Apple’s biggest event of the year is here and the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have landed. As expected, they represent the best that Apple has to offer for non-Pro users, but unlike last year, there are a number of features that help the iPhone 16 stand out and bridge the gap between these two devices and the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max.
Should you buy the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus? Do you still need a Pro phone to get the Pro experience? How do this year’s models stack up? Here’s everything you need to know about the iPhone 16.
iPhone 16 and 16 Plus: price and release
Apple's iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus come in five colors: ultramarine, teal, pink, white, and black.
The iPhone 16 starts at $799 with 128GB of storage, while the iPhone 16 Plus costs $100 more at $899 with the same storage. Both phones come in 256GB or 512GB of storage variants, costing $100 or $200 more than the base price respectively. Unlike the iPhone 16 Pro line, there is no 1TB storage option.
Like many of the best phones, you can get the best iPhone 16 deals if you trade in an existing iPhone. Apple revealed that you can get up to $800 off if you trade in and activate through its website.
iPhone 16: specifications
|
iPhone 16 |
iPhone 16 Plus |
|
|
Dimensions |
147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm (5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 in) |
160.9 x 77.8 x 7.8 mm (6.33 x 3.06 x 0.31 in) |
|
Weight |
6.00 ounces (199 grams) |
7.03 ounces (199 grams) |
|
Display |
6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display |
6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display |
|
Sustainability |
IP68 |
IP68 |
|
To colour |
Black, White, Pink, Blue-Green, Ultramarine |
Black, White, Pink, Blue-Green, Ultramarine |
|
Processor |
A18 |
A18 |
|
Storage |
128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
|
Software |
iOS 18 |
iOS 18 |
|
Updates |
Seven years of promised upgrades |
Seven years of promised upgrades |
|
Rear cameras |
Fusion: 48 megapixels, f/1.6 aperture |
Fusion: 48MP, f/1.78 aperture |
|
Front camera |
12 MP, aperture f/1.9 |
12 MP, aperture f/1.9 |
|
New camera features |
Anti-reflective lens coating 4K Dolby Vision video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps 1080p Dolby Vision video recording at 25fps, 30fps, 60fps |
Anti-reflective lens coating 4K Dolby Vision video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps 1080p Dolby Vision video recording at 25fps, 30fps, 60fps |
|
Battery |
Up to 22 hours of video playback |
Up to 27 hours of video playback |
|
To upload |
Charge up to 50% in 30 minutes with 20W adapter |
Charge up to 50% in 30 minutes with 20W adapter |
|
Connectivity |
5G, WiFi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.3, VoLTE, NFC |
5G, WiFi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.3, VoLTE, NFC |
|
Price |
From $799 |
From $899 |
iPhone 16: hands-on
Below, we dive into everything you need to know about the iPhone 16. But what's it like to use Apple's latest iPhones?
Luckily, we got the chance to find out. We got to use all of the new iPhone 16 models, and early impressions are very good. The designs and colors are gorgeous, and Apple’s new Camera Control button is a dream come true. We’ll need to spend more time with the phones before we can give a deeper verdict, but it’s a good start.
iPhone 16: design and display
While the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus feature the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED displays as last year, the maximum brightness has been significantly improved to 2,000 nits at peak conditions. This should result in significantly better visibility outdoors in direct sunlight, while a single nit bump up the lowest brightness means they won’t blind you at night.
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus add the Action Button found on last year’s Pro iPhones, along with a new Camera Control button. Rather than tapping the screen, this new button lets you adjust various camera functions by sliding your finger over it.
As part of Apple Intelligence, the new Camera Control button helps you access Visual Intelligence. Just tap and hold the button, point your iPhone, and your iPhone can look it up. Looking at a restaurant? Find reviews in seconds. See a bike you like? Just tap and Google where you can buy something similar. Stuck on studying? Use the Camera Control button and ask ChatGPT. Visual Intelligence will be added to the Camera Control button later this year.
The Camera Control button reinvents the camera experience on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. It can be used in either landscape or portrait orientation, and lets you launch the camera with a single press, plus slide over the button to adjust zoom. A capacitive sensor underneath allows it to recognize touch gestures and differentiate between a full click and a lighter press; the latter helps you compose the perfect shot.
It's designed to make your iPhone's camera feel more like a traditional camera, and it certainly succeeds.
iPhone 16: hardware and software
Apple’s big claim is that the iPhone 16 series is built from the ground up to support Apple Intelligence and all of its features. These include everything from generative AI features like media creation, to providing summaries, calling up information, and a more conversational Siri with much deeper app integration.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are powered by the 3nm Apple A18 chip. This marks the first time that non-Pro iPhones are powered by a processor with the same technology standard as the 3nm A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. This is key to enabling Apple Intelligence thanks to a much better Neural Engine than last year’s A16 chip, but it also means there’s less to choose from between the Pro and non-Pro iPhones this year.
The A18 chip features a six-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, and is designed to be up to twice as fast for on-device machine learning. It’s up to 30% faster than the iPhone 15, and has a desktop-class five-core GPU that’s up to 40% faster than the GPU in the iPhone 15. There were significant performance improvements over last year’s chip, and this should mean that even the least expensive current-generation iPhone has an extremely powerful processor.
An updated thermal design and new thermal substructure enable an enhanced gaming experience with up to 30% higher sustained gaming performance and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. This means that games like Resident Evil 7 And Assassin's Creed Mirage — previously only available on iPhone 15 Pro phones — can now also run on the non-Pro iPhone 16 series.
Apple has also officially entered the race for battery charging specs, with the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus boasting the fastest charging speeds ever on an iPhone. They'll offer 25W charging via MagSafe or Qi2, and up to 20W over a wired USB-C cable. This should mean you can charge to 50% in under 30 minutes with an expected battery life of up to 27 hours on the Plus (and 22 hours on the regular iPhone 16). As with all claims, we'll have to see how they hold up in our review.
iPhone 16: Cameras and Features
The 48MP primary camera is much improved over previous years and now uses the Fusion branding. It uses pixel binning to create 24MP high-resolution photos, and crops the 12MP center sensor to offer a 2x telephoto zoom with a faster aperture than any previous dedicated 2x telephoto camera on an iPhone.
The new 12MP Ultra Wide sensor adds autofocus and enables macro photography to the latest iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. The camera upgrades also mean non-Pro iPhones can capture spatial photos and video for Apple Vision Pro, a feature that was exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max last year.
Both iPhones also support Audio Mix, which lets users customize the sound after capturing video with a variety of effects. Depending on your artistic style, you can focus on the subject's audio, make the recording sound like it was recorded in a professional studio, or position vocal tracks for you while using the ambient sounds around you.
This year’s iPhone 16 and 16 Plus opt to bridge the gap between last year’s Pro models, bringing many features that cost hundreds of dollars more last year to the base iPhones. The result is the most Pro-like non-Pro iPhones ever made, and arguably among Apple’s best iPhones to date.
Buy from Apple
