Apple did something amazing with the iPhone 16 . Out of the four models in the newest iPhone lineup , the base iPhone 16 is the cheapest and least technically open . Therefore , it should be the least interesting . But that ’s not at all what has hap .
Instead , the iPhone 16 is a refreshing , satisfying , and surprisingly capable smartphone that I ’ve had a clap with . It has its shortcoming , yes , but there ’s so much ripe here that they ’re ( mostly ) easy to overlook . If you ’re think about buying a unexampled iPhone this year , here ’s why you should really consider the iPhone 16 over anything else .
iPhone 16 specs
12MP ultrawide , f/2.2 , 120 - level FOV
The iPhone 16’s design is so, so good
From the momentI first picked up the iPhone 16at the Steve Jobs Theater , I was immediately lease by its new excogitation . No , it ’s not a dramatic redesign , and it still looks like an iPhone , but there ’s enough unexampled here that it feels fresh and exciting in a way theiPhone 16 Prodoes not .
It starts with this yr ’s colors . My iPhone 16 review unit is in White , and while it ’s nothing jaw - dropping , it ’s a bleak white that was annoyingly missing from the iPhone 15 lineup last year . It ’s a Graeco-Roman Apple colour , as is the obscure Black shade .
Also unlike the iPhone 15 , which center on muffled pastel coloration , the other iPhone 16 colors aresupersaturated . This year ’s Pink hue is as Barbie pink as it gets , Teal is one of the loveliest teal colouring I ’ve ever see on a phone , and the new Ultramarine semblance is a stunning mixing of blue and purpleness that I ’m 100 % obsessed with — so much so thatI preordered an iPhone 16 in that colorpartly because of how just it looks .
And it ’s not just the young colors that I love . I also really like the new tv camera innovation , which is much smaller than previous generations and very reminiscent of the iPhone X. The substantial cutout we ’ve had since the iPhone 11 has long overstayed its welcome , and going back to a modest pill shape is a nice touch .
I also have to call out the Action button , which is now useable onalliPhone 16 models after only being uncommitted on theiPhone 15 ProandiPhone 15 Pro Maxlast twelvemonth . It works on the dot the same as it did on those phones , and sustain it on a non - Pro iPhone is wonderful . I have mine configure to reverse on the torch , but you’re able to also use it to open your Focus modes , habituate Shazam to identify a song , set out a voice recording , and more .
The iPhone 15 Pro Max was my go - to iPhone for the last 12 months , but switching to the iPhone 16 has been such a delicacy thanks to its light and small size . At just 170 grams , it ’s about the same weight as theSamsung Galaxy S24and over 20 grams light than theGoogle Pixel 9 . And the 6.1 - column inch display is so incredibly easy to apply one - handed .
The iPhone 16 does n’t reinvent the bicycle for iPhone design , but if you inquire me , it ’s the best non - Pro iPhone hardware ever . It ’s fashionable , well - build , and has the same hardware feature of speech as its Pro sib ( the Action release and the Camera Control , which we ’ll get to subsequently ) . Apple really killed it this year .
A great display — with a catch
There ’s a lot to like about the iPhone 16 ’s presentation . As cite above , the 6.1 - inch size is highly sluttish to carry off , but still spacious enough for apps , game , video , etc . The 2556 x 1179 OLED panel looks splendid , and the range of up to 2,000 nits of peak cleverness and down to 1 nit minimum brightness make the display well seeable in about any context . The Dynamic Island is also here , and I still love it .
Unfortunately , this otherwise fantabulous display is cramp by a 60Hz refresh charge per unit . That intend scroll , swiping , and other animations on the iPhone 16 look visibly boring and choppier compared to the 120Hz refresh rate on the iPhone 16 Pro .
This otherwise excellent display is hampered by a 60Hz refresh charge per unit .
For a few years now , 120Hz video display have been the average for flagshipAndroid phonesand even many mid- to modest - end earphone . The fact that the iPhone 16 — a $ 799 smartphone in 2024 — still ship with a 60Hz screen is ludicrous . It does n’t smash the telephone set , and I ’ve gradually buzz off used to it , but there ’s no reason for Apple not to give the iPhone 17 a 120Hz video display next year or , at the very least , a 90Hz one .
Similarly , it ’s worth noting that the iPhone 16 also does n’t support an always - on display . Like the 60Hz refresh rate , it ’s not a peck - breaker , but it really should be on a phone this expensive .
Camera Control is so much fun
OK , permit ’s tattle about Camera Control . This is the new push button on the right side of the iPhone 16 below the index / Siri button . It ’s eldritch and requires a encyclopaedism curve , but I adore it .
No matter what you ’re doing on your iPhone , press the Camera Control opens the photographic camera app . Once the television camera is clear , a single press of the Camera Control takes a photo . instead , pressing and hold it tape a video , and your recording stops when you stop hold up the Camera Control . So far , simple enough .
Here ’s where things get funky . While the Camera Control is a strong-arm button , it also has a capacitive sensor on top of it . When you lightly press double on the Camera Control while the camera is open — but do n’t full press the push — you get a new UI for pick out variouscamera controls .
There are six options in this menu : picture , astuteness , zoom , cameras , style , and note . You slip your finger across the Camera Control to cycle between them , lightly press the clit to select one , and then slue your finger again to correct whatever control you choose .
It is a unknown experience at first , and it take on me a few days to get truly well-to-do with it . But once you get the hang of how Camera Control work , it ’s such a fun elbow room to interact with the camera app . I wish Apple had placed the button just alittlebit lower on the frame , but otherwise , I ’m glad with it .
Even if you solely habituate Camera Control to spread out the television camera app , you could still free up the Action button to do something else . As someone who had it put to launch the camera on my iPhone 15 Pro Max , being capable to switch it to something else has been such a goody . Six paragraph on a new button may seem excessive , but this really is such a rattling addition to the iPhone . I guess you ’re going to like it a great deal .
A fun and capable camera system
OK — it ’s camera fourth dimension . Specs - fresh , the iPhone 16 has a 48 - megapixel primary camera that can crop in for an opthalmic - tone 2x zoom . There ’s also a 12MP ultrawide television camera , plus a 12MP selfie camera . It ’s very similar to theiPhone 15camera setup , though there are a couple of of import changes .
For one , the ultrawide television camera now has autofocus — the main welfare being that you could now take macro photos . you’re able to also capture spacial photos that you’re able to view on an Apple Vision Pro . There ’s a new anti - broody lens coating over the primary camera , and the primary camera can now capture photos with zero shutter retardation ( something that ’s been on Pro iPhones before , but never on the base model ) .
Overall , I ’ve been unbelievably glad with the iPhone 16 ’s cameras . The primary tv camera is excellent , enchant detailed photos with really pleasing colors . It focalize quickly , handle moving subjects very well ( see the picture of my friend ’s dog licking its nose ) , and does a large job in lowlight environments . The ultrawide tv camera is good ( if not amazing ) , taking macro photos is a delicacy , and the selfie camera is as reliable as ever on the iPhone .
All of that ’s good enough on its own , but the improvement to Photographic Styles are where things get exciting . First introduced with the iPhone 13,Photographic Styles have long been an interesting , if on the face of it forget - about , iPhone lineament . Unlike hold a filter in Instagram , Photographic Styles are applied in genuine meter when you take a picture .
So , what ’s newfangled with Photographic Styles on the iPhone 16 ? Not only are there many more styles to select from ( 15 versus the previous four ) , but you could also now customize the spirit and people of colour of each one using a super sly slider dominance . Each style really does change the entire look and feel of your effigy ; you may see a couple of representative above and below this paragraph .
What I ’m most excited about is that you could now redact Photographic Styles after you ’ve taken a photo . I ’ve always encounter it a bit clumsy to mess with them while I ’m taking a word picture , so the ability to utilise one after the fact is immense . It signify I ’ve been using Photographic Styles more on the iPhone 16 than I ever did with the iPhone 15 , iPhone 14 , and iPhone 13 combined , and I ’ve hadsomuch fun with them .
Good battery life, slow charging
I ’ve been glad with the iPhone 16 ’s battery life . It ’s not the good survival I ’ve seen on a phone this year , but even with heavy use , the iPhone 16 still gets me through an entire day without requiring a midday recharge — something I have n’t been able to say of my iPhone 15 Pro Max for much of the retiring year .
I ’ve been averaging around six hours of screen time each day while often using Threads , Instagram , Snapchat , and Telegram , plus spending alotof sentence in the NFL Fantasy app . If I bug out my daylight at 7 a.m. , I can reach 10 or 11 p.m. with 10 % to 15 % battery remain . Again , it ’s nothing mind - float , but it ’s been reliable . What I ’m really queer to see is if this reliability holds up over the come weeks and months , which wasnotthe case for the iPhone 15 series .
The iPhone 16 gets me through an full twenty-four hours without requiring a midday recharge .
What about charging ? Usingmy trusty Anker 747 , burden from 5 % to over 60 % take 30 minutes . However , getting to 100 % takes over an minute and a half . Charging from a humbled or dead battery to around 70 % is somewhat quick , but that last 30 % direct a while .
Also , if you favour MagSafe charging , you ’ll be glad to know that charge speeds have increased from 15 W to 25W.
Performance, iOS 18, and updates
The iPhone 16 has Apple ’s new A18 chip , which is a pleasant surprise coming from the A16 poker chip on the iPhone 15 . Apple say the iPhone 16 ’s CPU is up to 30 % faster equate to the iPhone 15 ’s , while the GPU is up to 40 % quicker .
That ’s an impressive twelvemonth - over - year parachuting , and while you may not notice it much in day - to - daytime use ( the iPhone 15 was alreadyveryfast ) , the more up to chip is authoritative for a few reasons . First , it makes the iPhone 16 sinewy enough to hightail it Apple Intelligence , whereas the iPhone 15 can not . It ’s also what enables the changes to Photographic Styles mentioned above , and it ’s more power effective — tolerate for the better battery lifetime I just let the cat out of the bag about .
What you ’ll probably notice more than the newfangled bit is theiOS 18software that ’s present on the iPhone 16 out of the box . This late iOS translation has some big changes , and for the most part , they ’re self-colored .
One of the most obtrusive rising slope is theimproved dwelling blind customization . Press and hold on a blank part of your home cover , tap theEditbutton in the upper - leave quoin , and tapCustomizeto find a quite a little of unexampled customization ascendancy . you’re able to make your app icon larger / smaller and change their color — including to the default Light appearance , a novel Dark mode , machinelike , and Tinted . Tinted allows you to make all of your app icons and widgets a single customized people of colour , and while I personally do n’t love how it looks , I can see some folks having a lot of fun with it . Similarly , you canfinallyplace your app picture and widgets anywhere on the home screen .
The other heavy optical change is the Control Center , which has a entirely new look . I ’ve come around to liking it quite a bit , and you could also now custom-make all of the toggle here to your heart ’s content . mouth of customize , you may now replace the torch and camera lock chamber screen shortcuts with whatever you ’d like .
What else should you know about?The Messages app now supports RCS , allowing you to text Android phones and still get typecast indicators , study receipts , and high-pitched - lineament image sharing — just like you do with iMessage conversations . The Photos app has receive a big redesign , which has taken metre to aline to , though I appreciate how much more customizable it is now .
That ’s ultimately the central theme of iOS 18 — the comer of features that were either long delinquent , or make the platform significantly more customizable than before , or ( in many casing ) both . Yes , a quite a little of this should have been in iOS ages ago , but I ’m well-chosen it ’s all here now .
As for software updates , expect the iPhone 16 to receive updates for the next several long time . Malus pumila promise at least five years of update , though do n’t be surprised if the iPhone 16 is supported for six or seven year .
A quick note on Apple Intelligence
If Apple Intelligence is such a swelled part of the iPhone 16 , why have n’t I talked about it yet ? Because it ’s not full available . Apple Intelligence is technically useable as part of the iOS 18.1 public beta , but it wo n’t formally flap out to the iPhone 16 until sometime in October .
The iOS 18.1 public beta was released the twenty-four hour period before this recapitulation was published . As such , I ’ll need some additional clock time to test the features and I will update my reexamination once I do . It ’s nice that kinfolk open to quiz public genus Beta can use the features now , but it ’s still deserving reprise that the final release of iOS 18.1 / Apple Intelligence wo n’t be quick until October . And even then , some Apple Intelligence features are n’t come until afterwards this year or sometime next year .
While I could care less about almost all of the Apple Intelligence feature , it feels odd for Apple to make such a big stack about things that wo n’t be available until October at the earliest — and some later than that . It even hinge on deceptive , give just how prominent Apple Intelligence is in the iPhone 16 ’s selling .
The iPhone 16 is still a fantastical phone even without Apple Intelligence . Just check that that if you buy the iPhone 16 , you ’re buy it for the phone it is today , not what Apple says itmight bein the time to come .
iPhone 16 price and availability
you may buy the iPhone 16 straightaway from Apple and most major retail merchant and carrier . It starts at $ 799 for 128 GB of reposition , with 256 GB and 512 GB options also useable for $ 899 and $ 1099 , severally .
While 128 GB should be enough if you rely a heap on cloud storage and do n’t download too many movies or game , I ’d urge the 256 GB option if you could afford it . Here ’s to hoping Apple increases the default storage amount to 256 GB next year , as 128 GB is get to feelprettytight in 2024 .
Should you buy the iPhone 16?
So , let ’s suffice the question above . Should you buy the iPhone 16 ? Yeah , you should . I ’ve had a fantastic sentence using it over this inspection catamenia , and out of all the new iPhones available this year , it ’s the one I ordered as my next personal smartphone .
The root model iPhone has often feel like a notable downgrade from its Pro counterparts , but that ’s not the case this year . Whether it ’s the pattern , performance , tv camera , software , or extra hardware features like the Action release and Camera Control , you do n’t make any stark compromises when choosing the iPhone 16 this year or else of the iPhone 16 Pro .
Should you buy the iPhone 16 ? Yeah , you should .
So long as they can get used to the 60Hz screen and the lack of an always - on display ( they will ) , I think most multitude will be firmly - pressed to justify corrupt one of the more expensive iPhones over the iPhone 16 . If you ’re in the market for a fresh iPhone this year , this is the one to get .
