As you might imagine, AI was a major part of tonight’s Apple event – and the new iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are designed with a new 3nm chipset for the computational demands of Apple Intelligence (what Cupertino calls its AI). Action and camera controls will also change the way you interact with your iPhone, these design elements are shared with the Pro.
Let’s start with the display. The panels are the same size as before, 6.1″ for the iPhone 16 and 6.7″ for the iPhone 16 Plus, which makes them 0.2″ smaller than the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, respectively. They still run at 60Hz (no ProMotion here) and can go from 2,000 nits in sunlight to 1 nit in the dark (this part hasn’t changed either). The latest Ceramic Shield protection is 50% stronger than the original formulation and (Apple says) twice as strong as the strengthened glass used by other phones.
iPhone 16 (6.1” display) and iPhone 16 Plus (6.7”)
The biggest upgrade this year is the Apple A18 chipset, which is two generations ahead of the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus (i.e. the A16). This is a second-generation 3nm chip that is both more powerful and more efficient.
There’s a more detailed explanation below, and you can read our Apple A18 post for more details. In short, the A18 CPU is 30% faster than the iPhone 15 CPU and 60% faster than the iPhone 12 CPU. The GPU is 40% faster than the iPhone 15 and twice as fast as the iPhone 12. Focusing on just the iPhone 16 and 15 comparison, the 2024 phone can deliver the same CPU performance while using 30% less power, and the same GPU performance while using 35% less power. Apple has also improved system memory bandwidth by 17%.
The new Apple A18 offers significant improvements in CPU and GPU performance
Apple has improved the thermals of the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus and says they achieve 30% better sustained performance. This includes reworking the motherboard and incorporating a thermal substrate made from 100% recycled aluminum.
Remember Resident Evil 7 Biohazard? It’s a triple-A game that only runs on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPads, and Macs, but not the vanilla iPhone 15. Well, the Apple A18 GPU is fast enough for Biohazard and you can add Assassin’s Creed: Mirage to that list as well. Honor of Kings: World will be available next year with an Ultra graphics mode optimized for the iPhone 16. The GPU also has hardware accelerated ray tracing for games like War Thunder Mobile. Controllers are also supported.
Games that were previously only available on the Pro can be played on the iPhone 16
The NPU is even more impressive – the 16-core design is twice as fast at machine learning tasks and is what enables Apple Intelligence to run on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, whereas it cannot on the 15 and 15 Plus.
We will explain iOS 18 and Apple intelligence in detail in a separate post. Here we want to mention the so-called visual intelligence – it becomes immediately available when you tap and hold on the camera control. Just point it at something and tap the control again. It can recognize buildings, objects and even pets and bring up relevant information. It’s smart too, if you point it at a poster of an upcoming event, the date and other details will be automatically added to your calendar.
And that’s just one of the things the camera can control. It’s a capacitive touchpad that’s protected by sapphire glass and feels like a real button with Apple’s excellent haptic feedback.
Camera control in action
You can tap it to launch the camera and tap again to take a photo. If you tap and hold instead, it will record a video. There’s more – a light press hides almost all UI elements so you can focus on framing. All that’s left is the zoom control, which you can dial by sliding your finger. Alternatively, you can use touch controls to switch to other settings and change depth of field, exposure, etc. Don’t worry, European Commission, this isn’t an Apple-only feature – apps like Snapchat are already creating new experiences with camera controls.
Let’s talk about the cameras. The 48MP main camera hasn’t changed much, with a sensor with an f/1.6 26mm lens and 1.0µm pixels, as well as sensor-shift OIS. What has changed is the imaging pipeline behind it. Apple has introduced an intermediate mode that captures 24MP photos – they offer more detail than 12MP shots and smaller file sizes than 48MP images.
48MP camera with 24MP and 2x mode • New ultra wide camera with macro
Moreover, it can record 4K videos with Dolby Vision at 60fps. New AI features also include wind noise reduction for videos. There is no dedicated telephoto lens yet, but instead the main camera and processing pipeline offer 2x zoom with optical quality at 12MP or you can opt for a higher-resolution 48MP option.
There’s a new ultra-wide camera – or should we say it’s new for the vanilla phone. It’s the same 12MP module with a 13mm lens as in last year’s Pro. It has autofocus, which enables a macro mode. Also, the brighter f/2.2 lens allows it to capture 2.6x more light than before for better nighttime images.
If you bought the expensive Apple Vision Pro, you can still capture spatial video (and now spatial photos too), even if you opted for an iPhone 16 or 16 Plus instead of the Pro. iOS 18 brings a new Photos app that can automatically organize your photos by grouping them based on who’s in the shot or where you’ve traveled. Of course, it’s completely customizable. Apple intelligence will also include Cleanup, which can remove people (including their reflections and shadows) that may be in your shot.
The new Photos app will clean up your photo gallery
Next, let’s talk about the action button. No, let’s start by saying goodbye to the alert slider. Bye. The action button is a shortcut – it can start a voice memo recording, identify a song, launch a voice translator, turn on the flashlight, you name it. The button is also available for in-app actions. For example, it can lock and unlock your car, if your vehicle supports it (Apple has demoed the FordPass app).
New camera controls and action buttons
With iOS 18, the satellite connectivity feature isn’t just for emergencies – you’ll be able to chat with friends and family and send Tapbacks, too. The feature will launch first in the US and Canada (as was the case with the original Satellite SOS feature).
The frames of the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are made from aerospace-grade aluminum (85% recycled content in the casing). For a more vibrant color, the back glass is tinted. You can choose from ultramarine, teal and pink, as well as brilliant white and black.
iPhone 16 and 16 Plus colorways
Both new models will be available starting September 20th, with pre-orders starting on the 13th (this Friday). Both phones have 128GB of base storage and you’re looking at similar prices to last year — the iPhone 16 starts at $800 and the iPhone 16 Plus at $900.
Price of Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
58 countries and regions including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Turkey, UAE, UK, and the US are among the first to get the new iPhone 16 and 16 Plus on September 20.
Phase 2 countries include Macau, Vietnam, and 19 other countries and regions and will start receiving the new iPhones on Friday, September 27.
