![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/iphone-16-vs-pro-max-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nApple\u2019s innovations with the 16 series overall this year boil down to a new button, some AI features, and a faster chip. There are a few other enhancements, but the three mentioned are the most important selling features for me. And since these also came to both the Pro and the standard 16 series, I\u2019m falling in love with the regular 16 much more than I expected.<\/p>\n
Over the years, I\u2019ve used every iPhone type except for the older iPhone 12\/13 minis. I\u2019ve mainly stuck with standard-sized Pro phones over the years for that extra zoom lens, but with the power of computational photography, I\u2019ve found this less of a necessity since Apple started using its Fusion Camera tech. There\u2019s no doubt the dedicated lens is better, but the iPhone 16\u2019s 5x zoom can provide pretty darn good results.<\/p>\n
After the iPhone event last year, I decided to mainly use the iPhone 16 Pro Max since the review unit I was provided came in the stunning Desert colour, but also because it\u2019s technically the best iPhone on paper. However, after spending more time with a basic iPhone 16, I can say that the larger and heavier Pro Max isn\u2019t for everyone, and it actually might not even be for me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Even with the Titanium frame, the Pro Max is large, and all the extra screen, battery, and camera power amount to lots of weight resting on your pinky. On paper, the 227g Pro Max doesn\u2019t seem significantly heavier than the 170-gram iPhone 16, but after holding both for weeks, I can say for sure that most of the time I\u2019m a lot more comfortable using the smaller phone. It\u2019s easier to reach around with my thumb and doesn\u2019t put as much pressure on my pinky. This all sounds dumb, but after using the heavier phone, I could feel its impact on my pinky. Is it a big deal? No, but it was something that was weighing on my mind (and pinky) a lot. Even as I write this, I\u2019ve had both phones in hand and every time I use the Pro Max for a prolonged time, I feel it.<\/p>\n
When it comes down to it, I like using the regular iPhone every day simply because it\u2019s more convenient to hold. I know that seems crazy considering how many things really separate the two phones, but most of the time, I\u2019m using my phone to search the web, browse social media, or watch YouTube, and both phones do those things basically the same. I really thought I would adapt to the larger phone after some time, but after six months, it still feels large and unwieldy in my hand, and I\u2019m always worried about dropping it.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ezgif.com-resize-2.gif\")
<\/p>\n
It might not seem like it, but you really feel the larger phone on your pinky.<\/p>\n
Moving inside the two phones, Apple hit it out of the park with the A18 chip. The Pro version and the standard are super overpowered for most tasks you\u2019d ever try to do on a phone. You can even play some AAA games if you really want to. Again, this is an area where the Pro is better on paper, but the more I use the phones, the more the differences seem more superficial. Both are snappy and have no limitations on what they can or can\u2019t do.<\/p>\n
One of the areas I was worried about when switching to the smaller phone was the smaller battery. However, I\u2019ve been using iOS 26, which has a new \u2018Adaptive battery\u2019 mode, and I\u2019ve been ok with the battery life. I don\u2019t want to make any final calls since I\u2019m running beta software, but the critical realization I\u2019m having is that I am almost always able to charge my phone up at least another 20 per cent during the day, which easily gets me to bedtime.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not perfect, and I wish the phone had better battery life, but I don\u2019t find it very hard to make sure that if I\u2019m going out after work, I have enough battery. I just plug in my phone for a few minutes before I leave. On days when I\u2019m out and about, I just use my phone less, so this isn\u2019t as much of an issue. Sure, there are times when it starts to get low, and others I know are a lot worse at keeping their phones topped up, but charging is a reality we\u2019ve all mostly adapted to, so I find it pretty frictionless. That said, I\u2019d love for the iPhone 17 to use a slightly larger battery and the Apple C1 modem to push battery life even further.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/iphone-16-batter-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
As I said in my original review<\/a>, I think Apple adding the camera control switch to the iPhone 16 was awesome, and I still use it to this day to trigger the camera every time I want to open it. I\u2019ve seen many people share a bit of distaste for the button online, but for me, it\u2019s something I hope Apple continues to add to all its phones in the future. I always use it to open my camera, and having a physical shortcut allows me to replace the software lockscreen shortcut with the Shazam shortcut instead. I\u2019ve made a similar move by remapping my Action button to a flashlight, allowing me to turn that shortcut into one for the third-party camera app Halide. (Side note, I\u2019m convinced Action Button as flashlight is the move \u2014 I use it daily.)<\/p>\n Regarding camera performance, this is another area where I expected to see a bigger step back in quality, but I didn\u2019t. I just kept being impressed with how much power is packed into this tiny camera. Even the digital sensor crop zoom effect is fine and more than enough for most of the photos I take with my phone. And when it comes to video, I find myself using the selfie camera and the ultrawide even more. If you really, really, really care about photography or videography, the ability to shoot ProRaw and ProRes video on the iPhone 16 Pro is quite handy, but for most, the default 16 is enough, and you can get RAW images out of it using third-party apps.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, the smaller, lighter phone is perfect. The only thing I miss is the always-on display, but the rest of the phone feels like my Pro iPhone, but lighter. I\u2019m hoping that Apple will add a bit of battery life later this year with the iPhone 17, but overall, I don\u2019t want them to add a significant amount since how little the 16 weighs is one of the best parts. However, I do hope Apple adds the always-on display (AOD) to the iPhone 17 family. In theory, an LTPO display will help with battery life, and even if it\u2019s locked to a max of 60Hz, I think adding the custom and colourful AOD makes a phone feel more personalized, and I miss it when I\u2019m not using it.<\/p>\n All of this is to say that I\u2019m someone who has every justification in the world to buy a Pro iPhone, from my job to my love of high-end tech, but I think I would be just as happy using a standard iPhone 16 as my daily driver for the rest of the year. If I had to buy a phone today, there\u2019s a very good chance the teal iPhone 16 is the one I\u2019d get.<\/p>\n If you want to find the best price on an iPhone 16 in Canada for back-to-school, we\u2019ve broken that down in a previous post<\/a>.<\/p>\n