The iPhone 16 Pro Max boasts improved battery life and impressive cameras, but lacks Apple's advanced AI technology.

• The iPhone 16 family of phones is now available in stores starting on Friday. I have been testing the iPhone 16 Pro Max for the past five days.
• Apple Intelligence is set to launch in beta in October, showcasing some of the advertised features. Further advancements are anticipated to be unveiled later.

The iPhone 16 family of phones will be available on Friday. Prior to their release, I have spent the past five days testing the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

The new phone boasts a dedicated camera button, faster charging over MagSafe, and larger screens compared to previous models.

Apple's suite of AI features for the iPhone, known as Apple Intelligence, is not yet available, despite being heavily promoted during the company's recent events and advertisements.

There are reasons to be excited as new AI features, including changes to Siri, photo editing, and AI-generated text, will launch in beta in October. More additions, such as Apple's image and emoji generator, personalized Siri responses, and integration with ChatGPT, will be added later.

I tested some beta features of the new device, but others were not accessible. This limits my ability to give a comprehensive review and determine if the upgrade is worthwhile.

Earlier in the week, Apple shares dropped after analysts predicted lower demand for iPhone 16 Pro models due to the delay in the launch of Apple Intelligence. TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that the issue is that Apple Intelligence is not available at launch. Barclays also expressed concern that the Chinese language version of Apple Intelligence may not be launched until 2025.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is the latest addition to Apple's premium smartphone lineup, and here's what you need to know about it.

The changes to know about

After a few days of using the new camera button, I'm already defaulting to pulling my phone out of my pocket, tapping the button and taking a picture.

My wife correctly pointed out that I could simply tap the camera button on the lock screen, as it was done in earlier iPhones. However, I don't have a satisfactory explanation for why I prefer to press a physical camera button.

Though I found it easier to pinch to zoom, I enjoyed doing a half-press to get camera controls like the zoom during my son's first soccer game. The new 48-megapixel wide-angle lens offers sharper images in zoomed-out shots that can capture more scenery.

Although I appreciate the 4K 120fps recording on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I prefer to keep my videos in lower quality when sharing them via text messages with loved ones.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max boasts the longest battery life of any iPhone model, thanks to its larger battery and Apple's new A18 Pro processor. With up to 33 hours of video playback, users can enjoy their favorite content for longer without needing to charge their phone. I was able to make it to dinnertime before needing to charge the 15, but with the new iPhone 16 Pro Max, I can make it to bedtime or even beyond, depending on my usage.

I appreciate that Apple enhanced the speed of its MagSafe charging. Although I initially used MagSafe when it was introduced, I eventually reverted to regular cable charging because it was faster. Now, MagSafe can provide up to a 50% charge in just 30 minutes when used with a 30-watt charger (not included).

The iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen size increased from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches, but I didn't notice a difference until I compared the two phones side by side. Despite not being new this year, the screen is still excellent, with a high refresh rate that makes scrolling smooth. The screen is colorful and bright, and I appreciate the always-on display for notifications without having to pick up my phone. The feature is exclusive to the Pro models.

Apple Intelligence

Without Apple Intelligence at launch, I can only test a few beta features. Their effectiveness is unpredictable, as is typical of beta versions.

The new iPhone upgrades could be driven by Apple Intelligence. Despite a 1% decline in iPhone sales during the fiscal third quarter, which accounted for about 46% of the company's total revenue, CEO Tim Cook stated that the segment grew on a constant currency basis.

Apple Intelligence's email summaries are precise and concise, providing a brief overview of the content in a few lines. However, this feature is only available in Apple's Mail app and won't work if your company uses Outlook or if you prefer Gmail. Additionally, Apple Intelligence accurately summarizes long texts, including the introduction to this review.

The summaries of news alerts were accurate, but the summaries of text messages were sometimes unnecessary. For instance, in a message from my wife, Apple Intelligence suggested that I had hurt my daughter by throwing a dinosaur at her and making her cry, even though it was my son who was responsible. The original text would have been sufficient.

The daycare app notification provided by Apple Intelligence was excellent as it summarized my daughter's activities for the day, including taking a nap, eating Cheerios, and playing happily. This amount of information was ideal for me to receive while driving.

Apple's Intelligence feature enables users to create movie memories by combining photos and videos with music. In a TV commercial, a young woman is shown using the feature to commemorate a deceased goldfish with Siri's assistance.

I couldn't use Siri to create a movie of my son learning to fish at Skytop. Instead, I opened the Photos app, tapped Memories, and wrote a prompt asking for a photo memory of my son "learning to fish at Skytop set to a fishing tune." However, it only showed pictures of a family trip to the Poconos and didn't include any pictures of my son fishing there. The music was called "Fishing Tune" by Jiang Jiaqiang but didn't sound like fishing music to me. Another test, asking for a photo memory of my son "playing soccer," worked better but also included a picture of him as a baby with a football in his hands.

The new Siri interface is glowing along the edges of the screen and is easier to type to by tapping the screen indicator at the bottom of the display. Although Siri doesn't feel drastically changed to me right now, I appreciate that I can ask iPhone-specific questions like "How do I use my iPhone to scan a document?" and "How do I take a screen recording?" Siri presents the answer in a simple step-by-step guide at the top of the screen.

You can now interrupt Siri while speaking and continue asking questions in the same thought process, such as "How tall is the Eiffel Tower?" and then follow with "And when was it built?" However, it doesn't always work. For instance, when I asked "How far is Boston?" followed by "And what's the weather there?", Siri provided me with the weather for my current location.

I am thrilled to witness the progress of Apple Intelligence.

Apple iPhone 16

I focused my review on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is slightly larger and has a little more battery life than the iPhone 16. My colleague used the regular iPhone 16.

The iPhone 16 is constructed from aluminum instead of titanium, like the higher-end Pro models, and comes in a variety of colors. It features a new camera button but does not have the higher refresh rate or always-on display capabilities of the Pro model's display.

The iPhone 16 will feature all of the Apple Intelligence capabilities mentioned previously, as well as any future updates. Additionally, the device has a faster processor, a new macro camera mode for close-up object photography, and support for capturing spatial images for the Apple Vision Pro headset. The iPhone 16 offers up to 22 hours of video playback, compared to the 20 hours in the iPhone 15.

Should you buy it?

If you're upgrading from an iPhone 14 Pro Max or earlier, you'll notice the most significant changes in the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The camera button, faster chip, new cameras, and slightly larger display are the biggest improvements from last year's model.

Apple Intelligence's AI features, such as using Siri to ask about prior calendar events, answering personal context questions, controlling apps with Siri, and integrating with ChatGPT, are not yet available. Therefore, if you're purchasing now, you'll only get everything except the AI.