After all the rumors Apple finally announced the iPhone 16 Pro during an event on September 9, 2024, and it was worth the wait. The 'It's Glowtime' event brought with it a number of announcements, but the iPhone 16 Pro was among the most interesting. And it's the phone that a lot of upgraders are likely to want.
The reasons for that are many, not least because the iPhone 16 Pro has a new chip, a bigger screen, and a whole new button. Mix in support for Apple Intelligence and a tweak in the colors that are available, and the iPhone 16 Pro is well worth checking out.
iPhone 16 Pro: The headlines
- What is it? Apple's newest premium flagship smartphone
- When can we expect it? September 20, 2024
- Key upgrades: A18 Pro chip, Camera Control button, bigger display, and more.
iPhone 16 Pro: Release date
The iPhone 16 Pro will officially go on sale on September 20 with prices starting at $999. That will get buyers the entry-level 128GB storage option while 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB options are also available.
iPhone 16 Pro: Design
The iPhone 16 Pro looks very similar to the outgoing iPhone 15 Pro, which is no bad thing. One notable difference is the more shiny edges rather than the familiar matte titanium finish, but the biggest change is undoubtedly the addition of the Camera Control button.
Previously rumored to be called the Capture Button, the new addition joins the Action Button and is a touch-sensitive button that allows for quick interaction with camera features including zoom and more. It's available across the entire iPhone 16 lineup as well, and it's a feature that could change the way people take photos when their iPhone.
iPhone 16 Pro: Colors
The iPhone 16 Pro is available in four different colors, three of which aren't all that different from the iPhone 15 Pro's hues.
The four colors on offer are Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert Titanium, the the latter being the color likely to get the most attention among upgraders.
iPhone 16 Pro: Display
Like the iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 16 Pro sports an OLED display with a variable refresh rate. Apple calls this ProMotion and it allows iOS to dynamically alter the display's refresh rate between 1Hz to 120Hz depending on what's required at any given time. It's also what allows the Always-On Display to work without draining the iPhone's battery, too.
Where things differ with the iPhone 16 Pro is the size of that display. The iPhone 15 Pro's display comes in at 6.1 inches whereas the iPhone 16 Pro expands the display slightly to 6.3 inches thanks largely to the slightly smaller bezels.
The new display supports HDR, True Tone, and Wide Color while a maximum 2,000-nit brightness means you won't struggle to see your new iPhone even in direct sunlight.
iPhone 16 Pro: Chip and specifications
As was heavily rumored, the iPhone 16 Pro is powered by a new A18 Pro chip, the fastest that Apple has ever put into an iPhone. It uses a six-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, while the six-core GPU ensures games run as smoothly as possible.
To help power Apple Intelligence and other machine learning features, a new 16-core Neural Engine is also included. The 3nm chip is also extremely power-efficient despite the power on tap, so you won't have to reach for the charger too often.
Like all iPhones these days, the iPhone 16 Pro is powered by USB-C and supports Qi2 wireless charging. Apple's new iPhones also support faster MagSafe wireless charging with speeds of up to 25W when used with a 30W adapter or higher.
iPhone 16 Pro: Camera
Apple's Pro iPhones are always among the best in the business in terms of camera technology, and the iPhone 16 Pro is no different.
This model sports a 48-megapixel main camera as well as a new, 48-megapixel ultra wide camera which is joined by a familiar 12-megapixel telephoto camera. That telephoto camera is now capable of a 5x optical zoom thanks to the use of the same tetraprism lens that was previously only available to iPhone 15 Pro Max buyers.
All of this makes for some great photography and videography capabilities including support for 4K Dolby Vision video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps, 100 fps, or 120 fps. Cinematic mode is also supported up to 4K at 30fps while ACtion mode manages 60fps at 2.8K. Spatial video and ProRes video recording are also supported with the latter topping out at 4K and 120fps when using an external storage device.
Up front, a 12-megapixel selfie camera is included as part of the TrueDepth camera system as was the case with the iPhone 15 Pro.
iPhone 16 Pro: Wi-Fi and connectivity
Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 16 Pro supports 5G just like its predecessor while the new phone adds Wi-Fi 7 support for the first time. That means that owners of Wi-Fi 7 setups can look forward to the fastest and most reliable networking available, for a cost — such systems definitely aren't cheap.
iPhone 16 Pro: Storage
Apple offers the iPhone 16 Pro in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options.
iPhone 16 Pro: AI and Siri
The iPhone 16 Pro supports Apple Intelligence, bringing upgrades to Siri as well as new generative AI capabilities. While Appel Intelligence won't be available at launch, the release of iOS 18.1 will add most features while iOS 18.2 is set to bring image and emoji generation to the mix.
The A18 Pro's new 16-core Neural Engine will of course help in terms of Apple Intelligence performance, especially where the processing is carried out on the iPhone rather than handed off to the cloud.
iPhone 16 Pro: Pricing
The iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999 for the 128GB version, with more storage available for those willing to pay extra.
The 256GB iPhone 16 Pro costs $1,099 while doubling the storage to 512GB means paying $1,299. Those who need the most storage, 1TB, will pay $1,499 to (likely) never think about deleting anything again.
