iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
Apple (video, MacRumors, Hacker News):
The new Pro lineup features the thinnest borders of any Apple product and introduces larger display sizes: 6.3 inches on iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9 inches on iPhone 16 Pro Max — the largest iPhone display ever.
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The new mechanical architecture improves heat dissipation and efficiency for up to 20 percent better sustained performance.
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Later this fall, Camera Control will be updated with a two-stage shutter to automatically lock focus and exposure on a subject with a light press, letting users reframe the shot without losing focus.
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Later this year, Camera Control will unlock visual intelligence to help users learn about objects and places faster than ever before.
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Powered by A18 Pro, the upgraded camera system introduces a new 48MP Fusion camera with a faster, more efficient quad-pixel sensor and Apple Camera Interface, unlocking 4K120 fps video recording in Dolby Vision — the highest resolution and frame-rate combination ever available on iPhone, and a smartphone first. The quad-pixel sensor can read data 2x faster, enabling zero shutter lag for 48MP ProRAW or HEIF photos. A new 48MP Ultra Wide camera also features a quad-pixel sensor with autofocus, so users can take higher-resolution 48MP ProRAW and HEIF images when capturing uniquely framed, wider-angle shots or getting close to their subjects with macro photography. The powerful 5x Telephoto camera now comes on both iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, allowing users to catch the action from farther away, no matter which model they choose.
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A new 6-core CPU is the fastest in a smartphone, with two performance cores and four efficiency cores that can run the same workload as the previous generation 15 percent faster while using 20 percent less power.
Camera Control sounds great—subject to case compatibility—but I wonder whether it will be too fiddly in practice. Another year with disappointing Pro colors.
Previously:
Update (2024-09-12): Juli Clover:
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus have an A18 chip, while the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max have an A18 Pro chip.
The chips are similar, but there are some differences to be aware of, along with differences in the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro thermal design.
Update (2024-09-17): Wes Davis (Hacker News, MacRumors):
Apple has hiked the price of its battery repair service for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Now, it will cost $119 to get your battery replaced in either phone — a $20 jump over its older fee.
Kuo estimated that sales of all four iPhone 16 models reached about 37 million units in the first weekend after Apple began accepting pre-orders, which is down nearly 13% compared to first-weekend sales of the iPhone 15 series last year. The analyst said a key factor for the decline is the lower demand for the Pro models, with first-weekend sales of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max estimated to be down 27% and 16%, respectively, compared to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max sales during the equivalent period last year.
The Pro models certainly seem less differentiated than last year.
Apple during its iPhone event earlier this week unveiled a significant upgrade to its Voice Memos app, introducing multitrack recording capabilities that appear to be exclusively for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models. The new feature marks a notable advancement in mobile audio recording, but it appears it will be unavailable for older iPhones or the standard iPhone 16.
Update (2024-09-19): See also: iPhone 16 Pro reviews from Nilay Patel, John Gruber, and others.
Update (2024-09-25): Ryan Jones:
24 hours and still going. iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Previously:
Update (2024-10-21): Charles Martin:
Numerous reports on the Apple Support Communities, as well as on Reddit and other forums on the web suggest that unknown numbers of iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models are having issues out of the box. In each case, the iPhone suddenly becomes very slow or completely stops responding to input, then abruptly restart themselves.
Some reports have said that affected iPhones can also restart from a crash when in standby mode, resulting in showing the home screen when awakened, rather than where the user left off. The recent update to iOS 18.0.1 doesn’t seem to solve the issue, and reports suggest the freezing/crashing cycle can occur up to 20 times a day, according to a report from MacRumors.
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I'm fine with the "disappointing" Pro colors because almost everyone I've seen expresses their personality with a case. I do like the iPhone 16 colors, though.
I already had to accept there won't be another iPhone Mini for the foreseeable future. I was tempted to get a Pro for the telephoto lens, but now that phone got bigger too?
Disappointing Pro colors but I love the Blue and Green on the standard models! I would absolutely get a green one in that shade
There's definitely room for improvements in the Apple's official PR or iPhone product page to make these documents look interesting. They seem to only contain marketing bullshit (surrounded by pretty pictures for the product page).
And the layout in the product pages is really bad with this stupid requirement to scroll for miles to see some pieces of info.
I'm probably stupid myself as I'm unable to find a single part in this product page that tells me which feature is incredible and should entice me to purchase or upgrade. All the supposedly great things about the phone (which are highlighted in bold) seem useless (I don't need better performances or battery life, the current old iPhone.I have is working pretty well. I don't need a better or stronger screen; the current one works fine).
Beautiful products but the epitome of environmental destruction for futile practical gains. Absent to the mainstream narrative the immense damage generated by the hundred million of camera modules, titanium frames, batteries, hardened screen protectors, sensors, processors and glue.
New smartphones, in the EU at least, should be forced into a purchase option of last resort.
Very incremental, indeed. About the only notable feature, post-event, was Wi-Fi 7. That's certainly very cool and trend-setting, but given that even 6E isn't as widely deployed as one might hope and many new 7 routers will be providing compatibility for a long tail of legacy devices, it's quite hard to see most people choosing to upgrade just for that. Honestly, I'm just fine with the 15 Pro. And I'm not going to get Apple Intelligence for a while (UK), nor the nice new features found in the EU. So I'll just stick.
@Rob Regarding a new Mini, I sure hope Apple at least sees it as worthy of occasional releases, like they do with the iPad mini. But they need to get serious in battery efficiency first: have an efficient chip (A16 and A17 certainly weren't it, but A18 looks very promising) and absolutely include variable refresh rate, even if not the full 120 fps ProMotion. So far, only the Pro phones get VRR, which is frankly indefensible at this point.
