Apple unveils iPhone 16 that’s faster than ever, with more buttons than ever
iPhone 16 is jam-packed with AI, a new chip, and a brand new button that you can customise to do anything
At today’s Apple event, the tech giant unveiled the new iPhone 16. Following tradition, it comes in two sizes: the 6.1-inch iPhone 16, and 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus. They’re faster than ever, come in some swanky new colours, and have even more buttons than ever.
Colours are a bigger focus here, with five options in total: ultra marine, teal, and pink, white and black. They’re built to be more durable than ever, and still water resistant. Round front, the glass on the display is tougher than ever. It’s 50% tougher than first-gen Ceramic Shield, and 2x stronger than normal glass. It can blast up to 2000 nits of brightness, and get now get down to just 1 nit.
The latest iPhones get the customisable Action Button from last year’s iPhone 15 Pro devices. You can set this button to do pretty much whatever you want, including using it as a ringer switch (as it was before). Clicking the button launches the camera, and a hold launches video recording. But there’s also a new button in the form of the Camera Control. Rather than a button you actually press, this one you can tap, double tap, and slide around on to control your iPhone’s camera.
The Camera Control button allows an iPhone 16-exclusive feature called Visual Intelligence. With a quick snap, Apple Intelligence jumps in to analyse whatever’s in front of you, dishing out extra details or letting you interact with what you see. Spot an event poster? You can add it straight to your calendar, just like that. These images aren’t saved on your device, and it’s similar to Google Lens. And if you’re still stumped, you can even ask ChatGPT to help explain what you’re looking at.
Camera-wise, things are similar but upgraded. The main sensor is a 48MP snapper, that can fuse 12MP shots for brighter shots. It can deliver two telephoto shots at once, and is a faster aperture than before. You can shoot in 4K 60fps video with Dolby Vision HDR. The new 12MP ultrawide camera gains autofocus, with a larger aperture that lets in 2.6x more light. Macro photography has arrived to this device, and you can use the camera to take Spatial Photos or Videos. A swish new AI feature removes wind noise from your videos.
Battery life is better than ever, says Apple, but didn’t share anything further. So that might have to wait for our full review. But, things definitely get even faster, thanks to the new A18 processor from Apple. This chipset has been beefed up, which makes it perfect for the AI Apple Intelligence features coming in iOS 18. A18 has a 16-core neural engine optimised to run large generative models. It’s made using 2nd- gen 3nm technology with even smaller transistors – so it’s faster and more energy efficient.
It packs a 6-core CPU that’s 30% faster than the CPU in iPhone 15, and a GPU that’s 40% faster. It’ll use 35% less power than A16, so battery will be better than ever. There’s a fresh thermal design onboard to boost gaming performance, keeping things cool when the action heats up. Plus, hardware-accelerated ray tracing has been thrown into the mix. iPhone 16 has Wi-Fi 7 baked in, and the satellite connectivity is even better.
Pre-orders for the iPhone 16s open on Friday, and the devices will start shipping and arrive in stores next Friday (20 September). Just like last year, the regular iPhone 16 retails for $799/£799, and the 16 Plus goes for $899/£899. Annoyingly, the default storage option is still 128GB. As a plus, Apple confirmed Apple Intelligence features are rolling out in October, in a later iOS 18 update.
Connor Jewiss
