iPhone 16 Professional Max vs iPhone 16 Professional: is there any distinction now?

Intro

Now, if you’re all down for an even bigger display and larger battery, you in all probability have your thoughts set already — nothing just like the 6.9-inch Professional Max, proper? However, chances are you’ll be questioning if you’re higher off saving these $200 and get the 16 Professional as a substitute. Effectively, let’s discover the variations of iPhone 16 Professional vs iPhone 16 Professional Max:

Design and Show High quality

Little brother, huge brother

Mini-Me? (Picture credit score – PhoneArena)

These panels are protected by a next-gen Ceramic Protect glass on the entrance. That is Apple’s tempered glass answer, which made headlines with how shatter-resistant it’s. Hopefully, the brand new iPhone 16 Professional and 16 Professional Max are additionally extra proof against random scratches. We’ll have observations on that after a number of months have handed.

There is a new Digital camera Management button, which can be capable to invoke the digicam app everytime you need. Completely different from the Motion Button from final yr, this one is a mechanical button that additionally has a capacitive pad on prime and it will probably register half-pressure, swipes, in addition to full press (upon which, it clicks in). You’ll be able to slide throughout the button to regulate varied digicam settings on the fly — publicity, focus, bokeh, or scroll by way of Photographic Kinds (the brand new age model of filters). One press takes an image, press and maintain to report video.

The titanium end now is available in 4 colours — Titanium Black, Titanium White, Pure Titanium, and the brand-new Desert Titanium.

The distinction in display dimension between the Professional Max and the Professional (Picture credit score – PhoneArena)

OK, so Apple states 2,000 nit peak brightness — this measures solely part of the display for a fraction of time. Our benchmark measures sustained fullscreen brightness, which is why you see numbers barely north of 1,000 nits. That is nonetheless a lot sufficient so that you can take pleasure in your content material even out within the daylight. Not close to what some Android flagships can do these days, however it’s high quality. A giant improve this yr is that the iPhones can now hit 1 nit or decrease for minimal brightness. It will make them way more snug to make use of by the bedside or inside a darkish bar.

As you possibly can see, there are slight variations in shade accuracy — most OLED panels do come out barely totally different. However, basically in actual life, these look pretty. Particularly in case you use True Tone to have the iPhones robotically modify shade heat.

Efficiency and Software program

Pocket energy

A18 Professional, doubled up! (Picture credit score – PhoneArena)

The brand new iPhones have new chips — Apple A18 within the common fashions, Apple A18 Professional within the Professional fashions. Each iterations have 6-core CPUs with two efficiency and 4 effectivity cores. The common has a 5-core, the Professional has a 6-core GPU, identical as final yr’s Apple A17 Professional.

Apple additionally took somewhat bit to speak about improved cooling and 20% improve in sustained efficiency, which might be a pleasant improve, as final yr’s fashions suffered some throttling points. Effectively, let’s verify with the benchmarks, lets?

And right here, we see how the roominess contained in the iPhone 16 Professional Max permits for higher thermals — the 16 Professional throttles down quite a bit in the course of the 3DMark Wildlife take a look at (that is a benchmark that has been particularly designed to bathroom down and overload the smartphone). That is only a level to think about if you’re a poweruser that intends to do so much — so much — on their new iPhone. Particularly gaming.

However because it’s the identical processor in each, you’ve the staples of modern-age prime tier silicon — {hardware} accelerated ray tracing, vitality effectivity, energy, and NPU cores for the AI duties. Plus 8 GB RAM on all new iPhones to make sure the Apple Intelligence runs easily.

The iPhone 16 sequence now additionally include Wi-Fi 7 — the most recent and quickest protocol and {hardware}, which lets you hook up with your (appropriate) router over a number of bands for a noticeable improve in switch speeds and stability.

We have already seen a glimpse of mentioned AI at this yr’s WWDC — iOS 18 will likely be receiving picture technology, textual content enhancing, transcripts, and all of the methods we have seen from different AI platforms, all gathered in a single working system. And because it’s meant to work together with every little thing else that is saved in your telephone, you possibly can simply ask the iPhone to “generate a sketch of my mother”, then merely proceed with “remind me to ship it to her on her birthday”, for instance.

And sure, Siri is getting smarter — a lot, a lot smarter, with the ability of AI. It additionally has a direct line to ChatGPT — in case your question requires among the 4o energy, you’ll be requested if you’d like the immediate to be relayed. In case you have a premium ChatGPT account, you possibly can hyperlink it to your iCloud to maintain utilizing all of your advantages.

These AI options will start trickling to appropriate iPhones (iPhone 15 Professional sequence, all iPhone 16 sequence) subsequent month within the States. By finish of the yr in different international locations, although attending to the EU may be powerful attributable to particular rules.

Digital camera

Extremely-wide improve doable

Company says these are the identical image (Picture credit score – PhoneArena)

Previously, when a Professional Max telephone had one thing distinctive on its digicam, the following yr’s Professional would additionally obtain it. Historical past repeats itself, because the iPhone 16 Professional will get the 5x tetraprism lens that was unique to the 15 Professional Max. So, we’re again to having equivalent digicam modules.

And we do imply equivalent — each Professional iPhones get the 48 MP ultra-wide digicam improve, they’ve the 48 MP most important digicam, and the 12 MP 5x zoom digicam. The selfie cameras are, as earlier than, 12 MP.

In actuality, there are miniscule variations in efficiency in comparison with final yr’s iPhone 15 Professional Max. The enhancements come from the software program upgrades, which Apple appears to be retaining unique to the iPhone 16 sequence and, presumably, future fashions as properly.

We noticed the rating, listed below are some samples:

iPhone 16 Professional and iPhone 16 Professional Max digicam samples:

Apple has upgraded the Photographic Kinds enhancing menu, now permitting you to dive deeper and set the saturation on particular person colours, to additional develop your individual… properly, fashion of expression. When first launched, these had been introduced as a approach so that you can management how the digicam post-processes photographs. Add extra distinction, edit shade temperature, that sort of factor. Now, they’re a bit extra elaborate and you may even go into your Pictures gallery and edit the Photographic Fashion retroactively.

At this level, chances are you’ll be asking your self “So, aren’t they only filters”, and so are we. However it’s value noting that you could’t add or edit Photographic Kinds on photographs taken with iPhones older than the 16, so it is in all probability part of the picture meta that the iPhone information on the time of taking the photograph.

There’s additionally the brand new Digital camera Management Button, that we must always discuss. It’s current on all new iPhone 16 fashions, not simply the Professional flavors. It may be pressed down, but additionally registers half-presses to alter settings, and swipes to regulate the chosen setting.

Apple upgraded the slow-mo capabilities of the brand new Professional iPhones. You’ll be able to report 4K movies at 120 FPS now. So, for normal 30 FPS or cinematic 24 FPS initiatives, which means you possibly can sluggish footage down to twenty% playback velocity.

There is a new professional Audio Combine enhancing mode, which lets you change captured audio post-recording. Using AI and the iPhone 16 Professional‘s glorious microphones — you’d be capable to isolate voices or change the best way audio is mastered at a faucet. We are going to experiment with this additional because it sounds very fascinating and virtually not possible.

That is all supported by a “Studio-quality 4-mic array” — do not ask which studio and what sort of high quality — and next-level wind noise cancelation.

The underside line is, the digicam expertise on each the iPhone 16 Professional and iPhone 16 Professional Max is identical.

Battery Life and Charging

Greatest battery in an iPhone but…

Ah, candy USB C (Picture credit score – PhoneArena)

iPhones sometimes haven’t got the large batteries you’ll find in Android flagships. However iOS is kind of environment friendly at preserving battery life — apps get frozen within the background, if you end up in standby mode, you barely lose percentages. The iPhone 15 Professional Max is commonly touted to final two days with informal use.

For the 16 Professional sequence, Apple did contact upon their upgraded capacities and nice battery life, and because of teardowns, we now know the precise capacities. The iPhone 16 Professional Max has a 4,685 mAh cell, and the iPhone 16 Professional has a smaller one, at 3,582 mAh.

That’s, certainly, a large distinction, so let’s check out the benchmarks – 

PhoneArena Battery and Charging Take a look at Outcomes:

That could be a large distinction — you get round 20-30% extra juice out of the iPhone 16 Professional Max. However it additionally is smart, because it has 1,000 mAh on prime of the smaller one. 

Charging is, sadly, not very quick. With 20 W wired charging, it’s going to take you and hour and fourty minutes or a bit extra to get from 0% to 100% with both of those telephones. If you happen to solely have half-hour to cost up — that’ll get you 57-58%, which ought to be a lot to final you thru the day. 

The wi-fi charging, however, has been upgraded. MagSafe can now work at as much as 25 W, so it prices your iPhone 16 Professional or Professional Max at about the identical velocity because the wired connection.

There are some rumors on the Web that the brand new Professional iPhones help as much as 40 W energy draw from their ports. However that is not precisely for charging — we’re additionally within the means of figuring it out. However, principally, it goes like this — if you’re taking part in a recreation or operating a benchmark or heavy app on the telephone whereas it is plugged in, then it’ll draw extra energy from the charger. Nevertheless, if you’re merely plugged in and it is idling, it’s going to merely draw 20 W.

Specs Comparability

Specs	iPhone 16 Professional Max	iPhone 16 Professional
Dimensions	6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 in (163 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm)	5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 in (149.6 x 71.5 x 8.25 mm)
Display	6.9-inch ProMotion OLED 120 Hz	6.3-inch ProMotion OLED 120 Hz
Processor	Apple A18 Professional	Apple A18 Professional
RAM, Storage and Value	8 GB / 256 GB / $1,199	8 GB / 128 GB / $999
Cameras	48 MP most important 48 MP ultra-wide 12 MP 5x telephoto 12 MP entrance	48 MP most important 48 MP ultra-wide 12 MP 5x telephoto 12 MP entrance
Battery Measurement	4,685 mAh	3,582 mAh
Charging Speeds	20 W wired 25 W wi-fi MagSafe	20 W wired 25 W wi-fi MagSafe

Which one do you have to purchase?

Go huge or go house? For $200, it may be house! (Picture credit score – PhoneArena)

So, our expectations had been justified — 2020 is “catch up yr” for the iPhone 16 Professional. What we imply is — these are basically the identical telephone, in two totally different sizes. You will not be making compromises in case you get the smaller one, you will not acquire a lot by getting the massive one.

Causes to get every mannequin? The iPhone 16 Professional is extra compact — simpler to deal with with one hand, which is bizarre to say a few 6.3-inch telephone, however it’s true contemplating the alternate options. It is also “cheaper”, beginning at $999 for the 128 GB mannequin. Although, anybody trying to report 4K clips with the brand new cameras will in all probability not be in search of a 128 GB mannequin.

The iPhone 16 Professional Max will likely be higher for media binging or gaming — clearly, with the larger 6.9-inch display. However it’ll even have a longer-lasting battery, since it is a greater cell.

Yup, that is what it boils all the way down to. So, which one is for you?