagonal) |
1/3.5" or 1/4.7" |
1/2.55" |
1/1.28" 1/1.54" 1.2× crop 1/1.92" 1.5× crop 1/2.56" 2× crop |
1/3.5" |
|
Sensor Diagonal |
5mm or 3.83mm (crop) |
7.00mm |
12.22 mm 10.18 mm 1.2× crop 8.17 mm 1.5× crop 6.11 mm 2× crop |
5.64 mm |
Pixel Pitch |
1.0 µm |
0.7 µm |
1.22 µm @ 48 MP (1×) 1.73 µm @ 24 MP (1×) 2.44 µm @ 12 MP (1×) 1.22 µm @ 12 MP (2×) |
1.12 µm |
Lowest ISO2 (observed) |
ISO 20 |
ISO 32 |
ISO 502 |
ISO 40 |
1.) Macro mode magically digitally zooms-in from from the next shorter camera if you're too close at the selected zoom setting.
2.) It's super-smart, adapting its ISO and shutter speeds in low light based on how steadily you're holding the camera.
3.) Only 12 MP (4,032 × 3,024) in Night Mode.
Formats specifications top
Stills
Professional 4:3 aspect ratio, except of course panoramas.
Your choice of JPG, HEIC or DNG.
Video
4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100 (Fusion) or 120 (Fusion) FPS.
1,080p Dolby Vision at 25, 30, 60, 100 (Fusion) or 120 (Fusion) FPS. (oddly no 24 FPS, so use 25.)
720p Dolby Vision at 30 FPS.
Also Time Lapse and Slo-Mo.
Stereo audio.
Panoramas specifications top
Works with any of the 0.5×, 1×, 2× or 5× settings.
Pans for up to over 360º at 0.5× and up to about 270º at 1×, 135º at 2× and 45º at 5×.
Perfectly OK to do a shorter panorama.
Up to 63 MP.
Dimensions specifications top
6.42 × 3.06 × 0.32 inches HWD.
163 × 77.6 × 8.25 millimeters HWD.
Weight specifications top
7.970 oz. (226.0 g) actual measured weight.
Rated 7.99 oz. (227 g).
Water Resistance specifications top
IP 68: 6 meters (20 feet) for up to 30 minutes per IEC 60529.
Caveat: As friends at Apple have explained, this is for a new iPhone. As soon as you drop it a couple of times you may break the seals and it won't be this good. Be careful unless you have a new phone. Friends have made awesome underwater videos, but as far as I know Apple doesn't cover water damage if yours leaks. Good luck!
Cases top
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Filters Microphones Performance User's Guide
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Cases are a very personal choice. I prefer a case that:
1.) Is made of thick, real, rich leather,
2.) Has real clicky metal buttons that feel exactly like a naked phone,
3.) Has the bottom open except for the corners so there's no interference a.) when swiping up to unlock and b.) when used with any cable. So long as the corners are protected, the phone is fully protected. (The Bullstrap case also comes with a closed bottom if you prefer),
4.) Shields the Camera Control button to guard against accidental firing.
I love my Bullstrap open-bottom leather case (it also comes with a closed bottom if you prefer):
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max in Bullstrap leather case. bigger.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max in Bullstrap leather case. bigger.
The Apple clear case is the slipperiest case I've had. It's semi hard plastic, as opposed to leather or grippy silicone.
A great thing about the clear case is also that most of the bottom is open. No longer do we have to try to swipe over the bottom edge of the case to wake a hundred times a day as we do for cases that cover the bottom. The bottom corners are all covered and there's no danger from having the middle of the bottom open; it's highly unlikely you'd drop your phone on something pointy that could poke the middle of the bottom. When we drop our phones they hit on a corner for obvious reasons.
Chargers top
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The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
It charges from anything that connects to USB-C.
While I have loads of USB-C chargers and my new iPhone 16 Pro Max works great with the same wireless chargers I've had since 2018 for my iPhone Xs Max, I really love my Petino Samba Pad Pro 3-Way Wireless Charging Station:
Petino Samba Pad Pro 3-Way Wireless Charging Station.
Of course there are loads of other wireless charging stations. This one is fast and holds three things (iPhone, Apple Watch and any third item in the center) on my night stand for StandBy.
More about charging & fast charging at my iPhone 16 Pro Max User's Guide.
Camera Apps, Grips, Gimbals & Lenses top
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The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Forget these!
The whole point of iPhone is its simplicity: not needing any other rubbish to degrade our experience. Draw and fire, that's what it's all about. Anything that distracts our concentration from what's actually in our picture makes our pictures worse.
There are huge industries developing and selling these tchotchkes to the insecure, but we don't need any of them:
Forget Camera Apps
I've tried third-party camera and shooting apps, and never liked any of them as much as I love iPhone's native Camera app.
The Camera app is simplicity, the whole point of iPhone.
Other apps just make things more complicated, and worse, some of the ones I've tried don't or can't take advantage of all the magic resident in the Camera's own app and processing, making poorer images than if we just shot it in the regular Camera app.
Forget Grips
Are you kidding? Like I'm going to put something on my iPhone to make it as clumsy as my LEICA so I can't put it in my pocket? Why?
Forget these.
Forget Gimbals
You don't need a gimbal; just walk and shoot and playback is completely smooth!
People used to think they needed gimbals with earlier stabilized iPhones because the shooting display wasn't stabilized, even though the actual as-captured video was flawlessly smooth on playback. iPhone uses both optical and sensor shift stabilization, and then electronically frameshakes everything to eliminate any vibration before it saves the interframe-aligned file.
Hand-held video is ultra smooth, even when shot at maximum zoom. Ignore your sucker friends with massive dork rigs; just hand-hold and you'll get the same video!
Try the ACTION VIDEO mode with even more extreme stabilization if you're running or doing other very active things.
Forget Most Accessory Lenses
In olden days we needed accessory lenses to get ultrawide or tele, while today's iPhone 16 Pro Max already has these.
Forget accessory lenses, except maybe for ultra-macro, fisheye, ultrateles, telescope adapters or similarly unique lenses. Personally I use none of these since carrying them distracts my creative thoughts away from my pictures.
I shot this with a large telescope, but I hand-held my iPhone to its eyepiece. Having a telescope adapter would have been handy, but also more stuff to get in my way:
The Moon, 8:26 PM, 31 October 2020. Celstron 8 telescope, iPhone 11 Pro Max hand-held to Vixen LVW 65º 22mm eyepiece, 4.25mm at f/1.8 at 1/355 at Auto ISO 32 (LV 11.8). bigger.
Hint: I've owned classic fisheye lenses since the 1970s, and to be perfectly honest, only made one good photo with any of them. Forget fisheyes.
Filters top
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Specs Cases Chargers Lenses, Gimbals & etc.
Filters Microphones Performance User's Guide
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
There's no need for grad filters because the iPhone 16 Pro Max handles extreme light all by itself, something conventional cameras can't do.
Polarizers are rarely helpful, and if I need one, I simply hold a regular camera filter in front of my iPhone and I'm good — no need for special iPhone polarizers.
Hint: Accessory makers have sent me special iPhone filters to review, and the reason I've never published any is because these little filters are often resin or plastic, and not flat so they rob sharpness! Eeech!
Hint: Avoid polarizers with ultrawide lenses because they can make the sky look funny.
If you want to use goofy multi image, fog, softening or other Hollywood DP trick filters, by all means use them. This is art.
Microphones top
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Specs Cases Chargers Lenses, Gimbals & etc.
Filters Microphones Performance User's Guide
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
While I wouldn't waste time with any microphones attached to my iPhone because I find Apple's own internal mics superior, I usually record any serious video using professional external microphones placed away from the camera and record it with a separate pro recorder.
I process the audio tracks on my workstation (Garage Band on my Mac) and then replace the iPhone's audio with my fancy audio track in my video editing software (iMovie).
I don't need a slate; I simply move my external audio track around so its envelope matches the audio native to the iPhone, then remove the iPhone soundtrack. Easy! Everything at KenRockwell.TV is shot this way.
If shooting a concert, recital, wedding or play I'd have mics all up on stage and/or on the talent, edit the audio separately and add it back to my video the same way. Ditto if I record multitrack: I'll edit the audio down to however many channels I need for release and add that completed audio track to my video before I start to cut the combined audio and video.
Fun Fact: When we make an animated film in Hollywood we create the audio first, and then create the animation to match the sound track — backwards from how we make regular movies by recording the music on a stage as we play back the already edited picture on a screen behind the orchestra.
Performance top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Specs Cases Chargers Lenses, Gimbals & etc.
Filters Microphones Performance User's Guide
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Overall
It's brilliant; the world standard in beauty and function.
Apple is one of the very few consumer companies who still care about making brilliant products out of glass, steel, ceramic and titanium that work incredibly well, and the only maker who does this at reasonable prices. They're well supported by real people at (800) APL-CARE, and have simple, clear user interfaces that are a joy to use all day. Bravo, Apple!
Let's not take this for granted. Apple could have sold-out like most of the rest of the world and today be selling disposable plastic rubbish with no customer support and crummy, ad-populated interfaces. Apple keeps churning out amazing products that seem as if they were crafted in Heaven by Angels; heck, the iPhone has no writing, numbers or fine print on it, a pure and perfect work of art!
Everything is more pleasant to use than ever, and of course everything responds instantly.
Of course there are a innumerable things that make iPhones amazing; see my iPhone 15 Pro Max Review for many more things common from older models.
From the day I opened my iPhone 16 Pro Max, what I noticed that's new:
Setup & Migration performance top
It was the easiest setup and migration I've ever done from an old iPhone. While of course it took hours for 700 GB to transfer to my new phone as it always does, everything worked the first time. Bravo!
See How to Transfer all Your Data and Apps to Your New iPhone.
Screen & Display performance top
Apple didn't make a big deal out of this, but to me this is huge: the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the biggest screen ever found on an iPhone. Everything is a little bigger and better, and I love all the screen space. Not just for convenience, but as an artist I'm constantly showing people my work on my phone, so every millimeter matters. Bravo!
As we expect, the screen is brilliant and accurate. It looks fantastic under any kind of lighting, from pitch black to direct sunlight.
It doesn't flicker as dimmed, as many lesser bands do as they control brightness through pulse-width modulation at too low a frequency.
The 16 Pro Max has an astonishingly bright screen for when you need it in sunlight, and much better than the older phones, is able to stay at these high brightnesses for a reasonably long time before it has to dim itself progressively to keep from overheating. Bravo, Apple!
If it's hot and you're working in direct sunlight and it starts dimming, find a way to get your iPhone cooled off and it will be back to full brightness.
Call me crazy, but the glass screen is slipperier than my older phones. I don't know if this is from wear on my older phones or from Apple's continuous advancement in materials, but my fingers glide all over the screen much more liquidly than ever before.
While it is always on most of the time (😁), it will turn off when you put it face down, or when you walk away from it. It will turn off in StandyBy mode, and you have to wave a hand in front of it or tap it to wake up again. It does this to save energy as it sits on your night stand charger. It works the same as it does in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is very well much of the time.
Camera performance top
Of course I love the camera, look at the pictures, and not only does the camera work great, of course when you shoot on iPhone it's trivially easy to post or share them. I don't bother connecting my fancy cameras to my iPhone; if I need to share something, I just shoot it on iPhone.
The 48 MP 0.5× ultrawide camera is a big improvement over the previous 12 MP ultrawide camera, especially when it's called into play when shooting just below 1× and for most macro shots, which crop from the 0.5× camera even if you're zoomed to higher magnifications because the longer cameras can't focus as closely as the 0.5× camera can.
The level is nice (the white line across the center that turns yellow when you're level), but it's hard to see and doesn't work if you're tilted too much up or down.
Panoramas also have extraordinary control over shadows and highlights to make them look great, which is important because panoramas almost always span a huge range of brightnesses.
Check out this ugly shot. The toxic dump was dark and in shadow, while the concrete on the right was in sunlight. This image makes it look easy, with detail everywhere, while while I was there I realized how this would have been impossible to shoot on film. iPhone does amazing things in the background to make all this harsh lighting look completely natural:
Toxic Dump in Shadow, Brilliant Concrete in Sunlight, 9:07 AM, Monday, 21 October 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 1× (6.8mm actual or 24mm eq.) camera at f/1.8 at 1/992 at Auto ISO 160 (LV 10.9), exactly as shot in PANORAMA mode. bigger.
Camera Control performance top
I'm loving the new Camera Control, on the lower left side when held vertically.
One click usually brings up the camera immediately, letting me get my shot faster than with any other camera ever created. When fractions of a second matter, the second it used to take to hold the camera icon at the Lock screen matters. One click wakes the Camera (if needed) and the next click fires. Bravo!
It's inconsistent. Depending on what you're doing (for instance, is it already awake?) it may take a different number of clicks to get it to call the camera, and in Car Play it may not respond at all, but it is a huge step forwards. I would prefer it takes total control and just goes to the camera with one click regardless of the state of the iPhone, but apple has its reasons.
I don't use the slide-to-zoom function. I find it's too small to be useful for zooming with my big hands, but as a pushbutton to get to the camera, it's fantastic!
I prefer a case that has a guard around the Camera Control like the Bullstrap leather case. Otherwise I get many unintentional shots as I handle the iPhone, sort of like having a handgun without a trigger guard. I love my Bullstrap leather case because it has just the right kind guard around the button so I don't hit it by accident, and it's easy to hit when I want to. It seems most cases do that; the more expensive cases which duplicate the Camera Control on the outside of a case have the same oops! shot problems.
Stabilization performance top
I can't recall the last time, if ever, I've gotten a blurry photo or bumpy video. Even at the 5× zoom it's always perfectly sharp, and video stabilization is so good you don't need a gimbal.
Try the ACTION VIDEO mode with even more extreme stabilization if you're running or doing other very active things.
Video performance top
Video looks great. Everything I've shot since late 2024 at KenRockwell.TV is shot on my iPhone 16 Pro Max.
What makes it so much better than any mirrorless or DSLR camera is that:
1.) It has magic technology to control highlights and shadows to give great video regardless of how harsh is the real-world lighting. While in Hollywood we may take days to light a set so we can capture it on a regular camera, no other camera can do a better job than iPhone getting great images in real-world conditions without needing extra lighting to control highlights and lighten shadows. Shooting in harsh mid-day sunlight? No problem!
2.) Video autofocus is brilliant, magically figuring out what's important and tracking focus on that. I've never seen any other camera work so well. (In Hollywood film and TV everything is focussed manually because big cameras can't autofocus well enough, we use focus pullers or camera assistants whose sole job is to pull focus manually!)
3.) Flawless exposure control.
4.) Great Auto White Balance; colors always look great in every condition.
5.) Magnificent stabilization. You don't need a gimbal; just walk and shoot and playback is completely smooth! While the shooting display may bump around a bit, but look at the playback and I've always been astounded at how hand-held video looks as smooth and solid as if I shot it on a Sachtler fluid head.
The Wind Filter is effective for clear sound in windy conditions, but it cuts all the low end so I don't use it (I use completely separate mics and recorders for the sound at KenRockwell.TV).
ThunderBolt 3 makes it super fast to download video directly to iMovie: 27 seconds for a 1.11 GB 0:22:23 1080/25p HEVC file.
Image Editing performance top
Apple's in-camera editing is very flexible. In the Photos app, select a photo and tap the sliders (edit) option and have at it.
New is a STYLE control that adjusts saturation and brightness with a fingertip, and it's resettable if you want to change or reset your adjustment in the future.
Nice about Apple's in-phone editing ability is that it can be undone even a long time from now, and that what it saves is still in HDR. Very few other apps can do either of that.
See my iPhone 16 Pro Max user's guide for the third-party programs and apps I use.
Charging Speed performance top
32 watt USB-C charging rate, measured.
At 30 watts mine charges at about 2% per minute, so 15 minutes gets me from 30% to 60%, or a half hour brings me from 20% to 80% (the last 80% to 100% takes longer because the charge rate slows down).
Battery Life performance top
Mine seems to last forever, but this depends on how much you use your phone and how close you are to WiFi or cellular signals.
A friend to whom I handed-down my iPhone 15 Pro Max from last year complained about battery life and having to charge it mid-day. Looking at Settings > Battery > Battery Health her battery was clearly in great shape. Looking at her usage statistics (also at Settings > Battery) I realized that she spends at least twice as much time on her phone as I do — she lives on Facebook all day long! Some people can't put their phones down.
If you need more battery life, use the Low Power Mode.
Sound performance top
The built-in speakers are much smoother sounding than those in the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
They are stereo, and smart enough that the stereo channels automatically reconfigure as you flip the phone to keep the stereo image correct. Bravo!
Widgets performance top
Old-style widgets from several years ago like Google Traffic, Travel Times and CHP events are now gone in iOS 18. These are the widgets that got bumped-down to the bottom of our widget screen when we swipe to the right as of a few iOS versions ago.
User's Guide top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Specs Cases Chargers Lenses, Gimbals & etc.
Filters Microphones Performance User's Guide
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is at Amazon and it's at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
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Ken.