Apple’s iPhone 16 Is Ready for Apple Intelligence

Apple has turned the page on the Apple calendar to introduce the next iPhone. To no one’s surprise, the iPhone 16 is the next model, coming after the iPhone 15. The lineup includes the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The handsets made their debut at the company’s annual September hardware event in Cupertino, California. (New Apple Watches were announced too.)

The latest iPhones have a few new tricks to differentiate them from their predecessors—the Action Button is now available on all iPhones in this lineup, and there’s a new Camera Control button dedicated to snapping photos. On the whole, many of the improvements are in the software—iOS 18—which is also available to download next week if you have a compatible device. The iPhone 16 models are designed to take advantage of all the Apple Intelligence features announced earlier this year, however, you won’t see many of these until the iOS 18.1 update arrives in October.

I’ve compiled everything you need to know about the iPhone 16 range below. Preorders for the iPhone 16 start September 13, and here are the prices: iPhone 16 is $799, iPhone 16 Plus is $899, iPhone 16 Pro is $999, and iPhone 16 Pro Max is $1,199. They’ll be available in stores starting September 20.

The iPhone 16

The iPhone 16 looks different from prior iPhones—the camera arrangement is vertical rather than diagonal—but otherwise, they’re identical. The iPhone 16 Pro range better resembles their predecessors but is slightly bigger: the iPhone 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch screen (up from 6.1 inches), and the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 6.9 inches (up from 6.7 inches). The phones aren’t dramatically bigger, but Apple has shaved the borders around the screen to maximize screen space.

Apple’s new iPhone 16 showcased during the Apple Event on September 9, 2024, in Cupertino, California.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The lineup of the new Apple iPhone 16 Pro.

Courtesy of Apple

Every iPhone in this lineup has the Action Button, which Apple debuted last year. This replaces the Mute switch. You can customize the Action Button to toggle on a flashlight, a Shortcut, or some other setting. You can even set it to function exactly like the Mute switch if you miss the Mute switch (though it’s far less satisfying).

Apple says the ceramic glass in these models is 50 percent tougher than the first generation of Ceramic Shield, and a new manufacturing process makes the body colors richer. The iPhone 16 comes in pink, teal, ultramarine, white, and black.

But there is a new button gracing the iPhone’s hardware: Camera Control. This is like a physical shutter button on cameras—a hard press takes a photo, a long press takes a video, and you can now make a light press to enable a cleaner viewfinder without all the user interface elements. Within this light press, you can slide your finger on the Camera Control button to swipe through zoom levels; if you do a double light press, you can move through other modes. You can use this light press to maintain the focus on a specific subject when capturing videow.