Is there anything more polarising in tech than the launch of the latest iPhone?

Every year, the haters come out in force, quick to point out how many "new features" are just Apple reimagining options other manufacturers have been offering for years.

Meanwhile, the devoted Apple acolytes will be just as quick to defend the new handsets. There'll still be queues at stores. There'll still be fans who upgrade their phone every year.

This year, critics have complained about the delay of Apple Intelligence. After all, how can 2024 be "The Year of AI" if Apple doesn't do it too?

Turns out, AI is complicated. Or the EU thinks so anyway and once again, strong-arm regulations around trivial things like privacy have caused somewhat of a stand-off when it comes to a full Apple Intelligence rollout.

This has added fuel to the haters' fire. "There's nothing new about these phones without Apple Intelligence, so what's the point?"

To those people I say, at least pick one up and look at it. You'll soon discover some of the most significant upgrades in years.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max is available in four colours; Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium and Desert Titanium. As you may have noticed, there's a titanium thing going on here - apparently the toughest on the smartphone market. The finish is quite unique, with the colour literally being blasted into the titanium casing during manufacturing which I must admit, sounds pretty cool.

The Pro Max has the largest display of any iPhone to date, measuring 6.9-inches. There's no question this is a big phone and if you struggle operating a large, heavy device with one hand, you should probably consider the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro instead. Unlike last year, when the Pro Max had a slight camera advantage over the Pro, that's not the case in 2024 and other than display and battery size, the phones are essentially the same.

And boy, what a battery. No iPhone I've used before comes close to the battery life I've experienced with the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Another change from last year is the chip strategy - sort of. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus ran on the A16 while the Pro models stepped up to the A17 Pro. This time, all four phones have new A18 chips, although the two premium handsets are run by A18 Pros. Without getting too bogged down in all this, as far as I can tell, this isn't just a marketing thing. On paper, there doesn't seem to be much difference between the base A18 chip and the Pro version, other than slightly better graphics performance.

I haven't tried the base model yet, so I'll let you know if I can tell the difference.

Perhaps the most noticeable modification from last year's phones is the addition of a whole new button. I don't mean the Action Button that appeared on the Pro models last time and is now on all four devices - although this customisable one-touch shortcut has been boosted with more functionality. Instead of firing off just one shortcut, it can now be set to perform different actions depending on the time of day, the phone's orientation and even your location. For example, you might set it to fire off your favourite workout if you're at the gym but if you're at home and you're holding your phone in landscape, maybe it activates the magnifier to read the fine-print on tonight's recipe.

No, the really new button is called Camera Control and again, perhaps surprisingly, you'll find it on all four Series-16 phones. 

Situated on the right-hand edge, down below the power button, Camera Control initially functions as a physical shortcut to the camera app; one press opens the camera and another snaps a pic. Hold the Camera Control button down and you'll record an instant video.

We've seen this kind of button on a few other phones in the past, usually in a similar position, simulating the button on a "real" camera when the handset is held in landscape position. Camera Control is more than just a fast way to take a photo though.

You can also half-press Camera Control to quickly access zoom functions, which you can then adjust with the same finger sliding backwards and forwards across the button. This is displayed on the edge of the screen right next to the Camera Control.

But wait... There is indeed more...

You can even double-press Camera Control to then scroll through your other settings; Exposure, Depth, Cameras, Styles and Tones. These last two options are similar to filters but with more of a professional photographer's feel to them. You can really dig down into different brightness and colour levels to achieve the exact effect you're after. Once you have it just the way you want, that particular Style or Tone will stay that way until you reset it, providing a consistent palette for your whole shoot if you want.

Which brings us to the incredible photo and video performance of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This year we have a totally revamped 48MP Fusion Camera, a 48MP Ultra Wide and a 5 x Telephoto - certainly one of the most powerful and versatile sensor arrays I've ever come across. Again, this all gets pretty technical, pretty quickly but because of the higher resolution across the board and the optical zoom provided by the tetraprism design of the 5 X camera, the combination of these three modules results in a choice of seven different pro lenses. It's the equivalent of carrying a virtual photographer's bag over your shoulder, all packed into one phone.

Whether you're shooting extremely close macro shots, spatial photos to be viewed in a surround environment created by the Vision Pro (if it ever comes to New Zealand), or your kids playing out in the surf, this camera setup can do it all - and with no shutter lag, you won't miss a moment.

And that's before we talk video. Again, so many choices. Shoot in 4K at 120fps in Dolby Vision. Shoot in ProRes to provide more possibilities with post-production editing. (The ability to access high-speed external storage via USB-3 will certainly come in handy here)

You can even adjust the playback speed after you've shot your video to make the most of every frame of the action.

The Pro Max's audio abilities have been similarly enhanced. There are four studio-quality mics built in to capture everything you shoot - and I do mean everything. A Spatial Video isn't much fun without an all-encompassing soundtrack to match - that's why you need four mics.

But whatever movie you're making, you can now use the Audio Mix function to focus the sound right where you want it; enhance the person in shot while dulling the background noise - or do the opposite, it's up to you.

And I haven't even really mentioned iOS 18.

Maybe that'll have to wait for my iPhone 16 review in a couple of weeks.

Oh, and that's right - you get all of this even without Apple Intelligence. So no, this definitely isn't the same phone as last year. The good news is, New Zealand is slated to be one of the first regions to get the new AI features but again, I think that'll have to wait for a whole other review.

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.