I maxed out my iPhone 16 Pro Max preorder. Here's how much it cost me

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

iPhone 16 preorders opened up at 5 am this morning, and by the time I had enough coffee to remember my name, the planned September 20 delivery date had already been exhausted.

Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET

By the time I was awake enough to curse whoever invented Friday mornings, availability had already skipped to September 30 to October 2.

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So, yeah. I bought one. It cost a whopping $1,599 + $49 for the silicon case, for a total of $1,648.

Just to put this in perspective, Facebook Marketplace is listing more than 20 cars for under $1,648, including a 1994 Mercedes-Benz c-class C 280 Sedan and a 2007 Ford Escape XLT Sport Utility.

Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET

To be fair, I'm not paying that $1,648 all at once. I'll be using my Apple Card and paying just $70.70 per month. Whee!

So, what did I get? I started with the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I wanted all the lenses available in the iPhone 16 Pro, as well as the whenever-it-really-ships-and-gets-the-bugs-ironed-out Apple Intelligence capabilities.

I wanted the Max because I'm a big guy with big pockets and big hands, and I like big phone screens.

Also: 10 features Apple Intelligence needs to actually compete with OpenAI and Google

There aren't too many other choices. You can choose color. This might be a big choice, and I did agonize over it. Then I realized that I have no idea what color my iPhone 12 Pro Max is. It's been in its plain black case since the day it arrived.

It's actually a very pretty dark blue. I had no idea.

Anyway, I decide to order my iPhone 16 Pro Max in a brownish silver (or, as Apple puts it, "Natural Titanium").

Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET

Next up was the storage decision. After getting stung so many times by saving money ordering lower-level storage tiers and then desperately needing more storage, I went for the 1TB option.

Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET

That was $400 more than the 256GB option and $200 over the 512GB option. Those surcharges are more than a little hard to accept, considering 1TB MicroSDs cost less than $100 on Amazon. But hey, in for a penny, in for 0.499 pounds (which is how much the Pro Max weighs).

Finally, it was time to choose carrier. I picked Verizon because it's what we have here.

Also: iPhone 16 Pro vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Should you upgrade?

Oh, and I did add the silicon case. I always use a case and with the new Camera Control button, I wanted a case I knew was designed to work with it.

So there you go. I'd like to say I'm excited, but, you know, it's an iPhone. And it's a lot of money. I feel more like I need to make myself another cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal.

Stay tuned here on ZDNET. Now that I'll (eventually) have a new phone instead of my four-year-old iPhone 12 Pro Max, I'll be able to bring you lots of coverage about Apple Intelligence, the camera, and so, so, so very much more.

Happy Friday, y'all!

Oh, and did you buy an iPhone 16? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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