Apple announced its new lineup of smartphones earlier this week during the 2024 iPhone 16 launch event. Four new models were the main attractions: the iPhone 16, the larger iPhone 16 Plus, the high-end iPhone 16 Pro and its bigger brother 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 from the inside, with the addition of the A18 and A18 Pro chips, which are designed to handle all of the upcoming Apple intelligence features, including the recently announced Visual Intelligence.
Our team in Cupertino got a chance to get their hands on the handsets, but we’ll let you know our opinion of Apple’s latest phones and features once we’ve had a chance to review them in-depth. But if you already know you want a new iPhone 16 as soon as possible, pre-orders are open ahead of the September 20 shipping date. Here’s how you can buy them.
Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
After last year’s big update, we didn’t expect a huge change to the design of Apple’s standard smartphones, but we were pleasantly surprised.
The iPhone 16 has a more powerful A18 chip — which Apple says is so capable it can rival desktop computers. It will help power Apple Intelligence features like on-board private cloud compute, generatively created emoji, Image Playground, and updated photo search. The Apple Intelligence features will start rolling out next month. Apple will also be sure to explain how good the new chip will be for gaming on the iPhone.
Base-model iPhones often get features that were previously only available on Pro models (like the adoption of Dynamic Islands last year). Apple is now giving the iPhone 16 the action button it introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro. It replaces the mute switch and can handle different functions — like taking a picture or starting a voice memo — depending on what you specify in the settings.
There’s also a new capacitive, force-sensitive button on the side called Camera Control. But it does more than just launch, snap and adjust camera settings, it also looks to be a key part of Apple’s new Visual Intelligence feature, which will be rolled out later this year.
The screens measure 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 last year’s models, but are now covered by a new glass-ceramic screen that Apple says is 50 percent stronger than before.
The cameras are oriented a little differently this time around, with a vertical (instead of diagonal) stack that could support spatial video recording for integration with the Vision Pro headset. There’s a 48MP main lens and a 12MP telephoto lens. The battery is bigger, too.
The new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available in new ultramarine, teal, and pink colors, as well as black and white. Pricing starts 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 5 a.m. PT (8 a.m. ET), and the phones will begin shipping on September 20.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
The iPhone 16 Pro seems to be geared toward creators, with more cinematic video and audio features. It also looks a little different than its predecessor, thanks to a larger screen. The display is now 6.3 inches for the Pro and 6.9 inches for the Pro Max — that’s 0.2 inches larger than every model from last year and the largest iPhone display ever.
The new Pro models will feature a new A18 Pro chip with a 16-core Neural Engine, which allows for faster Apple intelligence processing. In fact, Apple has called it the fastest chip in any smartphone.
You’ll also see the same brand new button on the side that’s on the standard iPhone 16: camera control. It allows for a light press to focus and a full press to take a photo like a standalone camera. The capacitive button will also let you swipe to change modes, and 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 camera on the front and three cameras on the back: a 48MP Fusion Camera, a 48 MP Ultra Wide, and a 12 MP Telephoto with 5x optical zoom. They can film video in 4K at 120fps — and in slow motion — and offer four studio-quality mics that enable spatial audio capture and more “cinematic” audio overall. A 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 and 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 begin on Friday, September 13 at 5 a.m. PT (8 a.m. ET), and the phones will hit stores on September 20.