iPhone 16: Everything You Need To Know
Apple has officially unveiled its latest flagship smartphones, the iPhone 16 series. This iPhone 16 comes with a host of exciting new features and improvements, designed to elevate your mobile experience. In this article, we’ll look into everything you need to know about the iPhone 16, from its sleek design and powerful performance to its innovative camera capabilities and advanced features.
iPhone 16 Series Specs | ||||
| Spec | iPhone 16 | iPhone 16 Plus | iPhone 16 Pro | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
| Weight | 199g | 170g | 199g | 277g |
| Internal Storage | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM, 1TB 8GB RAM | 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM, 1TB 8GB RAM |
| Rear Camera | 48 MP Wide 12 MP Ultrawide | 48 MP Wide 12 MP Ultrawide | 48 MP Wide 48 MP Ultrawide 12 MP Telephoto | 48 MP Wide 48 MP Ultrawide 12 MP Telephoto |
| Front Camera | 12 MP Wide | 12 MP Wide | 12 MP Wide | 12 MP Wide |
| Processor | Bionic A18 | Bionic A18 | Bionic A18 Pro | Bionic A18 Pro |
| Price | $799 | $899 | $999 | $1199 |
| Availability | Pre orders start Sept 13, 2024 | |||
Display
The display saw quite a bit of change this year, especially the Pro phones.
Starting with the non-pro phones, the bezels got a trim, and the ceramic screen is now 50% stronger. Unfortunately, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are still stuck on 60Hz displays.
Moving over to the Pro iPhones. The bezels saw noticeable trimming; it’s impressive how close we’ve come to eliminating bezels. Screen sizes have also changed for the first time in years. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is now 6.9 inches, yes, 6.9 inches, and the iPhone 16 Pro is now 6.3 inches up from 6.1 inches. All iPhone 16s can go down to 1 nit of brightness for comfortable low-light viewing. As usual, the Pro also has 50% stronger ceramic glass.
Design and Colors
Here we only get to talk about the non-Pro iPhones because they’re the only ones that saw notable design changes.
The rear cameras are now vertically arranged, similar to what we first saw in the iPhone X. Apple says the reason for this is so they’re able to capture spatial videos, which is similar to how we see things with our eyes. The cherry on top, spatial video, can only be watched on the Apple Vision Pro.
The color options for the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus feature Ultramarine, Teal, Pink, Black, and White. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are available in Desert Titanium, Natural Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium.
New Buttons
New ButtonsThe iPhone 16 introduces two new buttons: the Action button and the Camera Control button. While the Action button was first introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro, the Camera Control button is a new feature available on both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro.
The Camera Control button is a physical button on the side of the device that provides quick access to the camera app. With a single press, you can instantly launch the camera. A long press starts recording a video. Additionally, you can adjust camera settings like zoom and exposure by swiping your finger along the button.
The Camera Control button is supposed to be a convenient and intuitive way to capture photos and videos, but its somewhat awkward positioning could throw a wrench in that plan. We’ll have to wait and see.
And of course, as you know, the Action button is a customizable physical button that you can program to perform various actions and tasks.
Performance
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus feature a significant performance upgrade with the introduction of the Bionic A18 chip. Apple seems to have given up on using last year’s Pro chip in the new non-pro iPhones, which is a good thing. As a result, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus offer notably better performance compared to their predecessors, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max take performance to another level with the Bionic A18 Pro chip. This powerful chip delivers nearly 30% better performance than the A17 Pro used in the previous Pro models.
In addition to peak performance, the iPhone 16 models also benefit from improved sustained performance. Apple’s new heat cooling system allows for longer periods of intense gaming and other demanding tasks without significant performance degradation.
Camera
The iPhone 16 series introduces significant camera upgrades across the lineup. Starting with Pro iPhone 16s, the main sensor has been updated to capture information faster; this has two very useful advantages. Firstly, it means the iPhone can now capture photos faster, i.e., with zero shutter lag, and second, it can capture videos faster—by faster, we mean more frames.
The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max can capture videos at 4K 120FPS. Apple’s implementation of this feature is particularly clever. Any 4K 120FPS video you capture can be easily adjusted to more traditional frame rates like 24, 30, or 60FPS. While this offers incredible flexibility, it’s important to note that the file size will be significantly larger due to the increased data captured at higher frame rates.
Moving on, the ultra-wide sensor on the Pro iPhone 16s has also been upgraded. It’s now a 48MP sensor. Talking about sensor upgrades, the iPhone 16 Pro also got its own shiny new camera sensor. The 3x telephoto lens has been replaced with the same 5x telephoto on the iPhone 16 Pro.
As for the Standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, they have an updated ultrawide sensor. This doesn’t just mean better ultrawide photos, but also that this new sensor can now autofocus.
Apple Intelligence: The Big One
With the iPhone 16, Apple concentrated most of its efforts on Apple Intelligence. So what exactly could they come up with?
Reduce Interruptions is an Apple intelligence feature designed to minimize distractions by intelligently filtering notifications. Using AI, prioritizes notifications based on their urgency and relevance, ensuring that only truly important alerts reach you. Less pressing notifications are grouped and delivered at a more convenient time. There’s also an email summary, which summarizes your emails in your preview screen instead of just showing the first few lines.
Siri is also getting a big upgrade, becoming more intuitive and seamlessly integrated into the Apple ecosystem. Its redesigned interface, featuring a subtle glow around the screen edge, enhances its visual appeal. Once IOS 18.1 releases, we’ll be able to see just how much Siri has improved.
Some other tools are:
Photos now offer a more personalized experience. You can now create custom movies by simply describing their desired content. Additionally, natural language searches make it easier to find specific photos and moments within videos. The new Clean Up tool simplifies photo editing by automatically identifying and removing unwanted background elements, preserving the integrity of the main subject.
Visual lookup allows you to use your camera to quickly look up whatever it’s pointed at.
Lastly, there’s the usual slew of writing tools tucked into Apple Intelligence.
None of these features will be available at the iPhone 16s release; you’ll have to wait for iOS 18.1 to get the majority of these features and over the remainder of the year the rest and even more will be released.
Battery and Charging
There seems to be some improvement in the iPhone 16 series battery life because it was announced that the new phones would get better battery life; unfortunately, no specific numbers were mentioned.
Charging remains the same, either wirelessly or using a type-c charging cable we are all used to now.
Pricing
The standard iPhone 16 starts at $799.
The iPhone 16 Plus sells for $899 for the base model.
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max sell for $999 and $1199, respectively.
Pre-orders for the phone begin on September 13th, 2024.
Available for purchase on Apple’s website!
Trade-in your old iPhone at SmartphonesPLUS to help pay for the iPhone 16!
