You just spent a small fortune on a slab of titanium and glass. It looks sleek. It feels expensive. But if you’re just using it to scroll through TikTok and take basic selfies, you're basically driving a Ferrari in a school zone.
Honestly, the iPhone 16 Pro is a beast, but it’s also confusing. Apple added a bunch of physical buttons and AI layers that change how the phone actually works. It's not just a faster version of the 15; it’s a different workflow entirely.
Let’s get into how you actually use this thing without feeling like you need a PhD in computer science.
That New Camera Control Button is Kinda Tricky
Everyone calls it a button. It’s not really a button—at least not in the way you’re used to. It’s a capacitive, pressure-sensitive sapphire crystal strip that behaves like a DSLR shutter.
If you just click it once, it opens the camera. Great. But that’s the amateur move.
The real magic is the light press.
When you’re in the camera app, a light press (don't click it all the way!) brings up a tiny overlay. From here, you can slide your finger left or right to zoom. Double light press? That opens the deeper menu where you can swap between exposure, depth of field, and those fancy new Photographic Styles.
Quick Tip for the Pro Workflow
Most people leave it on zoom. Don't do that. Go to Settings > Camera > Camera Control and set it to "Cameras." This lets you flick between the actual lenses (0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x) instead of digital zooming, which basically just crops your photo and makes it look like mush.
Also, if you're a third-party app fan, you can actually remap this button to open Halide or Instagram instead of the stock Apple app. It's a game changer for quick captures.
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Mastering the Action Button (Finally)
We’ve had the Action Button for a minute now, but with the iPhone 16 Pro, it feels more integrated into the "Pro" identity. Most people just set it to Silent Mode. Boring.
You’ve got a $1,000+ computer in your pocket; make it do something cool.
I’ve found that setting it to Visual Intelligence is the most 2026 way to use this phone. When you see a concert poster or a weird plant, you just hold the Action Button, point the camera, and it uses Apple Intelligence to tell you what you’re looking at. It can even add event dates from a flyer directly to your calendar.
If you’re a power user, use a Shortcut. I have mine set to a folder of actions:
- One press opens my smart home lights.
- If it’s after 10 PM, it starts a Voice Memo.
- If I'm at the gym, it launches my workout playlist.
Apple Intelligence and the "Hidden" Features
You’ve probably heard a lot about AI. In the iPhone 16 Pro, it’s mostly about saving you time on the boring stuff.
Writing Tools are basically everywhere now. If you’ve written a rambling email to your boss, you can highlight the text, tap the Apple Intelligence icon, and tell it to make you sound "Professional." It works surprisingly well, though sometimes it gets a bit too formal.
Clean Up is a Savior
Ever take a perfect photo at the beach only to realize there’s a random trash can or a stranger in the background? Open the photo, hit Edit, and use the Clean Up tool. You just circle the distraction and it vanishes.
Is it perfect? Usually. Does it sometimes leave a weird smudge if the background is complex? Yeah, sometimes. But for a quick Instagram post, it’s magic.
Video Like a Literal Movie Director
The iPhone 16 Pro can record in 4K at 120 fps. That sounds like marketing speak, but it means you can take buttery smooth slow-motion footage that actually looks professional.
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But there’s a catch.
If you want the absolute best quality, you need to turn on ProRes Log. Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and toggle it on. This records a "flat" image that looks gray and ugly at first.
Why would you want that? Because it keeps all the data. You can then "color grade" it later to get that cinematic look you see in big-budget commercials.
Fair warning: ProRes files are massive. A few minutes of footage will eat your storage for breakfast. If you’re serious about this, plug a fast SSD into the USB-C port. The phone will recognize it immediately and save the video directly to the drive.
The Settings You Need to Change Right Now
Apple ships these phones with "safe" settings, but "safe" is often annoying.
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- Turn off "Clean Preview": In the Camera Control settings, turn this off if you want to see your UI while using the button. Otherwise, the screen goes totally blank, which is cool for "immersion" but annoying when you need to see your battery life.
- Set up the 48MP HEIF Max: By default, your phone takes 12MP or 24MP photos to save space. If you want the full detail of that 48MP sensor without the giant file size of ProRAW, use HEIF Max. It’s the perfect middle ground.
- Always-On Display Tweaks: If the Always-On display is distracting you at night, go to Display & Brightness > Always On Display and toggle off "Show Wallpaper." It leaves you with just the clock and widgets on a black background. It saves a tiny bit of battery and looks way cleaner.
Battery Life Realities
The iPhone 16 Pro has a bigger battery, sure. But between the 120Hz ProMotion display and the constant AI processing, you can still kill it by 6 PM if you're not careful.
If you’re on a long trip, use Low Power Mode early. Don't wait until you're at 20%. Turning it on at 60% will keep that charge hovering for hours longer because it throttles the background reindexing and dims the screen just enough that you won't notice.
Also, check your Background App Refresh. Apps like Meta and Google Maps love to "ping" in the background. Kill the ones you don't need. It’s the oldest trick in the book because it actually works.
To get the most out of your new device, start by customizing your Lock Screen widgets to show your most-used Apple Intelligence summaries—this lets you see the "gist" of your notifications without even unlocking the phone.