iPhone 16 Pro Max hands-on: It’s basically a ‘phablet’ at this point

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is pretty much a “phablet” — it’s got a larger 6.9-inch screen, up from the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch display. So you can’t tell me that the iPhone 16 Pro Max isn’t some sort of phone-and-tablet hybrid.

But you know what? I’m not complaining. I’ve never been in the “Waa! Phones are getting too big” camp. My jean pockets have always been large enough to store my gigantic phones.

Smaller phones are not my jam. (Sorry, but I don’t miss you iPhone mini!) A smaller chassis typically means a smaller battery, which often leads to shorter battery life. No thank you! Give me the mega handset with the mega battery runtime.

That being said, I got to experience the iPhone 16 Pro Max in my palm of hands. Is it as unwieldy as it seems?

iPhone 16 Pro Max hands-on

The first thing I wanted to test with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, especially with its new 6.9-inch display, was whether it would feel too large in my hands.

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

However, when I picked it up, it was surprisingly comfortable when I clutched it. I was a bit surprised by this. How does it not feel awkward? It doesn’t even feel heavy, thanks to its Titanium enclosure.

During the iPhone 16 showcase at Steve Jobs Theater, I couldn’t help but gravitate toward the Desert Titanium colorway. Before the “Glowtime” event on Sept. 9 that unveiled the new iPhone 16 series, leakers couldn’t seem to agree on Desert Titanium’s exact shade.

Some suggested that it’s pink, dark gold, and even bronze. However, Desert Titanium is a barely there shade. The best way to describe it? It’s as if someone dropped a little bit of pink in a bucket of beige paint.

iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium
Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

As such, Desert Titanium is less camel and more sand when it comes to its hue. (The iPhone 16 Pro Max also comes in White Titanium, Black Titanium, and Natural Titanium.)

iPhone 16 Pro Max ‘Camera Control’ button

Surprisingly, Apple didn’t reserve the new Camera Control button for the iPhone 16 Pro models. (Apple usually keeps all the cool new features for the upper-tier phones.)

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Masbale

I tried the Camera Control button on both the entry-level iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models, and as you’d expect, the former is naturally a little easier to handle because the 6.1-inch phone is lighter and more compact than the 6.9-inch device.

However, using the Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 Pro Max was still manageable.

(I did a separate hands-on on the Camera Control button; read it to see why I believe the video capture option could be better.)

Less bezels, more screen real estate

The iPhone 16 Pro Max also has ultra-thin bezels. In other words, the frame around the phone has slimmed down, giving you a higher screen-to-body ratio. I’ve never been someone who really cared much about slim bezels, but I see the appeal.

Credit: Kimberly Gedeon / Mashable

However, if Apple wants to create a distraction-free experience with the display, I wonder if the Dynamic Island will see its way out soon. I’ve always been indifferent to that glorified notch feature. Sure, the animations that tell you what your phone is up to are pretty cool, but honestly, if Apple removed the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 17 series, I wouldn’t miss it much.

What I’m most excited for, however, is the fact that the iPhone 16 Pro Max may have some incredible battery life. More than anything, I value long runtimes and power efficiency. I can’t wait to test this bad boy and see how long it lasts on a charge.

Is the iPhone 16 Pro Max worth it?

Some other new features that the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers include a new 48MP ultrawide camera (so your landscape shots and other wide-angle pictures should turn out better than ever) and 4K video shooting at 120Hz.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max also has improved mic quality, too, as well as the ability to layer audio over another in the Voice Memos app.

These are exclusive to the iPhone 16 Pro models, but unless you just want to have the latest and greatest iPhone just to show off, most people won’t really benefit from the aforementioned perks.

You’d just be fine with the iPhone 16, particularly since it has the Camera Control button.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199 via Apple’s official online store.