Apple iPhone 16 and 16 Plus review: all caught up

Over the past fewer years, Apple’s modular iPhone looked a small neglected. The Pro models sewage caller chipsets, camera features, and a customizable Action Button, while the modular models made do pinch the leftovers.

But this year, things are different: the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus played catch-up, and the spread betwixt these phones and the Pro models isn’t arsenic wide arsenic it erstwhile was.

That matters a lot, particularly connected the much basal models. If you’ve been holding connected to an older iPhone for the past mates of generations wondering whether this is the twelvemonth to upgrade, past I deliberation there’s an easy reply this clip around: spell for it. It’s a bully twelvemonth for the basal iPhone, and it’s a bully twelvemonth to upgrade.

But this iPhone is still very overmuch a activity successful progress. For starters, Apple Intelligence is supposedly a awesome constituent of this phone’s software, and it’s conscionable not disposable astatine launch. It’s retired successful beta now, and immoderate features will statesman to vessel adjacent period pinch iOS 18.1 — still marked arsenic “beta.” But it’s not connected the telephone I’m reviewing, which is moving 18.0, and therefore, it’s not portion of this review. 

I besides person mixed feelings astir the Camera Control, a caller fastener connected some the Pro and regular iPhone 16 models that allows you to motorboat the camera, return photos, and set immoderate settings. I admit that it isn’t a Pro-exclusive feature, and boy, do I emotion a button. But successful practice, I find it difficult to usage and person mostly been ignoring it.

But the point is, the foundational worldly is good. This year’s chipset is successful the aforesaid family arsenic the 1 connected the Pro models, which intends they’ll apt beryllium connected astir the aforesaid package update schedule. The camera itself is arsenic tin arsenic ever, and the telephone hardware itself looks awesome — Apple’s utilizing immoderate saturated colors again, convey God. And it still starts astatine $799, truthful thing added this twelvemonth conscionable feels for illustration a nice-to-have. Even if Apple Intelligence ne'er ships, you’d still person a bully iPhone successful your hands.

There’s 1 peculiarly conspicuous hardware characteristic missing from this, a high-end telephone successful the twelvemonth 2024: a precocious refresh complaint screen. Only the Pro phones get smoother ProMotion displays that spell up to 120Hz, while the 16 and 16 Plus are stuck successful 60Hz. By now, it’s a modular characteristic connected modern smartphones from the midrange connected up, and the iPhone looks awfully dated without it.

On principle, it’s irritating that Apple doesn’t connection this connected the basal models, but successful reality, really overmuch that bothers you is wholly personal. I usage phones pinch 120Hz screens for astir of the remainder of the year, and it’s ever jarring for the first fewer minutes erstwhile I move backmost to a 60Hz screen. But I get utilized to it beautiful quickly, and I only announcement the much stuttered scrolling erstwhile I deliberation astir it. Some group will find this an inexcusable omission, and they’re astir apt right. Some group will beryllium perfectly happy pinch a 60Hz screen, and they’re besides right. Everyone other exists location betwixt the two.

The 16 and 16 Plus besides miss retired connected the always-on show offered connected the Pro models. I for illustration being capable to glimpse astatine my notifications and my wallpaper erstwhile the iPhone is idle, truthful I miss having the always-on show connected the 16. Still, I cognize a batch of group who don’t for illustration it, truthful connected balance, it’s nary awesome nonaccomplishment here. 

Now, if anyone is connected the grounds arsenic a full-fledged fastener supporter, it’s me. I can’t get capable of ‘em. So, ideate my delight astatine having two caller buttons connected this telephone — the programmable Action Button from the 15 Pro and the caller Camera Control. I usage the Action Button to unfastened the app I usage to motion my kid retired of daycare. Usually, I person to fumble astir looking for the app while there’s different genitor successful a unreserved waiting down me, truthful it soothes my anxious encephalon each clip I property that button. You tin programme it to do each kinds of things if you’re consenting to study the ways of Shortcuts. But for the remainder of us, it’s beautiful straightforward to representation it to unfastened a circumstantial app and time off it astatine that. 

I wish I had amended things to opportunity astir the Camera Control. Believe me, I wanted to for illustration it. I’ve utilized it a bunch, and I scheme to support trying it, conscionable successful lawsuit I’m missing something. But truthful far, I’m not impressed. It’s an existent button, and afloat pressing it will motorboat the camera app. Once you’re there, different afloat property will return a photo. It’s besides a capacitive power pinch haptic feedback — lightly pressing it will bring up vulnerability settings that you tin set by moving your digit on the control. 

Surprisingly, that’s the action I’m astir comfortable with. It’s pressing the existent fastener and firing the shutter I’m struggling with. The system feels excessively stiff to me, and nary matter really difficult I effort to support the phone, I extremity up shaking the full instrumentality each clip I return a picture. And if I linger connected that ray property excessively long, I extremity up changing the vulnerability compensation aliases immoderate different mounting inadvertently. I person to return my attraction distant from the infinitesimal and deliberation astir pressing a damn button, and astatine that point, what are we moreover doing here?

I do for illustration utilizing it to motorboat the camera, but erstwhile I’ve done that, I’ve mostly gone backmost to utilizing the onscreen shutter. I’m besides utilizing the capacitive power for vulnerability compensation, but I can’t thief emotion that I’m underutilizing 1 of this phone’s fancy caller features. If this fastener had one occupation alternatively of two, it would beryllium much intuitive. Still, I now person a dedicated fastener to motorboat the camera and a capacitive vulnerability comp dial for the camera, and I can’t kick astir that astatine all. I conscionable wish the dual functions of this fastener worked amended together.

And while we’re successful the camera app, let’s talk astir Photographic Styles. Remember those? They’re for illustration filters for the iPhone camera, but they’re applied during capture. On the iPhone 16 series, you’ll person a full caller scope of civilization settings to thief you dial successful the photographic style you like. You tin spell into the weeds of really this useful in our iPhone 16 Pro review, but astatine a precocious level, they fto you set colour formed — successful work of warmer aliases cooler tegument tones — arsenic good arsenic brightness and contrast. If you’re 1 of the galore group who deliberation that iPhone photos look overprocessed lately, past this is the characteristic for you.

I’ve landed connected a style that I like, but it wasn’t easy getting there. To group a photographic style arsenic your caller default, you request to spell into the strategy settings paper and spell done a setup process wherever you audition 4 of your photos successful the caller style. If you conscionable prime a caller style successful the camera app itself, it’ll reset to modular erstwhile you leave. This is simply a different behaviour than connected erstwhile iPhones, and it confused the hellhole retired of maine astatine first.

And here’s the bad news: you request to sprout successful HEIF to usage the caller styles. HEIF is simply a cursed record format that nary different institution loves arsenic overmuch arsenic Apple. Most of the time, your HEIF images will beryllium converted to JPEG erstwhile sending them extracurricular of the Apple ecosystem, but inevitably, 1 time you’ll person the misfortune of trying to unfastened a .heic record connected a non-Apple instrumentality and beryllium met pinch thing but sadness. I usually debar shooting successful HEIF, but the caller photographic styles are truthful bully that I’m consenting to put up pinch the stray compatibility issue. 

This level of elasticity makes it benignant of difficult to measure the camera itself. I’ve been shooting pinch a contrastier photographic style, which dials up shadows successful a measurement I like. Along pinch the brighter highlights preserved by HDR reside mapping, you get an image pinch actual highlights and shadows — not a bunch of grey mush scrunched into a modular move scope space. The camera will still spell a small aggravated pinch bluish skies successful definite circumstances, but you could play astir pinch the photographic style settings to dial that down. I for illustration my type of the camera app, which whitethorn beryllium different from your version. 

Mostly, I’m grateful that the iPhone continues to present awesome photos successful image mode, and I’m ever impressed by the video value successful cinematic mode, too. The 2x harvest zoom is good successful decent lighting, and it’s a useful focal magnitude for image shots. Having macro attraction connected the ultrawide lens is bully for the occasional close-up shot, too.

But the iPhone 16 uses a smaller main image sensor than its Pro peers, and its low-light image value isn’t rather arsenic good. Image value is good if your subjects aren’t moving, but don’t expect to get distant pinch a batch if you’re trying to sprout portraits aliases moving subjects successful dim light. And retired of curiosity, I compared the 5x integer zoom connected the iPhone 16 pinch the 5x telephoto lens connected the 15 Pro. Predictably, the 15 Pro blows it retired of the water. There’s still nary substitute for bully ‘ol optical zoom.

I person thing shocking to study astir the iPhone 16’s wide performance. The A18 chipset (and some further RAM — acknowledgment AI!) handles regular tasks easily. I tin occurrence disconnected image mode photos astir erstwhile a second; each 1 has a small spot of built-in buffering time, but I ne'er had to hold longer than that for the buffer to clear. Even if you ne'er usage the AI features Apple is promising for this phone, getting the newer chipset is simply a triumph for the regular iPhones this twelvemonth and should support this telephone moving smoothly good into the adjacent 4 aliases 5 years.

Even connected the smaller model, the artillery keeps up each day. On a time of heavier usage that included streaming KEXP pinch Strava utilizing GPS successful the background, I still had astir 30 percent by bedtime. If you opt for the 16 Plus, pinch its larger battery, you tin agelong a azygous complaint good into a 2nd day. The existent mobility will beryllium really it keeps up a twelvemonth aliases 2 down the line; Apple’s recent way record present isn’t great.

It’s a bully twelvemonth for the basal iPhones, and that hasn’t been the lawsuit complete the past fewer generations. To beryllium sure, there’s thing groundbreaking here, and surely thing you should waste and acquisition successful your iPhone 15 for. But if you’ve been connected the obstruction for a while astir upgrading from an 11 aliases 12, past I deliberation this is the twelvemonth to spell for it. 

You’ll get a mates of caller buttons to play with, and who knows, possibly you’ll get on amended pinch the Camera Control than I did. And If Apple Intelligence arrives and proves to beryllium the time-saving, stress-easing group of features Apple insists it will be, past this telephone will beryllium fresh for it. But moreover if they ne'er arrive, you’re still getting immoderate upgrades that matter successful the agelong run. It’s a catch-up twelvemonth for the regular iPhone, and that’s a bully twelvemonth to upgrade indeed. 

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge