With the iPhone 16 Pro Max launching in the fall, owners of older iPhones will want to start wondering if it's time to upgrade their old phones. That's why a comparison between the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max can be useful - even if everything we have to say about the upcoming phone involves rumors. After all, the rumored features still give us a good idea of what you can expect from the upgrade.
And the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have to offer a lot to make the upgrade from the iPhone 14 Pro Max worth it. Even though the phone will be two years old once the iPhone 16 Pro Max arrives in the fall, it's still a formidable device, with a powerful chipset, long-lasting battery, and an excellent camera setup.
To see how Apple's premium phone has evolved from year to year, check out our comparison of the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro Max. For now, we'll see how Apple can convince owners of older Pro Max models that it's time to upgrade.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max cost $1,099 for the 128GB model when it arrived in fall 2022. But last year, the iPhone 15 Pro Max saw the price of the base model increase by $100. To offset the impact of this increase, Apple increased the base model's storage space to 256 GB.
The price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is unknown at this time, but it would be a shock if Apple dropped the price to $1,099. So you'll pay more for the new Pro Max model if you upgrade from the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
iPhone 14 Pro Max owners missed the change Apple made with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, where the mute switch gave way to a programmable action button. You can still use this button to mute calls with a long press, but you can also configure it to turn on all kinds of things, from your iPhone's iPhone flashlight to switching to selfie mode in the Camera app. One problem with the action button: it only supports one action at a time.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max will almost certainly retain the action button – in fact, all iPhone 16 models are supposed to have it. But another button could also join the mix.
Apple is supposed to add a second button, which leakers have dubbed the Capture button. What we understand is that the capture button will serve as a capacitive trigger for the iPhone 16 Pro Max's camera, although details on this potential feature are somewhat scarce. Regardless, this should make taking photos and videos even easier than it currently is with the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
iPhone 14 Pro Max owners can expect another feature introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro Max last fall. This latest phone turned to titanium for its frame, which is lighter and stronger than the stainless steel used in the iPhone 14 Pro Max. We expect the iPhone 16 Pro Max to stick with titanium in its design.
Apple's Pro Max models have remained stable with 6.7-inch screens since the iPhone 12 Pro Max. But rumors indicate that this will change with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, as the new model is expected to have a larger 6.9-inch screen.
We've seen 6.9-inch screens before, but not since the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. With bezels having shrunk significantly in recent years – they are 1.55mm thick on the iPhone 15 Pro Max compared to 2.17mm on the iPhone 14 – Apple should be able to increase the size of the iPhone screen 16 Pro Max without having to expand it. the dimensions of the phone.
In January, a report suggested that Apple could bring under-screen Face ID to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This will eliminate the Dynamic Island introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro Max, leaving a hole for the front camera. However, supply analyst Ross Young predicted that we may not see this potential feature until 2025, or even later.
This latest phone features a quad-prism lens for the telephoto lens, improving support for optical zoom up to 5x. (iPhone 14 Pro Max owners are happy with the 3x zoom.) This feature is expected to return with the iPhone 16 Pro Max; In fact, Apple will likely bring the improved zoom lens to the iPhone 16 Pro as well.
But that's not the only change expected for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Rumors suggest that the new phone could benefit from a 48-megapixel ultra-wide lens, compared to the 12-megapixel resolution found in the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Apple may not be done with telephoto changes either, as this camera could move to a 300mm focal length. This is more than double the current 120mm version. The telephoto lens can also become thinner with improved zoom.
Additionally, one of the leaks claims that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will have a larger 1/1.4-inch camera sensor for the main camera, leading to improved low-light photography . However, don't expect any changes to the front camera.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes with the A16 Bionic chip, the highest performing chip at the time of release, although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that powers Android phones like the Galaxy S24 line now beats it in most tests . Apple's likely answer would be the A18 chip, which promises higher frame rates, improved performance and potential power efficiency gains.
We won't know the performance differences between the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max until the new phone is announced. Leaked benchmarks have indicated that the A18 Pro could outperform a MacBook Pro running on the M3 Max chipset.
Expect an increase in storage space if you upgrade, as the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers 256GB of base storage space for the Pro Max model. The iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at 128GB. However, it doesn't appear that Apple will increase the RAM beyond 8GB.
Again, most of what we've shared about the iPhone 16 Pro Max is based on rumors or expectations that features introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year will continue in the new models. However, all of these potential improvements represent big strides between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
However, that doesn't necessarily make upgrading a no-brainer. You'll likely pay more for the iPhone 16 Pro Max than you did for the iPhone 14 Pro Max two years ago. This fact alone may tempt you to try spending another year on your phone.
Much will be determined by live testing and whether the supposed camera and chipset improvements mean significantly better images or notable performance gains. The rumors paint a pretty compelling picture, but we won't get the full story until this fall.