At the "Glowtime" event, Apple officially launched the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max duo with larger screens, significantly faster performance, and a Camera Control button.
As usual, Apple has launched a pair of new iPhone Pro models for consumers - the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. This year, they have had dramatic changes in design as well as internal configuration.
Design and display
The two iPhone 16 Pro models are essentially the same, except for size. This year's iPhone 16 Pro is slightly larger with a 6.3-inch display, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max has increased the screen size from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches.
2 screens of the iPhone 16 Pro duo.
These larger screens also come with thinner bezels. The new chassis also uses a graphite-coated structure, which helps keep the iPhones from getting hotter.
The displays on both Super Retina XDR devices are OLED, supporting HDR, True Tone, ProMotion, and P3 color. With a contrast ratio of 2 million:1, the displays can reach up to 2,000 nits of brightness when used outdoors.
The new 6.3-inch display has a resolution of 2,622 x 1,206 pixels while the 6.9-inch display has a resolution of 2,868 x 1,320 pixels. So they both have a pixel density of 460ppi.
At the top is the “pill” camera, which houses the Dynamic Island UI components. This area also houses a 12MP TrueDepth Camera, used for Face ID.
The new shutter button is located below the power button.
Continuing the trend from last year's iPhone 15 Pro series, the Action Button is still retained on the iPhone 16 Pro duo.
The new Camera Control button is a capacitive button that provides a new way to turn on and control the camera. In addition to pressing to take a photo, users can slide their finger to adjust the zoom level. The new button also provides access to some intuitive Apple Intelligence features.
Extremely powerful A18 Pro chip
Inside the iPhone 16 Pro models is the A18 Pro chip, an upgrade from the previous generation A17 Pro chip. Manufactured using a 3-nanometer process, compared to last year's version, this chip promises to be 15% faster with a 6-core CPU, including 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, using 20% less power.
The iPhone 16 Pro pair has the A18 Pro chip.
The A18 Pro also uses a 6-core GPU that is 20% faster than the A17 Pro and has 2x faster ray tracing. It also has 8GB of memory and a new 16-core Neural Engine that has a 17% increase in memory bandwidth.
This change will definitely benefit consumers as this will be the second iPhone Pro line to support Apple Intelligence. A larger Neural Engine will greatly aid in on-board processing.
This chip is a comprehensive upgrade.
Next, the A18 Pro chip also has a new image signal processor and video decoder, which are twice as fast as the A17 Pro chip.
Rear camera and video recording capabilities
On the back, both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max feature a triple camera setup in a square layout. The main camera has been renamed the Fusion camera, still featuring a 48MP sensor, capable of capturing 24MP photos using pixel binning, and can provide virtual 2x zoom simply by cropping the sensor.
The ultra-wide-angle camera has been upgraded to 48MP resolution, which is a big benefit when taking close-up - macro photos.
Close-up of the rear camera cluster of the iPhone 16 Pro.
The Telephoto camera still uses a 12MP sensor, but Apple has made a slight upgrade. While the iPhone 15 Pro Max used a Tetraprism lens, this year both iPhone 16 Pro models have it - creating 5x optical zoom.
On the video front, video capabilities have been expanded to include 4K 120fps video, including ProRes footage recorded to an external hard drive. 4K 120fps footage can also be re-shot after it's been recorded, and saved in the Photos app.
The photo control button allows users to adjust more conveniently.
In particular, in terms of sound, the two high-end smartphones use four microphones with lower noise levels. In addition, they also have spatial audio recording features for video recording.
Both phones also have an audio mixer feature built in, allowing users to separate the subject's audio in a variety of ways in a video. For example, mixing in music as background audio. A Voice Memos update in late 2024 will add the ability to record two tracks.
Connect
This year, the iPhone 16 Pro duo continues to use the USB-C port at 10Gbps, just like last year's iPhone 15 Pro models.
Main configuration of 2 new "Apple" products.
MagSafe charging is still present on the back, so users can charge wirelessly using this gadget or Qi2 and Qi chargers. Now, with MagSafe, the iFan can charge at up to 25W.
As rumored, the iPhone 16 Pro pair supports Wi-Fi 7 along with Bluetooth 5.3. Second-generation Ultra Wideband also returns, so new iPhone owners can continue tracking via AirTags attached to their lost keys.
Price and availability
Pre-orders for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will begin on Friday, with the first new iPhone Pros set to ship on September 20.
Color versions of the high-end smartphone pair.
The iPhone 16 Pro pair comes in four color options, including: Titanium Black, Natural Titanium, and Titanium White, along with a new Desert Titanium Gold option.
The iPhone 16 Pro will start at $999 for the standard 128GB version, $1,099 for the 256GB version, $1,299 for the 512GB version, and $1,499 for the 1TB version.
New Desert Titanium Yellow.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199 for the 256GB model, rising to $1,399 for the 512GB model and $1,599 for the 1TB model.