You know what really caught my attention with the 16 Pro Max? The 6.9-inch display, with a resolution of 1320x2868 pixels [1]! However, I’m a bit skeptical about this choice. A 6.9-inch screen size is quite rare in the smartphone world [2]. Samsung tried something similar back in 2020 with its S20 Ultra (and Note 20 Ultra), only to revert to 6.8 inches with the S21 Ultra the following year—and they haven’t looked back since. Why? I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve heard some say the size was just too big.
So, will Apple be the one to make this a new industry standard for flagship devices, like they did with the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack or excluding the charger from the box? Perhaps, but for now, I remain cautiously skeptical.
2. AFAIK, aside from Samsung, only two other major brands have experimented with this display size: Motorola, with its Razr 50 Ultra (2024), and Huawei, with the Pocket (2022).
Famously iPhones and especially iPads have weird dimensions and they are primarily for up/downscaling[1] from the other iPhone sizes so that apps still look the”same”. While 16 pro max is 6.9 inch and 13 pro max for instance is 6.7 inch, both have a resolution ratio of 19.5:9.
So, will Apple be the one to make this a new industry standard for flagship devices, like they did with the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack or excluding the charger from the box? Perhaps, but for now, I remain cautiously skeptical.
_____________________________
1. Apple hasn’t officially listed the display resolution on the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s product page, but thankfully, GSMArena has all the technical details available: https://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_16_pro_max-13123.php.
2. AFAIK, aside from Samsung, only two other major brands have experimented with this display size: Motorola, with its Razr 50 Ultra (2024), and Huawei, with the Pocket (2022).