Apple iPhone 16 Preview: A Step Forward, But Not a Giant Leap
iPhone 16 Intro
Apple's latest base flagship, the iPhone 16, has officially arrived, promising a fresh take on the smartphone experience. While the device promises exciting AI-powered features that Apple claims will enhance everyday tasks, many of these innovations are slated for future updates. So, what's the immediate appeal for the price tag of $800?
One notable addition is the new Camera Control button, a dedicated touch and pressure-sensitive key for controlling the camera system. This new button aims to streamline photography and videography experiences by offering quicker and more precise control of the camera system.
Beyond the button, the iPhone 16 offers a more powerful and energy-efficient processor, improved battery life, and a more capable ultra wide camera. While there are additional refinements, these are the core enhancements users can expect from Apple's latest standard iPhone.
Beyond the button, the iPhone 16 offers a more powerful and energy-efficient processor, improved battery life, and a more capable ultra wide camera. While there are additional refinements, these are the core enhancements users can expect from Apple's latest standard iPhone.
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iPhone 16 Specs
New chip, larger battery
Let's start with an overview of the iPhone 16 specs:
| iPhone 16 | |
|---|---|
| Size, weight | 147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8 mm, 170g |
| Screen | 6.1" OLED 60Hz |
| Processor | A18 3nm |
| RAM, Storage | 8/128GB 8/256GB 8/512GB LPDDR5 |
| Cameras | 48MP main 12MP ultra 12MP front |
| Battery | 3,561 mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 27W wired 25W MagSafe |
iPhone 16 Design and Display
Evolution requires change
A frontal image of the iPhone 16 showing the new Siri animation.
While Apple has maintained a consistent design language for its flagship iPhones in recent years, the iPhone 16 introduces a subtle refinement to the camera module. This change aligns with Apple's vision for Spatial Video, a feature showcased in the Vision Pro headset.
To capture Spatial Video, the iPhone 16's wide and ultra-wide cameras are positioned vertically, similar to the iPhone X. This new arrangement eliminates the need for a bulky camera island, resulting in a more compact design. However, it may compromise stability when the phone is placed flat.
A more significant addition is the highly anticipated Camera Control button. Located on the side of the device, this pressure-sensitive button offers intuitive control over the camera system, both within the Camera app and third-party applications.
Speaking of buttons, the iPhone 16 now also gets the Action button that debuted with last year's Pro models. It serves the exact same purpose, allowing users to set up quick access to features and apps, with the default one being toggling silent mode on and off.
The rest of the display specs are unchanged. We have an OLED panel with 2556 x 1179 pixels resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio with the familiar Dynamic Island camera cutout in the front. Rather surprisingly, the display's maximum brightness levels also remain the same, with a peak brightness of 2000 nits.
But when it comes to durability of the display, the iPhone 16 comes with a 2nd-gen Ceramic Shield, which is 50% tougher than the first generation. Ceramic shield was already among the best display glass out there, but competition caught up recently, so it would be interesting to see how much better Apple's solution now is.
Biometrics, or the way you secure your phone, are still carried out via Apple's FaceID tech, which is the best in its class so far.
The iPhone 16 colors are always a big talking point prior and post announcement. Here are the ones you can pick from this year:
iPhone 16 color options this year are more vibrant.
- Black
- White
- Pink
- Teal
- Ultramarine
iPhone 16 Camera
A new feature and a slightly better ultra-wide
The iPhone 16 comes with a new layout for its main and ultrawide cameras.
iPhone 16 camera specs:
- Main — 48MP, f/1.6 aperture, 26mm, AF
- Ultra-wide — 12MP, f/2.2, 12mm, AF, Macro photography
- Selfie — 12MP, f/1.9, AF
We should probably start with the new Camera Control button, which is the biggest selling point besides the upcoming AI features. It provides users with a quick access to the iPhone's cameras, and has different functionality depending on how strong you press it. It's also touch sensitive, allowing for gestures via swiping your finger.
You can press once to launch, and then press again to snap a photo. A press and hold will start recording video, all with haptic feedback that gives cues. A lighter press reveals clean preview where all of the settings disappear. A light press can also reveal a new overlay for quick access to zoom levels, while pressing lightly twice reveals for other controls such as aperture, styles, and more. Oh, and the button also works with 3rd party apps, like Snapchat.
We are a bit sceptical about this new Camera Control button though... Some of these functions via swiping and pressing with different intensities might not be as precise, leading up to many accidental instances of misuse.
Besides the Camera Control button we mentioned earlier, there are a few more camera-related changes coming to the iPhone 16 that the spec sheet does not reveal.
Most notable out of all iPhone 16 camera upgrades is Macro photography (and auto focus), which has finally trickled down from the Pro Models. This was a feature Apple introduced with the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, and it is one that many users love to play around with, so it is kind of a big deal if it finally comes to the standard model.
The ultra-wide camera now has an aperture of f/2.2 vs the f/2.4 on the iPhone 15. The pixel size has also increased from 1.0µm to 2.0µm. Both these upgrades help the camera capture more light and therefore better images.
iPhone 16 Performance & Benchmarks
A18 brings more power at a lower energy cost
The standard iPhone 16 rocks the new Apple A18 Bionic chip, which is built on TSMC's new 3nm process called N3E. Apple says this new chipset has a 30% faster CPU and a 40% faster GPU compared to the A16 inside the iPhone 15. Both the CPU and GPU are said to be more power efficient too, which will help preserve battery life.
Apple has also added a new thermal substructure made from aluminum that gives 30% higher sustained performance, so we expect to see less, or hopefully no thermal throttling this year when we pace the iPhone 16 through our performance benchmarks.
The new silicon also allows for better hardware accelerated ray tracing, which Apple claims delivers 5x higher frame rates while playing games that support such graphics. Oh, and while we are on the topic of gaming, the iPhone 16 also supports AAA games, just like the Pro models did last year.
Additionally, the A18 Bionic also comes with a new 16-core neural engine that's 2x faster at performing machine learning tasks, laying the ground for the upcoming Apple Intelligence features.
The truth, however, is that the best way to test performance is always through real-world usage, so we will let you know how the iPhone 16 handles during our time with it once it comes out. Don't worry though, if you are interested in some raw numbers we will also give you results from our dedicated performance tests.
The base storage is once again start at 128GB, with 256GB and 512GB being the other two options. Apple did not state the exact RAM, but we have reason to believe it is 8GB this year, which is said to be the minimum requirement for all new iPhone 16 AI features.
iPhone 16 Software
Stay tuned
The iPhone 16 Plus runs on iOS 18, the beta version of which we already took a look at in our dedicated iOS 18 preview article, so check that out if you are interested in details. The gist of it is that iOS 18 gives users more customization options, with the ability place apps wherever you want, alter app icon colors, and more.
Of course, the big deal here is Apple Intelligence. It includes features such as:
- A much improved Siri that can carry out natural conversations and is generally much more capable in answering your queries and listening to your commands (no more "Here's what I found on the web"
- Contextually aware AI that gives you personalized information via access to your photos, messages, emails, etc.
- A Clean Up tool in the Photos app that allows you to remove unwanted objects
- An image generating app
- Tools to help you correct, write, and alter text in emails and messages
- Genmojis (generative emojis that have the same design as other iOS emojis)
- Enhanced Safari browser that can summarize web pages and remove unwanted elements
- Visual Intelligence via the iPhone's camera: Works like Google Lens, allowing users to search for information about businesses, events, pet breeds, and products (never stores images). It also provides tips and help from ChatGPT if Apple Intelligence can't do it itself.
But there is a humongous caveat that will probably tone down any excitement that comes with Apple Intelligence. Prior to today's event, Apple said that it will release these new AI-powered features via updates all the way up to the first half of next year. In fact, users won't get any of the new AI features until the iOS 18.1 patch, which will come some weeks after launch.
iPhone 16 Battery
A larger and redesigned battery
As usual, Apple did not give us the exact capacity of the iPhone 16 battery. That said, the company did say that it is a bigger one compared to the iPhone 15, and word on the street prior to the event was that we will have a 6% increase.
We can't wait to see what results we will get of the iPhone 16 battery life during our PhoneArena battery life tests, so stay tuned for some nerdy details and practical information on that front.
The topic of charging is a bit weird this year. Apple stated that the iPhone 16 has faster wireless charging, going from 15W to 25W via MagSafe wireless chargers. However, there is no word about faster wired charging speeds, even though that was a highly anticipated upgrade this year. We will let you know after our charging tests.
iPhone 16 Audio Quality and Haptics
Apple did mention some audio-related upgrades for the new Pro models this year, but none of those seem to be present on the iPhone 16. For now, we expect the new standard iPhone to have the same audio quality as its predecessor, and the same goes for the haptics.
Should you buy it?
A visual summary of the iPhone 16 features form Apple's event.
If you are upgrading from an older iPhone model than an iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro might be a much better option, as this year's standard iPhones doesn't sound like too big of an upgrade. The iPhone 15 Pro in particular will also get Apple Intelligence, which is one of the main selling points for the new iPhones.
Some of the reasons to buy an iPhone 16 would be its better battery life and the faster wireless charging. Now, yes, the A18 chip appears to be much more capable, but unless you want to play AAA games it is unnecessary horse power that you probably won't use.
There's also the new Camera Control button, but that hardly sounds like a must-have feature for your average user. The improved ultra wide camera is also not a bad upgrade, but unless you have reaaally wanted a macro mode without buying a Pro iPhone it's not that big of a deal.
But good chunk of what Apple is promising with the iPhone 16 is already available on the Android side of the market, like with the Pixel 9 or the Galaxy S24, so if you are not hellbent on sticking to iPhone, you might want to look at those options too.
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