The biggest Apple event of the year finally happened, and as expected, the major innovation highlights are the iPhone 16 Pro and its Max version. Once again, we are treated to the same fundamental design and familiar colors.
Last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max were among the best phones released last year. How do this year’s models stack up? Are they worth upgrading to? Let’s break it all down.
The iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999 for the base variant with 128GB storage. Trims with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage are also available. In the U.S., the iPhone 16 Pro Max will set you back $1,199. The storage tier for this one starts at 256GB and climbs up to 1TB.
Preorders of the iPhone 16 Pro duo go live on September 13, while sales kick off on September 20. The new Qi2 MagSafe charger with 25W output costs $39 in the U.S.
It’s one thing to explain a new phone’s features, specs, etc., but it’s another to actually use one. The iPhone 16 Pro looks impressive on paper, but how does it hold up to real-world testing?
While we need a lot more time before our full review is ready, we did have an opportunity to go hands-on with the iPhone 16 Pro. We tested the phone’s new Camera Control button, saw its improved display, and got to look at the controversial Desert Titanium color.
The iPhone 16 Pro now relies on a Grade 5 Titanium with a sandblasted texture. Apple claims the next-gen screen protection on the iPhone 16 Pro and its Max trim is stronger than the first-gen Ceramic Shield display protection.
The most notable hardware change, however, is the new physical shutter button, which lets users customize various camera features for quick access. It’s called the Camera Control button, and it supports tap and slide gestures, thanks to a capacitive surface and a taptic engine underneath for vibration feedback.
In addition to capturing pictures, it also pulls up a quick control slider in the camera viewfinder to adjust metrics such as exposure, zoom, and depth of field. In the coming months, Apple will update the camera app to add a two-stage shutter click functionality for locking focus and exposure.
Notably, Apple has bumped up the screen size, putting a 6.3-inch panel on the iPhone 16 Pro and a 6.9-inch display on the Max variant. The resolution has also been slightly increased, but the pixel density remains identical at 460ppi across both models and their respective predecessors.
Once again, Apple is serving the Super Retina XDR OLED display with a peak 120Hz refresh rate and 2,000 nits of peak brightness. Interestingly, the iPhone 16 Pro’s screen can reach a brightness output as low as one nit. The overall build still serves an IP68-level protection, which means the new Apple flagships can handle immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of up to 6 meters.
Apple says the new iPhones have been designed from the ground up to get the best out of Apple Intelligence, the suite of generative AI features that includes everything from Writing Tools to a more conversational Siri with deeper app integration.
Powering the iPhone 16 Pro duo is the new A18 Pro processor, built atop an updated 3-nanometer processor. The company says it borrowed tech from Apple silicon powering its Mac lineup to boost the graphics output, bringing a sizeable improvement in raw performance as well as power efficiency.
