Apple today launched its new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro line-ups which offer larger displays, an all-new Camera Control feature and a foundation for Apple’s very own AI – Apple Intelligence.
And this year’s iPhone 16 models are up to $100 cheaper than the iPhone 15 range.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus along with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will go on sale on September 20 and start at $1,399 (iPhone 16), $1,599 (iPhone 16 Plus), $1,799 (iPhone 16 Pro) and $2,149 (iPhone 16 Pro Max).
DESIGN AND DISPLAY
While the design has mostly stayed unchanged, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max have a Grade 5 Titanium frame.
They also now have larger displays at 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch respectively with even thinner bezels to give the Super Retina XDR screens an edge-to-edge look
The iPhone 16 Pro Max now includes the largest iPhone display ever.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, made of aluminium with a colour anodised rear panel, have retained their 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch display sizes.
The other design change for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus is a re-arrangement of the cameras placed on top of each other.
APPLE INTELLIGENCE
Apple introduced Apple Intelligence at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June and the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max is where the rubber hits the road.
The new A18 chip aboard iPhone 16 and A18 Pro silicon aboard the iPhone 16 Pro models form the cornerstone for Apple Intelligence and power it’s remarkable capabilities.
Apple Intelligence will place powerful tools in users hands that will allow them to be more efficient, creative and productive.
It can be used to summarise and rewrite text, prioritise emails, messages and notifications as well as create images and emojis.
Apple Intelligence will kick off in the US when the new iPhones and iOS 18 is released this month.
For Australian customers, Apple Intelligence will be available from December.
CAMERA CONTROL
One hardware change is the addition of Camera Control – a new tactile switch on the edge of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineups that can be used as a shortcut to launch the camera, capture a photo, start a video recording and access other features including zoom, exposure and depth of field.
Camera Control uses a combination of short and long presses and touch gestures to access these controls and features to make capturing images and videos even easier, faster and more intuitive.
Later in the year, Camera Control will also be used for Visual Intelligence so users can learn about objects and places just by snapping an image.
For example, if you walk by a restaurant, you can press and hold the Camera Control button to unlock Visual Intelligence to identify the restaurant and link to its website so you can view the menu or make a reservation.
Visual Intelligence will also make it possible for users to perform a visual Google search to identify objects, animals and products.
CAMERA
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models boast a new 48MP fusion camera system.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus now has a 2x telephoto option while the new12 MP ultra-wide camera with autofocus allows for wider shots and enables macro photography.
Also onboard are a range of new photographic styles which can adjust colour, highlights and shadows in real time.
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus can also now shoot video with spatial audio to provide immersive listening through AirPods, Apple’s Vision Pro or a surround sound system.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max take the already powerful camera and make it even better thanks to a more efficient quad-pixel sensor.
The 5xtelephoto camera is also now available on both iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Last year this feature, made possible by the Tetra Prism lens, was only available with the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max cameras now allow for 4K 120fps video recording in Slo-Mo or Video mode and users can even adjust playback speed after capture in the Photos app.
The Pro models also have four new studio quality mics, with video now able to be captured with spatial audio to create an immersive experience to hear on AirPods and view on Apple Vision Pro.
Apple Intelligence will also come into play with the Pro cameras later this year so users are able to make use of a wide range of photo and editing capabilities as well as performing functions like adjusting the blur in the background of a photo just by asking for it.
PERFORMANCE
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are powered by the A18 chip – that’s a jump of two generations from the previous silicon – so it can do the heavy lifting when it comes to powering graphics and playing games.
Meanwhile the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max include the new A18 Pro chip which delivers a whole new level of compute power to the device to power features like Apple Intelligence and gaming and creating an even higher power efficiency.
COLOURS
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available in five colours – ultramarine, teal, pink, white and black.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be available in four colours – desert titanium, natural titanium, white titanium and black titanium.
PRICING
The new iPhone 16 will be priced at $1,399 (128GB), $1,599 (256GB) and $1,949 (512GB).
The iPhone 16 Plus is priced at $1,599 (128GB), $1,799 (256GB) and $2,149 (512GB).
The iPhone 16 Pro is priced at $1,799 (128GB), $1,999 (256GB) and $2,349 (512GB) and $2,699 (1TB).
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is priced at $2,149 (256GB) and $2,499 (512GB) and $2,849 (1TB).
