Plastic placeholder is flimsy and breaks easily. Case is extremely oversized and buttons become super sensitive which causes phone to take screenshots. Case covering causes screen protector to loosen & bubble in top corners.

The ZEROLEMON Battery Case for iPhone 16 Pro Max has been an outstanding addition to my daily tech gear. The extended battery life is phenomenal, keeping my phone powered throughout intense days of use. I love how fast the 18W charging works; it saves so much time when I'm in a hurry. The case itself offers excellent protection, which is essential given how often I drop my phone. It fits snugly and doesn’t interfere with any of the phone’s functions, which is a big plus. While it's on the heavier side, the convenience it provides is worth it. This case truly enhances my iPhone experience by leaps and bounds.

First of all, it is a really big case very much like a brick. So big that when you hit the side button to shut, shut off the phone, you can’t help but hit the opposite side button, which are the two buttons needed to take a screenshot so I end up with hundreds of screenshots that I didn’t intend to take. More importantly, the charging port does not work properly therefore charging is a big no go.

Top of the plastic part of the inner case has my phone sticking up past it, reducing protection.Camera Control button protection solution is non-existent, as simply a cut-out. I’d recommend doing what SupCase did for it, so you can fully enclose the case and have proper protection. Action button Riser for it also appears shallow, requiring much more force than the other buttons to press.Solutions:Problem 1. Extend the inner plastic case so it clamps around the phone fully, not just partially, to increase rigidity of the overall case and provide more solid mounting of the outer rubber case. This case was designed for the 16 Pro Max size, so it shouldn’t obstruct the screen either. Making it a little longer won’t cost that much more. If you are truly worried about cost, try doing a honeycomb infil or simply using thinner plastic. It’s the rubber that protects the phone from shock, not the plastic.Problem 2. Use or license SupCase’s solution for the Camera Control button, or create your own in a similar fashion. Fully enclose button and extend rubber case as such.Problem 3. Extend the Action Button’s standoff for the case to match the rigidity and clickyness of the other buttons.Problem 4. This might be a stretch, but make sure your cover photo on Amazon doesn’t lie about how the Camera Control button protection is implemented. Again, lack-there-of.

This is not my first Zerolemon product. I’ve had their largest capacity battery case for several different phones over the years. I’ve never had a problem with a ZeroLemon case. However, one of the reasons I stick with this brand is that it has a great warranty. And they actually have customer support if you have any questions.If you haven’t had one before, let me describe how they work. Your phone fits within the three-piece case. The bottom piece contains the battery and most of the structure. The top piece fits onto the bottom, with your phone in the middle. Then there is a durable TPU case that covers everything and locks it all together. The 10,000 mah battery is enclosed in the bottom piece and well protected. As you might imagine, this makes your phone larger, but it also protects your phone. The TPU case has a matte finish, which means that it’s not slippery, but it won’t hang on your clothing either.The buttons and cutouts are excellent. In fact, the buttons are easier to find than the buttons on your 16 Pro Max. There is a very positive relationship between the buttons on the case and the button buttons on your phone. And, the case buttons are larger and easy to find. There’s also a nice cut out for the camera button and the bottom structural case is very sturdy around that button. Because your phone sits above the battery, your camera lenses are protected. Also, there is a substantial lip around the top of the case that protects the screen of your phone. The air cushion corners are sturdy. Honestly, this is a super protective case from my perspective and even more protective than my OtterBox case. The materials are very sturdy and they fit very well. There are no plasticky creaks and no gaps around the phone. Also, I read somewhere that you could not use a screen protector with this case, but I have a tempered glass screen protector, and it works just fine with the case.Right out of the box, my case was already charged up. I slid my phone in the case and put it all back together and it immediately started charging my phone. There is a meter on the back made of LEDs. That show shows the charge state of the case and they blink when the case is charging or discharging. There’s also a button on the back. Press it one time to begin charging and two times to stop charging. Honestly, I have not even read the instructions and putting it together and operating it are just intuitive.Charging is via USB-C. Pass through chargiing works. In other words, when the case is connected to a charger and your phone is in the case, it charges the phone first and the case second. I believe it is charging the phone at 18 W and charging the case at 25 W.This case is heavy. Make no mistake. It is heavy and large. It has to be in order to serve its purpose. Will it fit in your front pocket? No. Will it fit in your back pocket? Yes. That’s where I put my phone anyway, and I definitely do not sit on my phone regardless of what is on it. I read some of the other reviews and noticed that there was one about no MagSafe charging. It would take forever to MagSafe charge a battery this big. That just doesn’t make sense. Nor does it make sense to think that you would want to stick something else on the back of such a huge case. The lack of MagSafe makes sense and probably makes the product a little bit cheaper than it would cost otherwise to license that technology from Apple.Apple CarPlay works wirelessly. It may work wired as well but I drive a GM vehicle and the wired connection doesn’t always work. Someone else will have to answer that question.You probably already have a use in mind. But, for me, these extended battery cases come in super handy when you work on heavy equipment, when you work remotely, when you are camping, when the power is out, or when you were in a place where you cannot easily charge your phone such as court, school, commuting, hospital, or riding in someone else’s car. There are some other benefits. Particularly on the iPhone 16 Pro Max I turn off 5G and I turn off the full frame rate motion just to say battery. No more. Everything is a wide open! Full brightness, full volume, all of the extra features turned on at maximum. There is simply no way to kill this battery and your iPhone battery in a day. Battery anxiety is simply not a factor with this case. Also, and this might just be me, I tend to type better when I put this case on and then when I take the case off. There is something about changing the size of the phone that makes your thumbs work better.The case also charges my iPad! How about that? I just tried it by plugging the cable into the case and my iPad. So, you can use this case to charge other things as well. I think that’s called reverse charging.I live and work in remote areas, and I have not noticed any change in cellular reception. Bluetooth reception to my AirPods and other headsets is unaffected. Everyone can still hear me. And, again, it may be me, but it sounds like there’s a little more base in the speakers with the case on. Also, I’ve taken pictures with the flash, and there is no weird ghosting in the images as a result of the sunken camera Island.I got this case on a slight sale, but I would’ve paid full price for it. It just happened to be on sale when I was looking. I think this is a good case, very durable, and worth the money. I took my family to get fried chicken yesterday and fast food for five people cost more than this case did, and I’m going to get a lot more use out of the case.I spent a little extra time on this review because I noticed that there are not very many reviews. I’m old. I hate frivolous spending. But this is a good value. I think this is a quality product and worth the money.UPDATE: I contacted Zerolemon through Amazon after I was not as careful as I should have been with the upper part of the miner case. They’re sending a new one, no questions asked. That’s real customer service.

I see there’s a few that have issues with the ZeroLemon 16 Pro Max version, but not me. IMHO, it’s just as good and functional as the ones I had for my previous iPhone models (12, 13 & 14). I’m a big guy so the xtra bulk just adds to its rugged look and having that xtra power (without carrying more stuff) comes in handy with my long work shifts and OT. I keep full screen face shields on mine and it doesn’t interfere with putting the ZeroLemon on or take it off. The one gripe I have tho is that they only give you the one inner skeleton piece. They’re a little flimsy and there’s a great chance of breaking it. I’ve kept a little kRaZy or gorilla glue around just in case I snap those once in a while. They gave us an xtra one with the 14 Pro Max version my last purchase and it was good to have the repaired one as a backup. Also, as the batteries start getting a little bigger in these phones, probably be nice for your tech engineers to maybe see about bumping up the power from 10k to maybe 12 or 15?!? Just an idea. But, I love my ZeroMelons and love their convenience. Keep up the good work ZeroMelon. 😎