Times are a-changin'

IPHONE 16: BEAUTIFUL NEW HANDSET IS BIG IN SIZE AND AMBITIONS

- Arthur Goldstuck

It never fails to amaze me when Apple brings out a new iPhone with an even bigger display than the one before. Not because I don't want or expect a bigger screen, but because it always reminds me of the way Apple ridiculed large screens back in 2011 when Samsung launched the 5.3-inch Note. At the time, the iPhone 4S had a mere 3.5-inch screen. It took Apple another four years to admit that bigger was better, with the 6 Plus going to 5.5 inches. Almost a decade later, Apple is all-in on size, and has pushed the new iPhone 16 Pro Max up another notch, to a 6.9-inch screen compared to 6.7 on the 15 Pro Max. Taller, wider, but just as thin (8.3mm), it is big both in size and in ambition.

Aside from 0.2 inches, it's hard to tell on the outside that the iPhone has evolved. An ever-so-slightly altered lens arrangement on the back is the only clue. But beneath its near-twin exterior lies all the refinements Apple would really like you to care about.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max still shines with a 6.9-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display, almost as bright as the sun, with a peak brightness of 2 000 nits. It is visible outdoors on a glaringly sunny day of the kind we've enjoyed in South Africa of late.

That means you'll be able to see the 460 ppi pixel density, including saturation levels that make reality look a little bland by comparison.