Home > Apple > Apple iPhone 16 & Apple iPhone 16 Pro Hands-On: What Are the Biggest Changes?

Apple iPhone 16 And Apple iPhone 16 Pro Hands-On: What Are the Biggest Changes?

Apple launched the apple iPhone 16 series on September 10 at their latest event—iPhone 16, 16 Plus, and then iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

This year’s big upgrades include a bigger screen for both of them. We have 6.1 to 6.3 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro and 6.7 to 6.9 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, making it the largest screen ever on an iPhone. And to make the iPhone 16 series a little less bulky, last year’s 15 Pro Max, they’ve actually shrunk the bezels quite significantly. It’s surprising how small this border is around the screen.

So you’re getting a bigger screen in a similar form factor. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 pro series come in four titanium colors: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium. I really like the White Titanium; they have a solid screen with their latest ceramic shield.

New A18 Pro Chipset

Apple has upgraded the chip in the iPhone 16 series. The new chip is the A18 Pro. The A18 Pro, it’s hard to say, is about 15% faster for the processor and about 20% faster for the graphics than last year. And of course, this iPhone 16s is built with Apple Intelligence in mind.

Don’t forget though, since they’re all singing and dancing about AI, Apple Intelligence, that last year’s 15 Pro and Pro Max will also support it. Apple Intelligence broadly brings you a supercharged Siri, which isn’t saying much because it’s pretty useless at this point, but you know, it’s a much-improved Siri.

We also have new writing tools that can rewrite or summarize text. It will also be integrated with messages, advanced search, and a clean-up tool, which is essentially the Magic Eraser you’ll find on your Pixel. From a couple of demos I’ve seen, the tools on the Apple iPhone 16 Pro seem to work pretty well, making the Apple iPhone 16 Pro lineup an even more attractive option.

Magic Eraser

There’s also a summary of priorities and notifications.

In addition to the faster chips, they’ve also improved cooling. because my iPhone 15 Pro Max gets pretty hot. Indeed, while we have the speed of the A17 Pro here, and no doubt the A18 Pro, one issue is sustained performance. It throttles and overheats, especially when you’re doing a lot of 4K 60 filming, playing games, or rendering and editing.

With the all-new iPhone 16 series, there’s something inside Apple’s new graphite cooling architecture design, which Apple says should improve sustained performance by 30% on the regular models and around 20-25% on the Apple iPhone 16 Pro. These upgrades make the Apple iPhone 16 Pro a promising choice for demanding tasks.

I am very excited to test it, and hopefully, when I’m charging, it won’t get that hot.

Camera Improvement

As for the Apple iPhone 16 Pro’s camera, there is a slightly upgraded, main 48-megapixel Fusion camera. The camera hasn’t changed much. We do have a new 48-megapixel ultrawide, though, which, of course, doubles as a macro.

iPhone Pro's camera

I’m excited about the new ultrawide on the Apple iPhone 16 Pro because I use it quite a bit for filming. What hasn’t changed in terms of hardware is the telephoto. It’s still 12 megapixels with 5x zoom. Unlike the 15 series, there is no difference—it’s the same 5x zoom, no matter which Apple iPhone 16 Pro you go for. So from a hardware perspective, not much has changed with the camera.

Telephoto

There is no mention of a selfie front camera on the Apple iPhone 16 Pro. Only the new main ultrawide lens and the fact that both are 5x zoom were mentioned. Of course, a lot comes down to processing.

We also have a new ISP, an image signal processor on the A18 chip, in the Apple iPhone 16 Pro. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but we’ll have to wait and see what kind of difference that makes in real life. There are also some other new features, including the ability to shoot in 4K 120, and you can slow it down later in the Photos app. You can go down to 1/5, 1/4, or 1/2 speed. To be fair, I don’t know how many people will use it.

Look at this picture

There are also new audio mixing tools and new framing guidelines on the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, which can be very helpful for getting the right framing for your social posts. You can now capture spatial audio as well. I think it says something about how big of an upgrade the Apple iPhone 16 Pro is when one of the headline features is the new capture button, and it’s on all Apple iPhone 16s, not just the Apple iPhone 16 Pro.

Click to open the Camera app, click again to take a picture, or click and hold for video. It’s capacitive, not a physical press button. But since we have vibrating haptic feedback, it feels pretty good. Not only that, you can slide your finger along to zoom, change the aperture, or go through different photography modes, making the Apple iPhone 16 Pro experience even smoother.

You can also do a light press to remove the UI for a cleaner interface, double-press lightly for more control, and then slide to select. Lots of different options. It’s designed to be used both vertically and horizontally.

But now we have five buttons on the new Apple iPhone 16. Two volume, action, power, and capture buttons. That’s a lot of buttons.

Batarry

Apple has provided a bigger battery, and they say the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max will have the best battery life ever on an iPhone. Not only is the battery bigger, but we now have Qi 2 wireless charging. So with a compatible Qi or MagSafe wireless charger, you can top up the Apple iPhone 16 Pro quickly. Unfortunately, though, there is no change to wired charging, and it seems to only be available on the Pro models. All new Apple iPhone 16 Pro and Apple iPhone 16s devices support Wi-Fi 7.

what new

the major upgrade. bigger screen, thinner bezels, camera control buttons, slightly tougher glass, bigger battery, faster charging, faster wireless charging, new and faster chip, and better cooling with graphite material. Slightly improved camera with a new ultrawide. 4K 120 video, enhanced speakers.

I don’t know if there’s anything out there that would make me rush out and buy an Apple iPhone 16 Pro. The big upgrade for me on the 15s was the USB-C port. And also, it still gets Apple’s intelligence. I don’t know how much of an exciting upgrade this is, especially compared to last year. But then, of course, many people don’t upgrade year after year. And if you’re still on an iPhone 12 or 13, then the Apple iPhone 16s and Apple iPhone 16 Pro is going to be a huge upgrade. Do you know, I think it might change my mind.

I think the regular iPhone 16s could be a big upgrade. We got the 6.1-inch 16 and the 6.7-inch Plus. Still more aluminum than titanium. It comes in ultramarine, teal, pink, white, and black. And I kind of like that teal. So design-wise, the new colors and that vertical camera arrangement that we got a few years ago, the regular 16s now also gets an action button just like the Apple iPhone 16 Pro. Maybe not the camera, although we do get that new capture button just like the Apple iPhone 16 Pro. The Apple iPhone 16 Pro lineup seems to offer the most advanced features yet.

iPhone 16 And 16 Pro Hands-On: What Are the Biggest Changes?

We can get a bright and dim screen. It now goes from one nit to 2,000. A new chip, the A18, though not the more powerful Pro version, is a two-generation jump from our A16 last year. Apple says the Apple iPhone 16s and Apple iPhone 16 Pro will be 30% to 40% faster for the processor and graphics.

Significantly more for the MPU because it’s all built around Apple Intelligence. But like the Pros, Apple iPhone 16 Pro, we also have that new graphite cooler. The Apple iPhone 16 Pro continues to showcase these advanced features effectively.

and a bigger battery, although, again, they didn’t specify the exact size, but they said it would be a big boost.

You know what hasn’t changed? Refresh rate. Still 60 hertz. I don’t know why Apple didn’t go with 120 hertz.

What I’m less bothered about is the camera, as it looks like a pretty big upgrade. We have a new 48-megapixel Fusion camera, which is the same as our Pro series, although the sensor is smaller and we don’t get 4K 120 filming either. But higher megapixels, and now we get a 24-megapixel output. It’s using the Pixel Mini.

And because of the new higher resolution, they can use a 12-megapixel crop to effectively give us a lossless 2x telephoto zoom. So in the new ultrawide, 0.5, 2.6x zoom, 1x prime, 2x telephoto, and of course, I can play with the shutter button, and the camera button.

You can zoom in and out within that range. So it’s not bad at all for a regular iPhone.

Price

So the 16 will cost you $799 for 128 gigs. The 16 Plus will cost you $899 for the bigger screen and bigger battery, still with 128 gigs of storage.

It’s $999 for the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, which also comes with 128 gigs of storage. I kind of hoped they’d have upgraded that to 256. If you want 256 right out of the gate, then you have to get the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, which will cost you $1,199, so $200 more than the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, and you can go higher than that.

So no change to pricing, I believe, although that can vary based on different territories. So that’s just a quick first look at the new Apple iPhone 16 Pro series.

Topics

Review Apple Android Guides

Spread the love

News Letter

We email you about the latest technology updates, reviews, exclusive deals and news. Sent weekly. 100% free.

Alvi Hosain

I am a tech enthusiast with over 1.5 years of experience in phone reviews and gadgets. Passionate about making technology easier for everyone, I focus on creating smartphone reviews and detailed tech guides. Whether exploring the latest devices or providing tips on how to get the most out of your gadgets, I love helping others navigate the world of technology. Known among my friends for solving phone-related problems, I enjoy discussing technology and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends.