We’ve just tuned into the iPhone 16 launch, with Tim Cook revealing the next generation of Apple smartphones. While leaks, rumors, and industry whispers had ruined most of the surprises surrounding the four new devices, Cook treated us to some new details while also showcasing a couple of other fresh Apple products ready for Apple’s AI push.
The iPhone 16 series consists of the base model, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. Cook described the new iPhone 16 series as the first “built from the ground up” for AI. This makes sense considering how eager the brand is to promote its new AI features under the umbrella of Apple Intelligence. Still, we found out about Apple Intelligence months ago, with the brand keen to take on the best Samsung phones at their own AI game, so what’s new in terms of hardware?
Well, we finally got confirmation of the Action Button for iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, with Apple having introduced the concept with last year’s 15 Pro and Pro Max. There’s also Camera Control, a new button allowing for more control over smartphone photography, and a key part of the Visual Intelligence feature, which you can use to identify everything in the world around you, from animals to restaurants and everything in between.
The Camera Control button is coming alongside some impressive upgrades for the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro’s camera setup in the shape of a 48MP main camera and a 12MP 2x zoom camera. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max get even more of a camera boost thanks to an additional 48MP wide camera capable of recording video in 4K at 120FPS, going beyond anything we’ve seen from the best Android phones of 2024.
Moving onto the chip, which is a big deal considering it needs to power Apple Intelligence, there’s the A18 for the base model and Plus version, while the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max get the A18 Pro. The A18 boasts 40% faster GPU and 30% faster CPU performance than the A16 Bionic. Combine the A18 and A18 Pro chipsets with fresh ray-tracing tech and a refined cooling system, and it looks like we’ve got the best gaming iPhones ever on our hands. According to Apple, all iPhone 16 models can run the AAA games that arrived on iOS earlier this year, such as Resident Evil 7 and Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
The A18 and A18 Pro powers Apple’s AI features like ChatGPT-enhanced Siri, Genmoji, and other exciting features we first saw at WWDC 2024. The first set of features is coming next month, but we won’t get support for languages outside of English until 2025, and it’s not clear which of the features are coming and when.
So, the big question: how much does the iPhone 16 cost? Well, we’ve got all the pricing details below.
- iPhone 16: from $799
- iPhone 16 Plus: from $899
- iPhone 16 Pro: from $999
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: from £1,199
Pre-orders for all devices begin this Friday, September 12, with the official release date coming on September 20. That gives you a solid week to debate whether it’s worth picking one up on launch. There are also some trade-in deals to look out for, which could save you as much as $1000 on the premium flagship iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Today’s Apple event also featured the new Apple Watch Series 10 launch, boasting the tech giant’s thinnest and largest wearable display with its most lightweight design. Finally, we were introduced to AirPods 4, the latest Apple earphones with a design change for increased comfort, and new updates for AirPods Pro 2, including new Hearing Protection, Hearing Test, and Hearing Air features. Yes, you can use AirPods Pro to test and boost your hearing, a pretty revolutionary feature for anyone with hearing loss.
Those are all the highlights from the iPhone 16 launch. We’ll be following this up over the next few days with everything you might need to know before pre-ordering one of the exciting new handsets, and we’ll be getting our hands on the fresh devices just as soon as we can to give you our in-depth analysis.