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Apple revealed the iPhone 16 lineup at the “It’s Glowtime” event. Here’s a recap of what we saw.
iPhone 16
The base model in Apple’s lineup has a new vertical camera layout that replaces the iPhone 15’s diagonal arrangement and helps with spatial photo and video capture for the Vision Pro. The mute switch has been replaced with a new Action button that we previously only saw on the iPhone 15 Pro model. On the right side of the device, there’s a new touch-sensitive Camera Control for photos and video. You can use gentle presses for focusing, and swipes for settings like aperture and zoom.
Apple’s new A18 chip is onboard, with an improved 16-core Neural Engine processing to better handle Apple Intelligence features. It’s built on a second-generation 3-nanometer process that provides more performance and efficiency; Apple claims up to 30% better performance than the A16 Bionic in the iPhone 15 while using 30% less power. There’s a new five-core GPU (40% faster than in the A16 Bionic) that can help with AI as well as intensive games with ray tracing.
The iPhone 16 has a 6.1-inch display, a reported 8GB of RAM, and between 128GB to 512GB of storage. There’s also a graphene thermal system for better cooling to provide up to 30% better sustained performance.
There’s a 48MP primary camera (which doubles as a 12MP, 2X digital telephoto) with 12MP front and upgraded ultrawide cameras that add macro photography. You’ll get Wi-Fi 7, and a “big boost” to battery life. Earlier reports have a 3,561mAh battery on board (an increase of 6%).
You can grab the iPhone 16 in five colorways, including black, white, pink, green, and a particularly vibrant ultramarine blue.
The iPhone 16 series starts at $799.
iPhone 16 Plus
Next up in Apple’s lineup is the iPhone 16 Plus. The Plus model packs a 6.7-inch display with the base model’s A18 chip, the reported 8GB of RAM, and the same storage options. Again, the mute button has been replaced with a new Action button, and there’s Capture Control for photos and videos.
The cameras are the same as Apple’s base model iPhone, but one surprise isn’t such good news. If reports of a 4,006mAh battery are accurate, that represents a 9% decrease in capacity compared to the previous generation. The graphene thermal system from the iPhone 16 helps keep the Plus from overheating.
The iPhone 16 Plus is available in the same colors as the iPhone 16: black, white, pink, green, and ultramarine blue.
Pricing for the iPhone 16 Plus starts at $899.
iPhone 16 Pro
Both of Apple’s just-launched Pro models include larger screens, upgraded cameras, and, perhaps most notably, improved thermal management.
The iPhone 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch display, thinner bezels, and up to 1,200 nits of brightness, a 20% increase from the iPhone 15 Pro. It also has Capture Control for media recording and Visual Intelligence. Under the hood, the more capable A18 Pro chip is present with a faster version of the 16-core Neural Engine, new machine learning accelerators in the CPU, larger caches, quicker video encoding, and a six-core GPU with double the ray tracing performance. There’s a reported 8GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage.
The battery capacity reportedly increases by a small 2.5% to 3,355mAh, as does wired charging at 40W (up from 27W) alongside 20W Qi2 and MagSafe wireless charging. Apple touts the best battery life yet. Leaks have suggested a new stacked battery design that provides increased energy density and can boost the battery’s lifespan.
There are 48MP main and now 48MP ultrawide cameras on board, with a 5X (but still 12MP) telephoto lens previously reserved for the Pro Max. The primary camera has a larger, second-generation sensor with faster data reads that minimize blur. The 12MP telephoto sensor from the 15 Pro Max has made its way to the smaller Pro.
You can not only choose from a range of Photographic Styles like before, but customize them with a virtual pad. It’s now possible to capture 4K video at 120FPS with Dolby Vision HDR, and adjust the playback frame rate to get anything from slow motion through to a film-like 24FPS. Improved four-microphone audio improves quality and enables spatial audio on devices that support it. Audio Mix uses AI to give control over voice in scenes, and Voice Memos should also sound clearer.
The iPhone 16 Pro will come in three familiar colors from the 15 Pro family (black, natural, and white), but adds a gold-hued Desert Titanium.
The iPhone 16 Pro price starts from $999 for a 128GB version.
iPhone 16 Pro Max
Finally, the flagship phone in Apple’s latest lineup is the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It has Apple’s A18 Pro chip and centers on a larger 6.9-inch OLED display with up to 1,200 nits of brightness.
On the design front, the phone has smaller bezels, the same rumored stacked battery design for increased energy density, and a new capacitive Capture button for video and photos. The improved titanium chassis has a glossier finish than the brushed matte of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Storage gets a boost up to 2TB, there’s faster 40W wired and 20W wireless charging, and a graphene thermal system helps to keep the phone cool.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max’s camera system shares the functionality of its smaller sibling, including the 48MP ultrawide, 5X zoom, and 4K 120FPS video.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max comes in the same four colors as the iPhone Pro, with the new gold/bronze colorway.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max price starts from $1,199 for the 128GB base model.
Apple Intelligence and AI Features
The A18 chips are key to supporting Apple Intelligence features such as image generation, call capturing and conversion, and AI-driven text rewriting.
Visual Intelligence is new and exclusive to the iPhone 16 series and helps you get information about what your camera sees, such as restaurant details or a dog breed.
Though Apple Intelligence didn’t launch alongside the new lineup, it’s coming to the iPhone 16 series and other devices next month in beta for US English, with other English versions coming in December and other languages in 2025.
Preorders for the iPhone 16 lineup open on Friday, September 13th at 5AM PT, 8AM ET, and 1PM GMT. The phones begin shipping on Friday, September 20th.
