iPhone 16 and 16 Pro review: A worthy upgrade after three years
With the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, it has never been clearer that the cycle of radical invention has given way to iterative updates—not just on an annual basis, but a monthly one, due to delayed features coming in later software updates during the iOS 18 cycle.
The final form of the smartphone as we know it has been reached and nearly perfected. Nothing fundamental is changing anymore. But if you take the long view of just a few years, you can still see some impressive progress.
Year over year, the iPhone 16 is one of Apple’s most lightly iterative flagship phone release ever. But if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 13 or earlier, you’ll still feel like you’re graduating to a whole new experience.
Table of Contents
A note on Apple Intelligence
| Specs at a glance: iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max | |
|---|---|
| Screen | 2556×1179 6.1-inch (16), 2796×1290 6.7-inch (16 Plus), 2622×1206 6.3-inch (16 Pro), 2868×1320 6.9-inch (16 Pro Max) OLED |
| OS | iOS 18 |
| CPU | Apple A18 Bionic (16 & 16 Plus), Apple A18 Pro (16 Pro & 16 Pro Max) |
| RAM | 8GB |
| GPU | Apple A18 Bionic (16 & 16 Plus), Apple A18 Pro (16 Pro & 16 Pro Max) |
| Storage | 128, 256, or 512GB for 16 & 16 Plus; 128, 256, 512GB, or 1TB for 16 Pro; 256, 512GB, or 1TB for 16 Pro Max |
| Networking | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G |
| Ports | USB-C |
| Camera | 48 MP main camera and 12 MP ultra-wide (16 & 16 Plus); 48 MP main camera, 48 MP ultra-wide, 12 MP 5x telephoto (16 Pro & Pro Max); 12 MP front camera; 4K HDR video |
| Size | 147.6×71.6×7.8 mm (16), 160.9×77.8×7.8 mm (16 Plus), 149.6×71.5×8.25 mm (16 Pro), 163×77.6×8.25 mm (16 Pro Max) |
| Weight | 170 g (16), 199 g (16 Plus), 199 g (16 Pro), 227 g (16 Pro Max) |
| Starting price | $799 (16), $899 (16 Plus), $999 (16 Pro), $1,199 (16 Pro Max) |
| Other perks | MagSafe, Face ID, Dynamic Island, Camera Control, always-on display (Pro models) |
Much of Apple’s marketing messaging going into this launch has focused on Apple Intelligence, a suite of generative AI features that will work only on the new iPhone 16 line and last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. However, none of those features is available yet.
We’re not in the habit of reviewing phones for what they could do rather than what they currently do, so I won’t be talking about Apple Intelligence in this review. When it’s ready for a public release, you can expect to see us covering it closely—the same goes for other delayed features in these phones.
For now, it’s just about what you get out of the box when you buy an iPhone 16 today.
Specifications
Let’s review the specs of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro as they differ from last year’s phones.
Display
Nothing at all has changed about the iPhone 16’s display. It still comes in two sizes: 6.1 inches at 2,446×1,179 pixels and 6.7 inches at 2,796×1,290. Both clock in at 460 ppi, both are OLED with inky blacks and the maximum brightness to properly handle Dolby Vision HDR. (Apple claims 1,000 nits typical max brightness, 1,600 nits peak, and 2,000 nits peak outdoors.)
