iPhone 16 Series: Overview
Launched in September 2024, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are Apple's latest flagship models, available alongside the premium iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
These models are ideal for most users, making it a great time to purchase. They feature an upgraded A18 chip with Apple Intelligence, a dual-lens camera system for excellent photography, a Camera Control button for quick camera access, and a customizable Action Button.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are Apple's flagship devices designed for general consumers, starting at $799. They are accompanied by the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, which cater to professional users with extra features and capabilities, starting at $999.
Similar to last year’s iPhone 15 lineup, the iPhone 16 series features four models: the 6.1-inch iPhone 16, the 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus, the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro, and the 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max. While the Pro and Pro Max models have larger displays this year, the standard iPhone sizes remain unchanged. Starting at $799, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are more budget-friendly compared to the higher-end iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
In terms of design, the iPhone 16 models closely resemble the iPhone 15, featuring an aluminum frame, frosted glass back, and Dynamic Island, which houses the front-facing TrueDepth camera and Face ID sensors. The Super Retina XDR OLED display is protected by a next-generation Ceramic Shield that is 50 percent tougher.
While the overall design remains largely unchanged, Apple introduced a new vertical rear camera, replacing the previous diagonal setup. Additionally, there are two new buttons: the Action Button and the Camera Control button.
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus come in five color options: ultramarine, teal, pink, white, and black. Although they include a USB-C port for charging, data transfer speeds remain at USB 2.0 levels, as seen in the previous models.
Apple also unveiled a new 3-nanometer A18 chip, which powers all iOS 18 Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools, the updated Siri, Genmoji, Image Playground, and more. This chip has a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU.
The 16-Core Neural Engine processes machine learning models up to twice as fast as the A16 chip, with the CPU performing 30 percent faster and the GPU 40 percent faster, while being 35 percent more efficient and supporting hardware-based ray tracing.
The internal architecture has been redesigned to enhance heat dissipation and chip performance. Thanks to the new thermal design and improvements in the A18 chip, it now supports up to 30 percent higher sustained performance during gaming.
This year, Apple introduced the Action Button from the iPhone 15 Pro to the entire iPhone 16 lineup, allowing users to customize functions like the flashlight, camera, Shazam, Translate, and more.
Additionally, there’s a new Camera Control button, which functions similarly to the Action Button but is specifically designed for the camera. It is touch and pressure sensitive, enabling users to launch the camera, take photos, record videos, and adjust various camera settings. Modeled after a DSLR shutter button, it operates in a similar manner, and third-party apps can also utilize the Camera Control button.
Later this year, the Camera Control button will support a new AI feature called visual intelligence, which provides information about objects and places. By pointing the camera at an object and pressing and holding the Camera Control button, users can learn more about it. For example, pointing it at a restaurant will display details like hours and menu options.
To complement the Camera Control button, Apple has introduced a 48-megapixel Fusion camera with a 2x optical-quality Telephoto zoom, achieved by cropping the full camera capture. Apple describes it as having two cameras in one. Additionally, there’s a new 12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera with autofocus and macro photography capabilities. The Ultra Wide camera captures up to 2.6 times more light, improving image quality in low-light conditions. The vertically arranged cameras also support capturing spatial photos and videos, which can be viewed on the Apple Vision Pro.
The iPhone 16 models offer next-generation Photographic Styles, allowing users to adjust color, highlights, and shadows in real time. These adjustments can be applied to specific colors rather than the entire image, with granular control over the intensity and tone of effects. Styles can be rendered during the live preview or added after the photo is taken.
Videos are recorded with Spatial Audio for a more immersive sound experience when using AirPods or Vision Pro. A new Audio Mix feature lets users adjust sound after recording to emphasize the voice of the person on camera, make it sound like the video was recorded in a professional studio, or position vocal tracks in front with environmental sounds in surround sound. A wind noise reduction tool also helps improve audio quality by cutting down unwanted noise.
The battery size has been increased, and combined with efficiency improvements, the iPhone 16 models offer up to two hours longer battery life compared to the iPhone 15. The iPhone 16 Plus supports up to 27 hours of video playback, while the iPhone 16 offers up to 22 hours.
Apple has introduced faster 25W MagSafe charging for the new iPhone 16 models, but it requires a new MagSafe Charger that supports this increased speed. With 25W MagSafe charging, the iPhone 16 can reach 50 percent charge in just 30 minutes. Additionally, 15W Qi2 charging is also supported.
As with the previous generations, the iPhone 16 models support 5G connectivity, including both sub-6GHz and mm Wave in the United States. In the U.S., these iPhones continue to ship without a physical SIM card, as carriers have transitioned to eSIM. The devices also feature faster and more efficient Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and support Bluetooth 5.3.
The iPhone 16 starts at $799, while the iPhone 16 Plus starts at $899. Both models are available in storage capacities of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Pre-orders will begin on Friday, September 13 at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time, with the official launch following on Friday, September 20.
At Exoticase, we are continuously adding new cases for iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max models.