We put the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max through our rigorous DXOMARK Display test suite to measure its performance across four criteria. In this test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key display specifications
- 6.9 inches OLED (~92.3% screen-to-body ratio)
- Dimensions: 163.0 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm (6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches)
- Resolution: 1320 x 2868 pixels, (~460 ppi density)
- Aspect ratio: 19.5:9
- Refresh rate: 120 Hz
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
150
display
143
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Best: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (164)
155
Google Pixel 8
Best: Google Pixel 8 (165)
150
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
Best: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 (165)
157
Google Pixel 7 Pro
Best: Google Pixel 7 Pro (164)
Eye Comfort Label & Attributes
<20%
Flicker perception probability
% of population
0.77
Minimum Brightness
in nits
0.42
Circadian Action Factor
98%
Color
Consistency
vs Display-P3 color space
Position in Global Ranking
18
th
5. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
155
6. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
154
6. Samsung Galaxy S24+ (Exynos)
154
6. Samsung Galaxy S24 (Exynos)
154
12. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
152
13. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
151
18. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
150
18. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
150
23. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
148
28. Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
147
31. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
146
33. Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
145
37. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
144
39. Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
143
39. Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
143
44. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
142
44. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
142
50. Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
140
55. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
138
66. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
135
66. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
135
71. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
134
74. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
133
74. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
133
74. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
133
74. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
133
79. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
132
84. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
131
84. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
131
88. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
130
88. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
130
88. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
130
99. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
129
103. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
127
107. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
126
124. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
123
128. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
128. Motorola Edge 40 Pro
122
132. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
120
138. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
114
140. Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
113
143. Crosscall Stellar-X5
109
144. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
108
148. Crosscall Stellar-M6
101
151. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
82
Position in Ultra-Premium Ranking
14
th
4. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
155
5. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
154
5. Samsung Galaxy S24+ (Exynos)
154
9. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
152
10. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
151
14. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
150
14. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
150
18. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
148
24. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
146
28. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
144
30. Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
143
33. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
142
33. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
142
39. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
138
46. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
135
48. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
134
50. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
133
50. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
133
50. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
133
57. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
131
57. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
131
61. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
130
61. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
130
69. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
127
82. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
84. Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
113
Pros
- Colors are pleasant and accurate indoors and outdoors
- Videos are well rendered indoors, both in HDR and SDR
- Readable in indoor and outdoor conditions
Cons
- Luminance and contrast are low in certain conditions, affecting the readability
- HDR10 and SDR videos average brightness are inconsistent
- Unwanted touches with the palm are frequent when holding the device in landscape orientation
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max display showed an impressive all-round performance in our protocol.
One of the standout features of the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max display was its color accuracy. Whether you’re indoors or outdoors, the colors remained true to life. This makes it an optimal choice for anyone who values precise color representation, especially when the True Tone option is disabled.
The device offered adequate brightness levels in both indoor and outdoor settings, and achieved a peak luminance in sunlight of 2,268 cd/m2 (High Brightness Mode). While the iPhone 16 Pro Max might not reach the peak luminance of some of its competitors, it still performed well under challenging conditions.
Watching videos on the iPhone 16 Pro Max in indoor conditions was particularly comfortable, with exceptional rendering of SDR and HDR video content that was vibrant and well-detailed.
One drawback of the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max was its automatic brightness adjustment in low-light conditions. Compared to previous models and competitors, the brightness levels were lower, which can negatively impact the viewing experience for web content, photos, and videos. In these situations, contrasts appeared flat, and colors seemed washed out, despite a color saturation boost. Users might want to adjust manually the brightness level to improve the rendering according to their preferences.
While the device generally offered a smooth and responsive touch experience, it did have some issues. Accidental touches from the palm of the hand occurred when holding the phone in landscape mode, which could be frustrating during video playback. Additionally, when holding the phone with one hand and touching the Camera Control button, the touchscreen occasionally became unresponsive.
Overall, the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max’s screen quality was impressive, particularly in terms of color accuracy and video playback. Despite some minor drawbacks, the device remains a strong contender in the ultra-premium category.
In addition, the iPhone 16 Pro Max earned the DXOMARK Eye Comfort label, signifying that the display’s limited level of flicker, well-controlled luminance as well as its color consistency and effective blue-light filtering make it visually comfortable to use in low light.
Test summary
About DXOMARK Display tests: For scoring and analysis, a device undergoes a series of objective and perceptual tests in controlled lab and real-life conditions. The DXOMARK Display score takes into account the overall user experience the screen provides, considering the hardware capacity and the software tuning. In testing, only factory-installed video and photo apps are used. More in-depth details about how DXOMARK tests displays are available in the article “A closer look at DXOMARK Display testing.”
The following section focuses on the key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Full reports with detailed performance evaluations are available upon request. To order a copy, please contact us.
Readability
143
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
How Display Readability score is composed
Readability evaluates the user’s ease and comfort of viewing still content, such as photos or a web page, on the display under different lighting conditions. Our measurements run in the labs are completed by perceptual testing and analysis.
Luminance under various lighting conditions
This graph shows the screen luminance in environments that range from total darkness to outdoor conditions. In our labs, the indoor environment (250 lux to 830 lux) simulates the artificial and natural lighting conditions commonly seen in homes (with medium diffusion); the outdoor environment (from 20,000 lux) replicates a situation with highly diffused light.
Contrast under various lighting conditions
This graph shows the screen’s contrast levels in lighting environments that range from total darkness to outdoor conditions. In our labs, the indoor environment (250 lux to 830 lux) simulates the artificial and natural lighting conditions commonly seen in homes (with medium diffusion); the outdoor environment (from 20,000 lux) replicates a situation with highly diffused light.
Photo EOTF
The Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) defines how bits are converted into luminance out of the display. Gray levels (horizontal axis) represent the different shades from pure white (100% gray level) to pitch black (0% gray level). The standard for still images follows a 2.2 gamma. The flatter the curves, the harder it is to perceive differences between consecutive shades. This phenomenon is more frequent under intensive lighting conditions (20,000 lux) in the low gray level regions.
Photo EOTF
The Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) defines how bits are converted into luminance out of the display. Gray levels (horizontal axis) represent the different shades from pure white (100% gray level) to pitch black (0% gray level). The standard for still images follows a 2.2 gamma. The flatter the curves, the harder it is to perceive differences between consecutive shades. This phenomenon is more frequent under intensive lighting conditions (20,000 lux) in the low gray level regions.
Photo EOTF
The Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) defines how bits are converted into luminance out of the display. Gray levels (horizontal axis) represent the different shades from pure white (100% gray level) to pitch black (0% gray level). The standard for still images follows a 2.2 gamma. The flatter the curves, the harder it is to perceive differences between consecutive shades. This phenomenon is more frequent under intensive lighting conditions (20,000 lux) in the low gray level regions.
Luminance vs Viewing Angle
This graph presents how the luminance drops as viewing angles increase.
Skin-tone rendering in an indoor (1000 lux) environment
From left to right: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, Honor Magic6 Pro
(Photos for illustration only)
Skin-tone rendering in a sunlight (>90 000 lux) environment
From left to right: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, Honor Magic6 Pro
(Photos for illustration only)
Average Reflectance (SCI) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Honor Magic6 Pro
SCI stands for Specular Component Included, which measures both the diffuse reflection and the specular reflection. Reflection from a simple glass sheet is around 4%, while it reaches about 6% for a plastic sheet. Although smartphones’ first surface is made of glass, their total reflection (without coating) is usually around 5% due to multiple reflections created by the complex optical stack.
Average reflectance is computed based on the spectral reflectance in the visible spectrum range (see graph below) and human spectral sensitivity.
Reflectance (SCI)
Wavelength (horizontal axis) defines light color, but also our capacity to see it; for example, UV is a very low wavelength that the human eye cannot see; Infrared is a high wavelength that the human eye also cannot see). White light is composed of all wavelengths between 400 nm and 700 nm, i.e. the range the human eye can see. Measurements above show the reflection of the devices within the visible spectrum range (400 nm to 700 nm).
Uniformity
This graph shows the distribution of luminance throughout the entire display panel. Uniformity is measured with a 20% gray pattern, with bright green indicating ideal luminance. An evenly spread-out bright green color on the screen indicates that the display’s brightness is uniform. Other colors indicate a loss of uniformity.
PWM Frequency Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
240 Hz
Bad
Good
Bad
Great
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Honor Magic6 Pro
Displays flicker for 2 main reasons: refresh rate and Pulse Width Modulation. Pulse width modulation is a modulation technique that generates variable-width pulses to represent the amplitude of an analog input signal. This measurement is important for comfort because flickering at low frequencies can be perceived by some individuals, and in the most extreme cases, can induce seizures. Some experiments show that discomfort can appear at a higher frequency. A high PWM frequency (>1500 Hz) tends to be less disturbing for users.
Temporal Light Modulation
This graph represents the frequencies of lighting variation; the highest peak gives the most important modulation. The combination of a low frequency and a high peak is susceptible to inducing eye fatigue.
Color
155
Google Pixel 8
Google Pixel 8
How Display Color score is composed
Color evaluations are performed in different lighting conditions to see how well the device manages color with the surrounding environment. Devices are tested with sRGB and Display-P3 image patterns. Both faithful mode and default mode are used for our evaluation. Our measurements run in the labs are completed by perceptual testing & analysis.
White point color under D65 illuminant at 830 lux
English
Camera
Selfie
