So, the iPhone 16 is here. It’s colorful, it’s got a weird new button on the side, and Apple is leaning incredibly hard into the whole "AI" thing. But if you’re standing in a store or looking at your current phone wondering if it’s time to move on, the marketing speak can get pretty exhausting.
I’ve spent time digging through the spec sheets and real-world usage data. Honestly, this year is a bit of a curveball. For the first time in a while, the "cheap" model (the standard 16) doesn't feel like a leftover from last year. It actually got the new chip. It got the new buttons.
Let’s talk about what actually changed and whether any of it matters for your daily life.
The Camera Control Button: It’s Not Just a Shutter
The biggest physical change is that little recessed area on the right side of the phone. Apple calls it Camera Control. It’s not just a button you click; it’s a force-sensitive, capacitive surface. Basically, it acts like a tiny trackpad for your camera.
You click it once to launch the camera app. Click it again to take a photo. But here is where it gets fiddly: if you light-press (like, don't actually click it down), it brings up a slider. You can slide your finger across the button to zoom in, change your exposure, or swap between lenses.
It takes some getting used to. You’ll probably accidentally zoom when you meant to take a photo the first few times. But for people who actually use their iPhone as their main camera, it’s a huge workflow change. You don't have to smudge your screen with thumbprints just to adjust the lighting anymore.
What it does besides taking photos:
- Visual Intelligence: Think Google Lens, but integrated. You can point your phone at a restaurant, hold the Camera Control button, and it’ll pull up the hours and menu.
- Third-Party Apps: It’s not locked to Apple’s app. Apps like Snapchat or the pro-focused Halide can use it to toggle settings.
- Quick Shortcuts: You can actually swap it in settings to open the Magnifier or a QR code scanner instead of the camera.
Apple Intelligence is the Real Elephant in the Room
You can't talk about what’s new on the iPhone 16 without talking about AI. Apple calls it "Apple Intelligence." They’ve basically rebuilt the guts of the phone—specifically the A18 chip—to handle generative AI locally.
This isn't just "Siri is better" (though Siri is finally getting the ability to understand you even if you stumble over your words). It’s about systemic changes. There’s a new Clean Up tool in the Photos app that lets you tap on a distracting person in the background of your vacation photo and just... make them vanish.
Writing Tools are another big part. If you’re writing an email and it sounds a bit too "I just woke up," you can highlight it and ask the phone to make it sound professional. Or concise. Or friendly. It also summarizes long email threads and notification stacks, which is a massive time-saver if you’re in twenty different group chats.
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The catch? Not all of this was available on day one. Apple is rolling these features out in stages through 2025. If you buy the phone today, you're essentially buying a ticket for a train that’s still leaving the station.
A18 vs. A18 Pro: The Gap is Closing
In previous years, the standard iPhone would get last year's Pro chip. Not this time. Both the iPhone 16 and the 16 Pro are running on the A18 architecture.
The base iPhone 16 has a 5-core GPU, while the Pro has 6 cores. Unless you are playing heavy-duty games like Resident Evil Village or Death Stranding on your phone, you are never going to notice that difference. They both have 8GB of RAM, which is the magic number required to run Apple’s AI models.
This is a huge win for the regular 16. It feels just as fast as the Pro in 99% of tasks.
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The Battery and Screen Situation
Apple claims the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the best battery life ever in an iPhone. We’re talking up to 33 hours of video playback. In the real world, for a normal human being who isn't just looping videos in a lab, that translates to a solid two-day phone for light users, or a "I don't need a charger until bedtime" phone for power users.
The Pro models also got a size bump. The 16 Pro moved from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches, and the Pro Max went from 6.7 to 6.9 inches. They did this by shrinking the borders (bezels) to almost nothing. It looks futuristic, but if you like small phones, the Pro is getting harder to love.
Quick breakdown of what’s actually new across the lineup:
- iPhone 16 / Plus: Gets the Action Button (replacing the mute switch), the Camera Control button, and the vertical camera layout for "Spatial" photos and videos (which you can view on an Apple Vision Pro).
- iPhone 16 Pro / Max: Gets a new 48MP Ultra Wide camera, 5x optical zoom on the smaller Pro (finally!), and 4K video recording at 120 frames per second for that buttery smooth slow motion.
- Charging: All models now support faster MagSafe charging—up to 25W if you have the right 30W power adapter. That's a big jump from the old 15W limit.
What Most People Get Wrong
A lot of people think they need the Pro for the best photos. Honestly? The standard iPhone 16 main camera is incredible. It uses a "Fusion" sensor that effectively gives you a 2x optical-quality zoom by cropping into the middle of the 48MP image. Unless you are a birdwatcher or a concert-goer who needs that 5x zoom, the regular 16 is plenty.
The real "Pro" feature remains the screen. The standard iPhone 16 is still stuck with a 60Hz refresh rate. In a world where even $300 Android phones have 120Hz "ProMotion" screens, it’s a bit stingy of Apple. If you’re used to the smooth scrolling of an iPad Pro or a previous Pro iPhone, the regular 16 will feel "laggy" to your eyes, even though the processor is lightning fast.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Move
If you're coming from an iPhone 13 or older, the jump is going to feel massive. You get USB-C, the Action Button, the Camera Control, and a much faster experience. If you have an iPhone 15, stay put. The differences aren't worth the $800+ unless you are dying to use the new AI features.
Here is what you should do next:
- Check your storage: Apple Intelligence features and high-res photos eat space fast. If you’re currently using more than 100GB, don't even look at the 128GB base model. Go for 256GB.
- Test the 16 Pro in person: The 6.9-inch Pro Max is a literal brick. Make sure it actually fits in your hand and your pockets before you commit to the "bigger is better" mindset.
- Audit your chargers: Since the 16 supports 25W MagSafe and faster wired charging, your old 5W "cube" from ten years ago is going to feel like a snail. Grab a 30W USB-C GaN charger to actually get the speeds you’re paying for.
Buying a new phone is a big investment. Take a beat to look at the colors too—the "Ultramarine" and "Teal" on the standard 16 are much more vibrant than the muted "Titanium" shades on the Pro. Sometimes, the better-looking phone is the one that makes you happier every time you pull it out of your pocket.