It’s been 17 years since the release of the first iPhone and people still eagerly await new releases. One of those is coming up later this month – the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro release.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new model, which became available for pre-order Friday.
How much does it cost?
The new smartphones start at $799 for the regular model and $999 for the iPhone 16 Pro. There are also deals offered for trade-ins through Apple, and a T-Mobile deal that offers a free iPhone 16 for a trade-in of an iPhone 11 or later, according to CNET.
It has (some) buttons
While iPhones have always been mainly touch-screen based, some models have had a single “start” button as well as power and volume buttons along the sides of the devices. According to CNET, one of the major selling points of the new model is the fact that it has two new buttons.
Along with the iPhone’s new camera comes a tactile button that users can press and slide their fingers along and an action button that allows users to pull up one app during the day and another at night. Amy Skorheim of Engadget noted that that new button was likely included to “serve as the interface for October’s upcoming Visual Intelligence” program coming next month.
Even so, she was excited.
“AI isn’t something I need, but two new buttons? And one that seems potentially pretty cool? It’s enough to lure me to upgrade,” Skorheim said.
What else is new?
Both Skoheim and The Information’s Abram Brown addressed the increasing sameness of iPhone launches – Brown even called the new release “snoozy,” and said that Apple is “killing” the iPhone.
However, there are some new features that we should address. Of course, Apple has been stressing the fact that “iPhone 16 is built for Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly.”
In order to run this artificial intelligence program, the phone will have 8GB of RAM, according to Johnny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies. He revealed that in an interview with Geekerwan and picked up by 9to5Mac, per Forbes. This extra RAM will also help power high-end gaming.
An A18 Pro chip in the new iPhone 16 Pro phones will help power Apple Intelligence “with a faster [16-core] Neural Engine, an improved CPU and GPU, and a big jump in memory bandwidth,” and it will drive advanced features. The new phones are expected to have more hours of battery life.
Apple has also touted “groundbreaking privacy protections,” aimed at protecting user data.
New cameras will be included in the iPhone 16 too. Per the company, “iPhone 16 Pro adds a second 48MP camera to the Pro camera system,” that has ultra-wide capabilities and more. Sharper close ups are possible with the telephoto lens included in the camera system.
In addition to improved images, the new phones will offer better video recording quality. The iPhone 16 Pro has 4K 120 fps Dolby Vision for higher-quality video. Apple said this is the highest video quality offered in a smartphone.
“iPhone 16 Pro also provides a big leap in audio performance with four studio-quality mics for higher-quality recording. They provide a lower noise floor so you get more true-to-life sounds,” said Apple. “New Spatial Audio capture makes your videos sound more immersive when listening with AirPods. And thanks to wind noise reduction, the audio quality is even clearer.”
What does it look like?
Screen displays for the new phones range from 6.1 inches to 6.7 inches for the iPhone 16 Plus. They are aluminum and come in black, white, pink, teal and ultramarine.
Screen displays for the new iPhone 16 Pro models range from 6.3 inches to 6.9 inches for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. They are titanium and come in black titanium, white titanium, natural titanium and desert titanium.
All models have technology to regulate heat, ceramic shields and are splash resistant.