Apple unveiled four new iPhones at its big Fall event this year, which it boldly claimed will “mark the beginning of a new era” thanks to the rise of Apple Intelligence.
If the choice between iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max has got your head spinning, we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about each of the new models, all of which are up for pre-order on September 13 ahead of a September 20 launch.
iPhone 16 & 16 Plus
On the surface, these models look a lot like iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. They rock more or less the same design, with the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays.
But under the hood, iPhone 16 is two steps up from its predecessor, moving from an A16 chip straight to Apple’s new A18 processor. That grants major performance gains with a 6-core CPU that’s 30% faster and a 5-core GPU that’s 40% quicker than the previous generation. It also includes a 16-core Neural Engine optimized to power features in Apple Intelligence.
Speaking of which, the iPhone 16 lineup gets an exclusive AI feature called Visual Intelligence, which uses the camera to analyze objects in real time, helping users interact with their environment or get additional information. Similar to Google Lens, it can recognize events on posters and even offer integration with ChatGPT.
iPhone 16 boasts an improved camera system too, with a 48MP Fusion camera similar to the one found in last year’s iPhone 15 Pro. The ultrawide camera now includes autofocus, captures more light, and works with macro photography. Users can also capture spatial photos and videos for Apple Vision Pro, and record in 4K 60fps with Dolby Vision HDR.
More notable than the improved cameras is the new Camera Control that sits below the power button on the iPhone’s right-hand side. This touch-based haptic control allows you to quickly adjust the Camera app through taps and gestures in a way that’s more natural to pro photographers. You can quickly launch the camera, switch between functions, swipe to zoom or adjust settings, hold to start a video, and more.
Alongside the new Camera Control is the customizable Action Button, which comes to the non-Pro iPhone for the first time. This replaces the mute switch, offering quick access to whatever functionality you like (including the mute switch).
There are other iterative improvements, too. Apple says battery life is better thanks to improved power efficiency, you’ll get faster and more reliable connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 support, and enhanced ceramic shield protection provides better drop protection.
iPhone 16 starts from $799, with the larger iPhone 16 Plus starting at $899. For both, the baseline storage remains a rather ungenerous 128GB. They are available in five vivid colorways: black, white, pink, teal, and ultramarine.
iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max
Apple’s premium offerings aren’t just better this year, but also bigger. Thanks to the thinnest iPhone bezels ever, the Pro and Pro Max models now boast 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays respectively. The latter is the largest ever seen on an iPhone. These Super Retina XDR displays are step up from the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, with Always-On and ProMotion tech remaining Pro-level exclusives.
iPhone 16 Pro gets the new A18 Pro chip. It’s built on second-gen 3nm technology and promises 15% faster performance compared to A17 Pro, all while using 20% less power. Its Neural Engine can perform a whopping 35 trillion operations per second, which will really speed up Apple Intelligence tasks. Meanwhile, the chip’s 6-core GPU is 20% faster than the previous generation, which is a huge boost for gamers. Suffice to say this is a powerful processor that should last you a good long time.
A new titanium frame promises to be lighter and more durable than ever, with a smart “microblasted” texture that sets these Pro models apart. The size increase also means bigger batteries for a huge leap in battery life, especially for the larger Pro Max.
When it comes to the camera system, you’ll find the 48MP Fusion camera is joined by a 48MP Ultrawide camera too. Meanwhile, the Telephoto camera now goes up to 5x optical zoom on both of these models; last year, it was a Pro Max exclusive. It’s now possible to record 4K 120fps video in Dolby Vision, the highest frame-rate and resolution ever on an iPhone.
Like the regular models, iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max also gain a new Camera Control on the right-hand edge for quick, tactile control of camera settings. Later this year, Apple will add a two-stage shutter feature to the new button, simulating the precise focus experience of a DLSR camera.
Serious improvements to the microphone setup includes “studio-quality” recording with spatial audio support. There’s a cool new Audio Mix feature to adjust sound after recording, and built-in wind noise reduction.
iPhone 16 Pro starts from $999 with 128GB storage, with the larger iPhone 16 Pro Max starting at $1,199 and including 256GB storage as standard. 1TB is the max storage available for both, but it’s not cheap, hiking the price by $500 over the 128GB variant. Unlike the regular iPhone 16, there are no vibrant colors to choose from, just four shades of titanium: white, black, natural (grey), and desert (bronze).