Apple announced its newest lineup of smartphones during the 2024 iPhone 16 launch event earlier this week. Four new models took center stage: The iPhone 16, the larger iPhone 16 Plus, the high-end iPhone 16 Pro and its big sibling the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Last year, the most notable design change came with the adoption of a USB-C charging port. This year, all four phones are getting a new, multi-function capacitive button on the side. The other big news comes on the inside with the A18 and A18 Pro chips designed to handle all the coming Apple Intelligence features, including the just-announced Visual Intelligence.
Our team on the ground in Cupertino had a chance to put their hands on the handsets, but we’ll tell you exactly what we think about Apple’s latest phones and features once we’ve had a chance to thoroughly review them. But if you already know you want a shiny new iPhone 16 as soon as possible, pre-orders are open now ahead of the ship date of September 20. Here’s how you can buy them.
Apple
After last year’s substantial update, we didn’t expect huge changes to the design of Apple’s standard smartphone, but were pleasantly surprised.
The iPhone 16 has a more powerful A18 chip inside — which Apple says is so capable, it can rival desktop computers. It will help power Apple Intelligence features like the on-board Private Cloud Compute, generatively created emojis, image playground and updated photo search. Apple Intelligence features will start rolling out next month. Apple was also sure to point out how good the new chip will be for gaming on the iPhone.
Base-model iPhones often get handed-down features previously only available on Pro models (such as last year’s adoption of the Dynamic Island). Apple is now giving the iPhone 16 the Action button introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro. It replaces the mute switch and can handle different functions — such as taking a pic or starting a voice memo — depending on what you designate in the settings.
There’s also a new capacitative, force-sensitive button on the side called the Camera Control. But it does much more than just launch, snap and adjust camera settings, it also looks to be a major part of Apple’s new Visual Intelligence features, which will roll out later this year.
The screen measures 6.1 inches for the standard size and 6.7 inches for the iPhone 16 Plus. The Super Retina XDR displays are the same as on last year’s models but now are covered with a new glass-ceramic screen that Apple says is 50 percent tougher than before.
The cameras are oriented a tad differently this time, with a vertical (instead of diagonal) stack that can support spatial video recording for integration with Vision Pro headsets. There’s a 48MP main lens and 12MP telephoto lens. The battery is bigger too.
The new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available in a new ultramarine, teal and pink, along with black and white colorways. It will start at $799 for the standard model and $899 for the Plus. You can pre-order your new handset directly from Apple starting Friday, September 13, at 5am PT (8am ET), and the phones will start shipping on September 20.
Apple
The iPhone 16 Pro looks to be geared to creators, with more cinematic video and audio features. It also looks a bit different from its predecessor, thanks to a larger screen. The displays now measure 6.3 inches for the Pro and 6.9 inches for the Pro Max — that’s 0.2 inches larger than last year for each model and the largest iPhone display ever.
The new Pro models will have a new A18 Pro chip with a 16-core Neural Engine, allowing faster Apple Intelligence processing. In fact, Apple called it the fastest chip in any smartphone.
You’ll also notice the same brand new button on the side as on the standard iPhone 16: Camera Control. It allows for a light press to focus and a full press to snap a photo like on a standalone camera. The capacitative button will also let you swipe to change modes, and will handle functions on Apple’s upcoming Visual Intelligence.
Taking advantage of that new button are some upgraded lenses. The iPhone 16 Pro has a new 48-megapixel selfie cam in front and three cameras in back: a 48MP fusion camera, a 48 MP ultra wide and a 12 MP telephoto with up to 5x optical zoom. They can film video in 4K in 120fps — and in slow motion — and offer four studio-quality mics that enable spatial audio capture and more “cinematic” audio overall. The new Voice Memo feature that lets you record an additional track over an existing memo.
All iPhone 16 models also support Qi2 charging.
The new Pro models will come in four colors: a new desert titanium along with three other titanium colors from last year. They will start at $999 for the iPhone 16 Pro and $1,199 for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Pre-orders open Friday, September 13, at 5am PT (8am ET), and phones will hit the stores on September 20.
Apple also announced the AirPods 4 and the Apple Watch Series 10, both of which are available for pre-order now. Like the new iPhones, they’ll ship on September 20.
Catch up on all the news from Apple’s iPhone 16 event!
