Apple launched its latest iPhone 16 series on Monday, featuring a fusion of artificial intelligence with a powerful chipset, making the phone the hottest gadget to own in these incredible times of ever-evolving technologies. The much-awaited event in Cupertino, California had Apple fans lining up to catch a glimpse of the newest edition in the iPhone line-up as a composed Tim Cook unveiled the Glowtime event at Steve Jobs Theatre.
Apple has always been at the forefront of evolution in mobile phone technology, becoming the undefeated leader of the industry even as it witnessed erstwhile giants Nokia and Blackberry sink into oblivion. With its launch of the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max at California event, eyes are set on its ultra-modern features that make this phone smarter than the previous series. The new series of phones might look familiar but there are some significant changes under the cap. Though Apple doesn’t make drastic changes to its products – it tweaks and improves and makes subtle substantial changes.
Familiar yet different
The new 16-phone series exemplifies this approach. Users, who used the new series of phones in the demo zone on Monday say, they don’t look all that different. Yet, these phones have come with significant upgrades. In terms of looks and design, both iPhone 15 phones and iPhone 16, and 16 Pro look the same. The quintessential flat sides, similar aluminium and titanium frames, the ceramic shields on both the screen and the back – all in all, the 16 series phones are familiar to those of the last segments from the company. There are minor differences in terms of looks and feel – the iPhone 16 has vertically stacked camera lenses to allow users to record video on two lenses when held in landscape mode to capture spatial footage. This is similar to the back camera bumps in the Samsung S series.
All new features
The iPhone 16 also has two new buttons, the ones that earlier were available on the Pro models. There is also a camera button, which Apple is calling Camera Control – which is new to all iPhone 16 phones. The screen size and resolution are the same as the last version. However, Apple claims that the ceramic shield on the front is now 2X stronger than what Android phone makers use and 50 per cent stronger than what Apple used earlier.
The inbuilt system has two big changes. One, iPhone 16 has 8GB RAM – essential to run Apple Intelligence aka Apple’s generative AI tools. Two, the phone is powered by the A18 chipset, which is 30 per cent faster in general computing and 40 per cent faster in graphics workloads compared to the A16 chipset in the iPhone 15 series. Apple says the new series of iPhones come with an improved cooling system which will help sustain its performance once users start using the phones. The new phone will also support Ray Tracing in games, which is a demanding workload and if a chipset can support that, it is a blazingly fast one.
Classy colours and camera
Although there is no telephoto lens, Apple highlighted that the rear camera system in the new series supports zoom levels from Macro to 2X. For its zoom feature, Apple is using the same cropping and software tricks that Google uses in the Pixel 9. This part is yet to be reviewed and experienced in detail when the series is available in India for users.
The other big change with the new series is that the phones come in new colours. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus come in teal, pink, ultramarine, white, and black. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are available in black titanium, white titanium, natural titanium, and desert titanium. We assume that teal and ultramarine will be popular with users, while desert titanium will see more takers in the Indian market.
Going better with Pro
Comparing the changes of the iPhone 16 with the iPhone 16 Oro, the design and looks have more changes than previous Pro phones. The screens are bigger but the size is not since Apple had reduced the bezels around the screen. It has a 6.9-inch screen and is marginally heavier than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Another feature that makes this new Pro series different from the existing one is that the iPhone 16 Pro also has a Camera control button and a new colour – desert titanium. Unlike the loud gold of Apple’s previous phones, the Pro phones are rather muted colours – more like sand.
Reviewers say the natural titanium with its brushed look appears to be the best-looking iPhone than the desert titanium. The 16 Pro, in terms of its shape, size, and contours, look similar to its predecessors. It is claimed by the reviewers present at the Demo zone, that the iPhone Pro phones continue to be the best-built in the market. The delicate built, materials of tougher ceramic layers and Titanium grade 5 frames are irreplaceable so far.
Long-lasting battery
Similar to iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 pro also has a few internal upgrades. One of the most significant of these is the A18 Pro chipset, which is believed to be the same as M4 chips inside new iPads. The M4 received brilliant reviews from users, thus the A18 Pro is expected to be an impressive and efficient chipset. Additionally, Apple highlights that the battery in the iPhone 16 Pro Max is rated to run for 33 hours under typical usage. Although it's a bold claim, we are yet to see the results when we use the phone once it is out in the market.
Apple Intelligence aka Generative AI
One of the two big features of iPhone 16 phones is the Apple Intelligence. Both the series of phones are powerful, though, users may need some extra effort to utilise the functions completely including the newly added feature of Camera Button. The reviewers who used the phone briefly at the Demo centre during the launch say that the camera button is not a simple button to open the camera app and click a photo, it supports multiple touch gestures and has a multi-mechanism. Single click, double-click, swipe up or down – all of them enable one or two camera features. All users may not be able to master this special Camera Control button, but those who can, will get immense satisfaction with their new purchase.
Unmatchable finish
Coming back to the Apple Intelligence inside the iPhone 16 series is believed to remain continuous work. The features are impressive. For instance, it can create emojis on the fly or use Visual Intelligence through the iPhone camera to let AI decode things for you. However, these features will be available a little later after the iPhone 16 phones become available. As of now the planned launch of these features is later this year or earlier next year, some Apple Intelligence features will come next month with a new beta update.
For now, the iPhone 16 devices are a continuation of a design type Apple started a few years ago after it launched its first iPhone in 2007. The first look of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are exquisitely built with top-notch built quality – the design that no other phone so far has matched or can match, at least for the next few years. The hardware and camera system and unmatchable. There’s immense raw power in their A18 and A18 Pro chipsets.
With the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro series, Apple has refined the product to perfection, just like what it has been doing for the last few years. If you are using iPhone 15, you may not be attracted to the latest series, but the ones with older versions will find it impressive. Apart from the phone series, Apple also launched AirPods Max headphones with USB-C and Apple watches.
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