If you’ve been hankering for the iPhone 16, it’s just about here.
Over at Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” media event on Monday, September 9, Apple announced the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max handsets. Pre-orders for the units will begin at 5 a.m. PDT, or 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, September 13. The new iPhones will go on sale on Friday, September 20.
Apple has offered a price breakdown of the new iPhone models:
- iPhone 16: From $799
- iPhone 16 Plus: From $899
- iPhone 16 Pro: From $999
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: From $1,199
Apple has kept the same prices as the 2023 generation of iPhones.
Where colors are concerned, the iPhone 16 is available in ultramarine, teal, pink, white, and black, the new iPhone 16 and 16 Plus have darker tones than the 2023 models, making sure that there is no mistaking the 2024 model for the previous generation.
The screen has a new ceramic glass formulation that Apple says is 50 percent tougher than the first gen ceramic glass, and a lot stronger than anything else on the market.
The screen sizes themselves haven’t changed, and it’s still 6.1 inches measured diagonally for the base models and 6.7 inches measured diagonally for the Plus model. Only the Pro and Pro Max models continue to offer the ProMotion and Always On features.
The iPhone 16 handsets are now constructed from microblasted Grade 5 titanium and the colors are a little darker than 2023’s generation with Natural Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium. A new color named “Desert Titanium” has also been released.
For the iPhone 15 Pro, the color choices were: Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium.
The iPhone 16 Pro now features a 6.3-inch display, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max measures 6.9 inches measured diagonally. To make the screen size change possible without changing the dimensions Apple has reduced the bezels. The iPhone 16 Pro now has the “Thinnest bezels on any Apple product”.
For specs, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are now powered by Apple’s A18 chip, whereas the iPhone 15 was powered by the A16 chip. Apple claims that the A18 in the iPhone 16 offers 17 percent more memory bandwidth. It’s also based on the second generation of the 3nm process, with even smaller transistors, which should mean it is faster and more energy efficient. Apple says the 6-core CPU is 30 percent faster than the iPhone 15.
There is also a new 5-core GPU, which Apple described as “Desktop-class”. Apparently, this is 40 percent faster than the GPU in the iPhone 15.
For the higher-end iPhone 16 handsets, the units are powered by the A18 Pro chip, which Apple says is “faster and more efficient than A18.”
Like the A18 this chip uses the 2nd-gen 3n process and offers better performance and efficiency than the A17 Pro. Apple says the CPU is up to 15 percent faster and 20 percent more efficient. The chip also boasts a faster and more efficient Neural Engine, and Apple states the AI runs up to 50 percent faster than on the A17 Pro chip. A
It also features a faster and more efficient Neural Engine. Apple says the AI runs up to 50 percent faster than on A17 Pro. A 6-core GPU that runs 20 percent faster than in the previous generation and ray tracing is 2X faster.
Apple has included a new Camera Control button as one of its most notable new features. Users will be able to launch the Camera app, click to take a photo, and perform a long click to take a video. The button will even recognize touch gestures, so, for example, a light press can be used to adjust zoom. This button will work with third-party apps as well.
For the camera itself, the iPhone 16 base model features a 48MP main camera which will offer 24MP photos. A 2X telephoto and a New Ultra Wide camera with autofocus, will be available. Apple says the lease can let in 2.6X more light. The iPhone 16 will support macro photography, and spatial capture for Vision Pro will also be available.
Apple has also included a new 48MP Fusion camera and a 48MP Ultra Wide camera for its higher-end iPhone 16 models. New photography features include updates to Photographic Styles, which now understands skin tones and adjusts shadows. A new control pad makes it easy to adjust color. After an image is captured it will be easy to slide through styles using the Camera Control button.
For video, new features include Cinematic slow motion at 4K120fps. Users will be able to adjust FPD after capture. The units also include four studio mics and Audio Mix incorporates machine learning to separate background noises from speech.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via Macworld