Apple has officially announced the new iPhone 16 lineup during its September 9 ‘Glowtime’ event. This iPhone lineup is the first to be built specifically for Apple Intelligence. New features include the new A18 and A18 Pro processors, camera improvements and new Camera Control and Action Buttons.
The entire lineup will be available in stores on September 20.
What’s New in iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
In terms of design, the new lineup features a design roughly the same as the previous model, yet the new 3nm A18 processor is 30 percent faster than last year’s model. Concerning Apple Intelligence, the new A18 is twice as fast in Machine Learning thanks to the 17 percent increase in memory bandwidth.
While the iPhone 16 lineup maintains the same screen sizes (6.1-inch for the base model and 6.7-inch for Plus), an update to the Ceramic Shield is now 50 percent tougher than the iPhone 15 series. The 16 series also has a larger battery which will greatly extend battery life.
Along with the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus now receiving the Action button found on the iPhone 15, a new Camera Control button can now interact with Apple Intelligence. This includes the ability to detect certain people and objects in photos, allowing users to search Google and ChatGPT. Users will also be able to control zoom capabilities through sliding, while a light press will bring up certain controls.
Like most iPhone releases, there are new updates to the cameras, which now have a vertical arrangement that benefits spatial photos for Apple Vision Pro. The two new cameras include an ultra-wide camera and a primary wide camera. The ultra-wide camera is capable of 0.5x zoom out, whereas the primary camera can go up to 2x optical zoom.
The new iPhone 16 lineup also features new colors, including black, white, teal, ultramarine and pink. The iPhone 16 lineup will be using iOS 18.
What’s New in the iPhone 16 Pro Series
As seen in the past, the Pro series includes the base-model Pro and the Pro Max. Both are roughly the same yet the Pro Max grew from a 6.7-inch screen to 6.9-inches. The iPhone 16 Pro is also slightly larger at 6.3-inches. Just like the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Pro series will also include the Action Button and Camera Controls.
Along with the new base model receiving a new processor, the Pro series also gets the new A18 Pro. This 16-core neural engine features 17 percent more memory bandwidth. New A18 Pro allows for Apple Intelligence to run faster than the A17 Pro. The new six-core CPU found in the A18 Pro uses 20 percent power despite having four efficiency cores and two performance cores. The A18 Pro also includes a six-core GPU.
In terms of cameras, the typical trio can still be found on the back, though the main camera is now called a 48MP Fusion camera. Thanks to pixel binning, users can shoot 24MP photos. The ultra-wide camera gets macro photography benefits thanks to an upgraded sensor. The telephoto lens features a 5x optical zoom, which wasn’t found in the base model iPhone 15 Pro.
The new iPhone 16 Pro series also includes new audio mixing features, which can help isolate audio in a video. This is in addition to other audio processing features that come with the four new microphones. Video recording also includes Spatial Audio options, which can be great for the 120 fps 4k footage the models can produce.
Titanium finishes include desert, white, natural, and black. Both models will also take advantage of iOS 18.
Pricing and Availability
The iPhone 16 Plus starts at $899, whereas the baseline model starts at $799. Pre-orders for both begin Sept. 13, and shipping begins Sept. 20. In terms of the Pro Series, preorders for both the Pro and Pro Max also begin Sept. 13, with shipping beginning Sept. 20 as well. The iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999, and the Pro Max starts at $1,199. Those in the U.S. can receive credits by trading in their older phone.