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iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max: which should you choose?
With a new iPhone range on the horizon, you may be wondering if it’s worth upgrading to the latest models or taking advantage of price drops on the previous generation.
It’s impossible to say for sure until Apple actually unveil the latest iPhone generation, but we can hazard a pretty good guess by reviewing some of the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max rumors and determining how much of a leap they’d be from the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
One other thing to note: there’s a rumor that the iPhone 16 Pro Max may be rebranded as the iPhone 16 Ultra. As we don’t know for sure yet, we’re going to use the iPhone 16 Pro Max name throughout.
In this blog
Display
According to a leak from display expert Ross Young, the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have a 6.8-inch screen. That’s the biggest iPhone screen ever; a whole inch bigger than the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s display, and only around 1.5-inches smaller than the iPad Mini.
Apple will apparently accommodate that larger display with smaller bezels, so the iPhone 16 Pro Max shouldn’t feel much larger than the 15 Pro Max. Size ratio may account for some extra size, with a slightly taller screen than its predecessor.
Other display speculation includes a smaller Dynamic Island, higher screen brightness and a more efficient OLED display. One long-standing rumor that almost certainly won’t come to fruition is Face ID moving behind the screen, and the associated removal of the Dynamic Island/notch entirely. Experts suggest we’ll need to wait until 2025 for that.
Overall, it doesn’t sound like the display will be make-or-break in deciding between the 16 and 15 Pro Max, although a slightly larger screen will definitely appeal to some.
Design
As with most recent iPhone launches, the 16 Pro Max isn’t expected to look much different to the 15 Pro Max. The core design will remain the same, with a nearly all-encompassing screen and the Dynamic Island housing the front-facing cameras and some notifications.
There are a few rumored dimension changes, with a 3mm height increase, a 1mm width increase and a 4g weight increase, but nothing hugely noticeable. The mute button may be replaced with a new Capture button designed to make it easier to take photos.
Color-wise, the 16 Pro Max is rumored to retain the Black Titanium, White Titanium and Natural Titanium shade options. A new Rose shade is rumored to take the place of last year’s Blue Titanium option.
Performance
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is likely to feature Apple’s new A18 Pro chip. The initial reports suggest it could represent a big leap forward in terms of performance; a set of Geekbench 6 scores leaked by Nguyen Phi Hung (and reported by Tom’s Guide) suggest a single-core benchmark score of 3,500, which is higher than even the MacBook Pro’s M3 chip.
This score is likely to be lower in the finished product once battery efficiency has been factored in, but it demonstrates just how powerful Apple’s tech is. It’s not a stretch to say this’ll be the most powerful phone on the market, and even more powerful than the already powerful iPhone 15 Pro Max!
Talking of energy efficiency, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests the 16 Pro Max will have more battery life and a stainless steel case to improve heat management.
The 16 Pro Max is expected to stick with 8GB of RAM, with a boost to the top-line storage option from 1GB to 2GB. Apple will likely boost the neural engine with more cores to support upcoming AI features.
Camera
The 16 Pro Max’s overall camera system will largely remain the same, with two key rumored changes: a 48MP ultrawide lens (a significant increase from 12MP on the 15 Pro Max), and a focal length boost on the telephoto lens from 120mm to 300mm.
AI
Both the 16 and 15 Pro Max will support iOS 18’s AI features, although the 16 Pro Max may have some device-exclusive features.
iOS 18’s headline Apple Intelligence feature, which’ll allow users to manage notifications, draft responses to emails and summarize text, allegedly won’t be available in the initial release of iOS 18 but will appear in the first 18.1 update.
Verdict
The iPhone 16 Pro Max sounds like an evolution rather than a revolution, so your decision will likely come down to your circumstances. If you own the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the 16 Pro Max will feel like more of an upgrade and thus give you more value for your money. If you’re upgrading from an older iPhone, the 15 Pro Max is cheaper and may offer you enough – it’s still a fantastic, powerful phone (and, it’s worth bearing in mind, still only a year old!).
If you’re considering upgrading to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, do it the smart way and trade in your iPhone with Decluttr! You can trade in iPhone 15, iPhone 14 and much more. Just get an instant valuation, ship your phone for free and we’ll pay you as soon as we’ve processed it (usually the day after it arrives).
