As every year, DXOMARK has published its Results of photo and video tests of the new iPhone. As you might expect, we’re talking about the iPhone 16 Pro and even the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The French specialist set about carrying out a rigorous analysis with more than 3,000 photos and 150 hours of video captured. Apple’s latest flagship model was ranked 4th in all smartphone cameras, although the company said it offers the best video quality ever tested on a mobile device. Just that!
An in-depth camera test
For those who don’t know, DXOMARK has built a reputation for producing some of the most insightful smartphone camera reviews, conducting user research to determine how they use their cameras, and then conducting in-depth scientific testing to assess how the products meet those real-world needs. As such, they’ve established a comprehensive rating system that takes into account every aspect of shooting.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max ranked 4th overall with 157 points (157 in photos and 159 in video), behind three Androids:
- Huawei Pura 70 Ultra (163)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL (158)
- Honor Magic 6 Pro (158)
- Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max (157)
For the record, here are the main camera specifications of the 16 Pro / 16 Pro Max, aided by the A18 Pro chip:
- Primary: 48MP sensor, quad pixel, 24mm equivalent f/1.78 lens, Dual Pixel AF, OIS
- Ultra Wide: 48MP sensor, 13mm equivalent f/2.2 aperture lens, Dual Pixel AF
- Telephoto: 12MP sensor, f/2.8 aperture lens 120mm equivalent, Dual Pixel AF
The highlights of the iPhone 16 Pro:
- Best video mode on a smartphone
- Great for taking photos and videos of friends and family
- Extended dynamic range across the entire zoom range
- Accurate white balance and natural color rendering
- Excellent levels of detail and texture in bright light
- Fast and precise autofocus
- Effective video stabilization
The weak points of the iPhone 16 Pro:
- Irregular details in zoom range, lack of detail in ultra-wide photos
- Narrow depth of field resulting in blurred background subjects in group photos
- Unwanted artifacts including glows, ghosting, edge effects and aliasing.
To dig deeper, here are the detailed test results. There are 10 different criteria for photography performance, and 7 for video. Apple got the best performance for color accuracy and preview, and the best performance in video recording for color, noise, and stabilization.
| Photo scores | Video score |
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Scores in parentheses represent the highest scores achieved by the best phone.
DXOmark Test Conclusion
The company said the improvements over the iPhone 15 Pro Max were modest, and the telephoto performance remains disappointing. Despite this, the iPhone 16 Pro is excellent. Indeed, as stated several times in recent days, especially after the publication of the first tests and reviews of the iPhone 2024, it is still a very good smartphone. However, its new features are few in number, which is ultimately of no interest to owners of a recent model, up to the iPhone 13 Pro in our opinion.
Here is DXOMark’s verdict:
Like its predecessors, Apple’s latest flagship model, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, performed very well in DXOMARK’s camera tests, earning an overall score that places it among the best smartphones for imaging. It particularly stood out in video mode, where it delivered better results than any other mobile device we’ve tested. It significantly outpaces its main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, in this area and in photography as well.
While the Pro Max’s main camera hardware remains largely unchanged from the previous model, Apple has still managed to improve image quality and camera performance in several areas. In video mode, the new iPhone once again managed to secure the top spot in our rankings, thanks to exceptional test results in 4K resolution and a variable frame rate of 60 frames per second. In addition, Apple’s flagship model offers a new 4K/120fps mode and a range of “Pro” modes for customizing settings, options not available on competing devices. In photo mode, the camera has benefited from improved processing and new editing options. We particularly noticed an improvement in color performance at default settings.
Although the overall rate of improvement in camera performance seems slower than in previous years and compared to the competition, users of the new iPhone benefit from the introduction of new imaging features, such as the “Undertones” and “Mood” photo styles, which are not covered by the DXOMARK Camera testing protocol, but are designed to meet the real needs of users.
While the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a clear improvement in photography and video, the same is not true for zoom. Our testers didn’t notice any particular improvements in texture with the new 48MP ultra-wide camera compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. There’s also a lack of consistency in image quality across the telephoto zoom range, with a noticeable drop in detail at zoom settings between 2x and 5x.
