Introduction

On September 10, Apple released the iPhone 16 series, which attracted much attention from the industry. As a flagship product, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is equipped with the best processor and screen in the entire series and claims to have increased the charging power to 40W. So, let's test its charging performance.

Improved Charging Power | Charging Review of iPhone 16 Pro Max-Chargerlab

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is equipped with the A18 Pro chip, the New 6-core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores, the New 6-core GPU, and the New 16-core Neural Engine.

Product Appearance

The front of the box shows the appearance of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

The version we got has a storage capacity of 256GB.

The box contains the phone, cable, and some documents.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max adopts a 6.9‑inch (diagonal) all‑screen Super Retina XDR display.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max has the narrowest screen borders of any Apple product to date, as can be clearly seen in the comparison in the picture (left: iPhone 16 Pro Max, right: iPhone 15 Pro Max). The iPhone 16 Pro Max display has rounded corners that follow a beautiful curved design.

iPhone 16 Pro Max is available in four colors: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium. The one we got is Black Titanium.

The camera module design of the iPhone 16 Pro Max remains the same as the previous generation. It uses a 48-megapixel fusion camera + 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera + 12-megapixel 5x telephoto.

It adds a "Camera controls" button, which can realize various functions such as Exposure, Depth, Zoom, Cameras, Styles, Tone, etc., through different gestures such as tap, long press, double-click, and slide.

The USB-C port supports USB 3 transfer speeds of up to 10Gb/s.

The inside of the USB-C port is laser engraved with A3297 China.

This is the included USB-C cable.

Consistent with previous iPhone 15 series cables, the woven outer layer twists the fibers into strands before arranging and weaving them together, preventing tangling and enhancing durability.

And the connector adopts a special pin design.

ChargerLAB POWER-Z KM003C shows it doesn't have an E-marker chip.

The length of this cable is exactly 1m (3' 3.37'').

The length of the phone is about 163 mm (6.42 inches).

The width is about 78 mm (3.071 inches).

The thickness is about 8.3 mm (0.33 inches).

The left side of the picture shows the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the right side shows the iPhone 15 Pro Max. In comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is more slender.

The weight is about 227.6 g (8.028 oz), which is about 6.6 g (0.23 oz) heavier than the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is officially said to have the largest display screen ever on an iPhone.

Compatibility Test

Next, let’s see its charging compatibility.

Original Chargers

We use some Apple chargers with the original cable to test the real-time power.

Charge with the Apple 140W charger (model: A2452), the power is about 14.47V 2.56A 37.06W.

There are no compatibility issues.

We summarize the test results into a bar chart. Chargers that can reach 15V PDO can achieve a charging power of more than 29W.

Third-party Chargers

We also used a variety of third-party chargers with the original cable during the test. Let’s take a look at the results.

There are no compatibility issues.

We summarize the test results into a bar chart. Most chargers above 30W can provide a charging power of 28-31W, while 20-25W chargers can provide a charging power of 18-24W. The compatibility performance is quite impressive.

Wireless Charging Test

It's worth noting that the iPhone 16 series, in addition to supporting the existing MagSafe charging, also supports the Qi2 wireless charging standard.

When charging the iPhone 16 Pro Max with the Apple MagSafe Charger, the power at the phone end is about 8.95V 2.03A 18.18W.

When charging the iPhone 16 Pro Max with the third-party wireless magnetic charger, the power at the phone end is about 6.94W.

Reverse Charging Test

The iPhone 16 series has a reverse charging function, allowing it to charge several devices.

Use a 5A USB-C to USB-C cable to connect the iPhone 16 Pro Max and AirPods Pro. You can see that the earphone charging indicator lights up. The measured output power on the phone is 5.20V 0.24A 1.26W.

Full Charging Test

Next, we'll use the Apple 70W charger to fully charge the iPhone 16 Pro Max. And put them into a 25°C (77℉) thermotank throughout the test.

The voltage is around 15V at first, and the charging curve can be divided into five parts. In the first part, the peak power stayed at 28W for the first 13 mins. Then, the power gradually drops to 22W, 15W, and 8W in turn. Meanwhile, the voltage dropped to 5V at 55 mins. The final part begins at one hour and 9 mins, the power slowly drops to almost zero. At about 2 hours and 7 mins, the phone displays that the battery is fully charged, but charging is still ongoing. It takes 2 hours and 20 mins to be fully charged.

We also turn it into another curve. The charger can charge the iPhone 16 Pro Max to 50% in 26 mins. And it can reach 80% in 57 mins, 100% in 2 hours and 20 mins.

Temperature Test

We also recorded the highest temperature on the front and back after charging for 15 mins, 25 mins, and 40 mins.

15 Mins Charging

After 15 mins, the maximum temperature on the front is 36.4℃ (97.52 ℉), and the charging power is about 26W.

The back is 37.7℃ (99.86 ℉).

25 Mins Charging

After 25 mins, the maximum temperature on the front is 35.5℃ (95.9 ℉).

And the back is 36.7℃ (98.06℉), you can see that except for the upper and lower ends, the temperature of the entire back panel is uniform.

40 Mins Charging

After 40 mins, the maximum temperature on the front drops to 32.5℃ (90.5 ℉).

The back is 33.3℃ (91.94 ℉).

From this bar graph, the highest temperature is about 37.7℃ (99.86 ℉) on the back at 15 mins. At this time, the charging power is about 26W. Combined with the charging curve, we can see that as the power continues to decrease, the temperature also continues to decrease. You won't feel hot to touch it after 40 minutes of charging.

Summary of ChargerLAB

The iPhone 16 Pro Max uses a titanium alloy frame and a 6.9‑inch (diagonal) all‑screen Super Retina XDR display on the front. At the same time, the entire series is equipped with a "Camera controls" button, which can realize various functions such as Exposure, Depth, Zoom, Cameras, Styles, Tone, etc., through different gestures such as tap, long press, double-click, and slide. The USB-C port supports USB 3 transfer speeds of up to 10Gb/s.

Except for Apple's 87W charger, other original chargers above 29W can reach 15V PDO, and the charging power is maintained at around 30W. There are no compatibility issues, and it is compatible with most chargers on the market. If you need a good fast charging experience, it is recommended to buy a charger of 35W or above.

It takes 2 hours and 20 mins to be fully charged. It’s much slower than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. But the temperature control is good, you won't feel hot to touch it after 40 minutes of charging.

Improved Charging Power | Charging Review of iPhone 16 Pro Max