For techies, September is synonymous with new iPhones – and here we are again with four new devices to fawn over.
But even the most dedicated Apple fans know some years are better than others, based on how much (or little) innovation is squeezed into another generation of hardware.
The good news for those itching for an upgrade, the new iPhone 16 family exceeds expectations in virtually all areas – though one of its most hyped features isn’t available just yet.
After playing around with the new devices this past week, here are five things you need to know about the 6.1-inch iPhone 16 (from $1,129), 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus (from $1,279), 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro (from $1,449), or 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max (from $1,749), before any trade-ins.
BATTERY LIFE IS CRAZY GOOD
Stop a random iPhone user on the street and ask what’s their biggest pain point – chances are it’ll be battery life.
Thankfully, Apple has packed a bigger and better battery in its new phones, complimented by a new internal design and smarter power management, thanks to the new A18 chip.
For video playback, for example, expect up to 22 continuous hours on iPhone 16, up to 27 hours on iPhone 16 Plus, and up to 33 hours on iPhone 16 Pro Max, according to Apple.
Truly, I barely plugged the iPhone 16 Pro Max loaner device in over a couple of days and this thing kept going.
ADVANCED CAMERA CONTROL FOR ‘PHONOGRAPHY’ FANS
If you like snapping photos and shooting videos, the new iPhone 16 not only has better optics – something you can count on every year – but Apple introduced something called Camera Control on all models.
Flush against the right side of the phone, Camera Control is a touch- and pressure-sensitive button that launches the camera with a long press and then lets you slide your finger across it to select various settings, like exposure, depth of field and zoom. Then press down to snap a photo, or press and hold down to record a video.
That is, when holding your iPhone horizontally, Camera Control is where the shutter button would be on a standalone camera.
Camera Control isn’t perfect – I found I accidentally selected something I didn’t mean to with a soft touch and at times the iPhone shakes a little when you press down on the shutter as it’s quite stiff – so just know that it may take a little trial and error to master it.
Camera Control functionality is also open to third-party apps, like Snapchat, to customize what it does. Coming later this year, Apple Intelligence will let iPhone users leverage Camera Control to identify objects you point the camera at, such as identifying a dog breed.
Speaking of cameras, iPhone 16 now shoots super high-resolution photos (24- and 48-megapixel), along with support for Dolby Vision up to 4K at 120 frames per second for video capture (on the Pro models). And iPhone 16 replaces standard filters with new “Photographic Styles” to help you personalize your images, plus you can capture “spatial” photo and video for playback with incredible depth on the Apple Vision Pro headset.
ACTION BUTTON NOW ON ALL MODELS
You may recall last year Apple introduced a customizable “action” button along the left side of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max that replaced the “mute” button with whatever you like, such as turning on a flashlight, launching a voice memo, awakening Shazam to identify a song, or opening your favourite app.
Problem is, it wasn’t available on the standard (non-Pro) iPhone models – until now.
Apple has added this feature to the entire iPhone 16 family, and it’s worth taking advantage of.
Sure, you can keep it as the default “mute” button to silence your iPhone’s ring and notifications when in a meeting, but it’s fun to make it do something else, like translate from one language into another, enable the magnifier to zoom in on text you’re reading, or even unlock and lock your compatible vehicle.
AI IS COMING … SOON
Artificial intelligence – or what Apple calls “Apple Intelligence” – isn’t quite ready for the launch of the new iPhone 16.
Instead, the first rollout of this AI will be available in October (in English, to start). It’s a suite of tools and technologies that will empower you to do several things on your iPhone – while protecting your privacy at the same time (something Apple is adamant about).
You can ask the AI to help draft emails and iMessages and other text for you; create images based on what you ask for (which you can freely use on your website or in a work or school presentation); record, transcribe, and summarize audio (perfect for journalists like yours truly); a smarter Siri that’s more conversational and contextual; and many other AI features.
Similar to Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices, iPhone users will soon be able to remove unwanted subjects in photos, too, along with other handy AI tools.
Again, Apple Intelligence is more MIA than AI at this point – but it’s around the corner, at least.
OTHER FEATURES WORTH NOTING
You may have noticed I didn’t mention the new colours because, well, you’re going to put a protective case on this expensive thing anyway – so I rarely mention this in my reviews. See them all at Apple.ca.
More notable features:
– A new Ceramic Shield (Apple’s answer to Gorilla Glass) that the company claims is twice as tough as glass “on any other smartphone;”
– Content creators will appreciate audio advancements that will yield better-sounding recordings (including the ability to edit video sound after capture), while AI-powered wind noise reduction will reduce unwanted noise in your outdoor video recordings;
– Mobile gamers will enjoy fast performance thanks to the new A18 chip, with 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU (6-core for Pro models) for smooth rendering of graphics.
In short, iPhone 16 gets it mostly right.
If it’s been a few years since you’ve upgraded, this is the time to do it. On the flipside, if you’re perfectly happy with your iPhone 15 then maybe wait another year or two – especially as the upcoming iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence will work on last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, too.