Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 16

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.9-inch Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max (with Apple A18 Pro) that was released on September 9, 2024, against the Apple iPhone 16, which is powered by Apple A18. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
  • The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Has a 0.8 inch larger screen size
  • Comes with 1124 mAh larger battery capacity: 4685 vs 3561 mAh
  • Shows 18% longer battery life (35:01 vs 29:45 hours)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Thinner bezels – 5.9% more screen real estate
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16
  • 13% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1985K versus 1750K)
  • Weighs 57 grams less
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 6 mm narrower

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
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📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
8 / 256 GB
VS
8 / 128 GB
60.2
(Average)
Value Index
68.9
(Good)

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.9 inches 6.1 inches
Resolution 1320 x 2868 pixels 1179 x 2556 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
PPI 460 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) No
Max rated brightness 2000 nits 2000 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1600 nits 1600 nits
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 92.3% 86.4%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space 99.6% 99.7%
PWM 240 Hz 60 Hz
Response time 1 ms 3 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Screen space comparison
iPhone 16 Pro Max
6.9″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 18.1 in2
iPhone 16
6.1″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 14.2 in2
~27% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
1800 nits
1720 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 163 mm (6.42 inches) 147.6 mm (5.81 inches)
Width 77.6 mm (3.06 inches) 71.6 mm (2.82 inches)
Thickness 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) 7.8 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 170 g (6 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors White, Black, Silver, Gold White, Black, Blue, Green, Pink
Fingerprint scanner No No
Repairability Average (2.83/5) Average (2.8/5)
Drop resistance Good (C) · 90 drops Good (C) · 90 drops
Screen-to-body ratio
92.3%
86.4%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 16
SoC
Chipset Apple A18 Pro Apple A18
Max clock 4040 MHz 4040 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest
- 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 3 nanometers 3 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Neural Engine Neural Engine
GPU
Graphics 6 core Apple GPU 5 core Apple GPU
GPU shading units 768 640
GPU clock 1490 MHz 1490 MHz
FLOPS ~2289 GFLOPS ~1907 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 16
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
33340
28010
Compute Score (GPU) 33340 28010
Single-core score 3507 3431
Multi-core score 8789 8638
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
iPhone 16 +13%
1985600
CPU 508577 621688
GPU 540541 592569
Memory 191233 184239
UX 509980 587104
Total score 1750331 1985600
Samples [4 tests] [16 tests]
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Stability 74% 75%
Graphics test 13 FPS 12 FPS
Graphics score 1718 1579
3DMark Solar Bay
7448
6781
Graphics test 28 FPS 26 FPS
Section 1 34 FPS 31 FPS
Section 2 29 FPS 26 FPS
Section 3 21 FPS 20 FPS
Graphics score 7448 6781
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-07-21 (l1tsemerr)AnTuTu1650968
📘 2026-04-27 -> hoduyhaodzso1tgBattery lifeSOT 12:58 / –
📘 2026-04-12 -> hoduyhaodzso1tgBattery lifeBattery report
📘 2026-01-19 (Максим)AnTuTu1695936
📘 2026-01-17 (RekrutV)AnTuTu1870884
Apple iPhone 16
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-07-30 (Dddd)AnTuTu1905485
📘 2026-07-15 (vovachips)AnTuTu1842572
📘 2026-07-03 (iTzRageeh)GeekBench CPU3531 / 9122
📘 2026-07-03 (iTzRageeh)AnTuTu2045650
📘 2026-06-04 (Sepehr Naraghipour)AnTuTu2018367

Memory

RAM
RAM size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage size 256 GB 128 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) iOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5)
OS size 18 GB 16 GB
OS updates 7 years 7 years
Security updates 7 years 7 years

Battery

Capacity 4685 mAh 3561 mAh
Max charge power 30 W 30 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (15 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse charging Yes Yes
Bypass charging No No
Fast charging Yes (46% in 30 min) Yes (59% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:57 hr 1:42 hr
Battery cycles 1000 cycles 1000 cycles
Battery life tests
Web browsing 14:34 hr 13:44 hr
Watching video 22:01 hr 18:09 hr
Gaming 07:12 hr 05:56 hr
Standby 163 hr 130 hr
General battery life
35:01 hr
29:45 hr

Main camera

Matrix 48 megapixels 48 megapixels
Image resolution 8064 x 6048 8064 x 6048
Zoom Optical, 5x Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 120FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 120FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 120° 120°
Lenses 1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Telephoto: 12 MP
3) Ultrawide: 48 MP
4) Depth
1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 48 MP 48 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/1.6
Focal length 24 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX803 -
Sensor size 1/1.28" (≈ 0.78 inch) 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch)
Pixel size 1.22 micron 1 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical Optical
Telephoto lens
Image resolution 12 MP -
Aperture f/2.8 -
Focal length 120 mm -
Sensor Sony IMX913 -
Sensor size 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) -
Pixel size 1.12 micron -
Stabilization Optical -
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 48 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 13 mm 13 mm
Sensor Sony IMX972 -
Sensor size 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) -
Pixel size 0.7 micron 0.7 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Bokeh 160 80
Preview 93 84
Zoom 130 116
Samples Photo samples of Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max from DxOMark Photo samples of Apple iPhone 16 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
Aperture f/1.9 f/1.9
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.12 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) Yes Yes
DxOMark front camera
Photo 149 -
Video 155 -

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5.3
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Type of SIM card eSIM Nano
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
92.6 dB
90.4 dB

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced September 2024 September 2024
Release date September 2024 September 2024
Launch price (MSRP) $1199 $799
Successor - Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max - Apple iPhone 17
SAR (head) 1.22 W/kg 1.24 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.45 W/kg 1.41 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger Not included Not included
Further details
Notes on iPhone 16 Pro Max:
    - The US version of the smartphone exclusively supports eSIM, while the international model features both a physical SIM slot and eSIM capability. In China, the device is available with dual physical SIM card slots only.
Notes on iPhone 16:
    - The US model is eSIM-only, while the international version offers both a physical SIM slot and eSIM support.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
101 (53.2%)
89 (46.8%)
Total votes: 190

User opinions

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Avatar
Timmy February 25, 2025 at 01:12 AM
How could the gaming capabilities on the 16 pro max be worse than the iphone 16? It has a somewhat better processor and better temps than the iphone 16.
+9 Reply