The largest Apple occasion of the yr lastly occurred, and as anticipated, the most important innovation highlights are the iPhone 16 Professional and its Max model. As soon as once more, we’re handled to the identical basic design and acquainted colours.
Final yr’s iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max had been among the many finest telephones launched final yr. How do that yr’s fashions stack up? Are they price upgrading to? Let’s break all of it down.
iPhone 16 Professional: value and launch
The iPhone 16 Professional begins at $999 for the bottom variant with 128GB storage. Trims with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage are additionally obtainable. Within the U.S., the iPhone 16 Professional Max will set you again $1,199. The storage tier for this one begins at 256GB and climbs as much as 1TB.
Preorders of the iPhone 16 Professional duo go dwell on September 13, whereas gross sales kick off on September 20. The brand new Qi2 MagSafe charger with 25W output prices $39 within the U.S.
iPhone 16 Professional: specs
| iPhone 16 Professional | iPhone 16 Professional Max | |
| Dimensions | 149.6 x 71.5 x 8.25 mm (5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches) | 163 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm (6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 7.03 ounces (199 grams) | 7.99 ounces (227 grams) |
| Show | 6.3-inch Tremendous Retina XDR OLED show 2622 x 1206 pixels 460 ppi pixel density 120Hz refresh fee 2,000,000:1 distinction ratio 1000 nits max brightness (typical); 1600 nits peak brightness (HDR); 2000 nits peak brightness (out of doors) Ceramic Protect entrance |
6.9-inch Tremendous Retina XDR OLED show 2868 x 1320 pixels 460 ppi pixel density 120Hz refresh fee 2,000,000:1 distinction ratio 1000 nits max brightness (typical); 1600 nits peak brightness (HDR); 2000 nits peak brightness (out of doors) Ceramic Protect entrance |
| Sturdiness | IP68 (most depth of 6 meters as much as half-hour) |
IP68 (most depth of 6 meters as much as half-hour) |
| Colours | Black Titanium, White Titanium, Pure Titanium, Desert Titanium | Black Titanium, White Titanium, Pure Titanium, Desert Titanium |
| Processor | A18 Professional 2 efficiency + 4 effectivity cores 6-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine |
A18 Professional 2 efficiency + 4 effectivity cores 6-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Software program | iOS 18 | iOS 18 |
| Updates | Seven years of promised upgrades | Seven years of promised upgrades |
| Rear cameras | Fusion: 48MP, f/1.78 aperture Extremely Huge: 48MP, f/2.2 aperture Telephoto: 12MP, f/2.8 aperture 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x optical zoom choices |
Fusion: 48MP, f/1.78 aperture Extremely Huge: 48MP, f/2.2 aperture Telephoto: 12MP, f/2.8 aperture 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x optical zoom choices |
| Entrance digicam | 12MP, f/1.9 aperture | 12MP, f/1.9 aperture |
| New digicam options | Anti-reflective lens coating
4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps, 100 fps (Fusion) or 120 fps (Fusion) 1080p Dolby Imaginative and prescient video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps or 120 fps (Fusion) Wind noise discount |
Anti-reflective lens coating
4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps, 100 fps (Fusion) or 120 fps (Fusion) 1080p Dolby Imaginative and prescient video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps or 120 fps (Fusion) Wind noise discount |
| Battery | As much as 27 hours of video playback | As much as 33 hours of video playback |
| Charging | As much as 50% cost in half-hour with 20W adapter 30W with MagSafe ChargerMagSafe, Qi2 and Qi wi-fi charging help |
As much as 50% cost in 35 minutes with 20W adapter 30W with MagSafe ChargerMagSafe, Qi2 and Qi wi-fi charging help |
| Connectivity | 5G, Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.3, VoLTE, NFC | 5G, Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.3, VoLTE, NFC |
| Worth | Beginning at $999 | Beginning at $1,199 |
iPhone 16 Professional: hands-on
It’s one factor to clarify a brand new telephone’s options, specs, and so on., nevertheless it’s one other to truly use one. The iPhone 16 Professional appears spectacular on paper, however how does it maintain as much as real-world testing?
Whereas we’d like rather a lot extra time earlier than our full overview is prepared, we did have a possibility to go hands-on with the iPhone 16 Professional. We examined the telephone’s new Digital camera Management button, noticed its improved show, and bought to take a look at the controversial Desert Titanium coloration.
iPhone 16 Professional: design and show
The iPhone 16 Professional now depends on a Grade 5 Titanium with a sandblasted texture. Apple claims the next-gen display screen safety on the iPhone 16 Professional and its Max trim is stronger than the first-gen Ceramic Protect show safety.
Essentially the most notable {hardware} change, nonetheless, is the brand new bodily shutter button, which lets customers customise numerous digicam options for fast entry. It’s referred to as the Digital camera Management button, and it helps faucet and slide gestures, due to a capacitive floor and a taptic engine beneath for vibration suggestions.
Along with capturing footage, it additionally pulls up a fast management slider within the digicam viewfinder to regulate metrics similar to publicity, zoom, and depth of area. Within the coming months, Apple will replace the digicam app so as to add a two-stage shutter click on performance for locking focus and publicity.
Notably, Apple has bumped up the display screen dimension, placing a 6.3-inch panel on the iPhone 16 Professional and a 6.9-inch show on the Max variant. The decision has additionally been barely elevated, however the pixel density stays an identical at 460ppi throughout each fashions and their respective predecessors.
As soon as once more, Apple is serving the Tremendous Retina XDR OLED show with a peak 120Hz refresh fee and a pair of,000 nits of peak brightness. Apparently, the iPhone 16 Professional’s display screen can attain a brightness output as little as one nit. The general construct nonetheless serves an IP68-level safety, which implies the brand new Apple flagships can deal with immersion for half-hour at a depth of as much as 6 meters.
iPhone 16 Professional: inside {hardware} and software program
Apple says the brand new iPhones have been designed from the bottom as much as get the very best out of Apple Intelligence, the suite of generative AI options that features every little thing from Writing Instruments to a extra conversational Siri with deeper app integration.
Powering the iPhone 16 Professional duo is the brand new A18 Professional processor, constructed atop an up to date 3-nanometer processor. The corporate says it borrowed tech from Apple silicon powering its Mac lineup to spice up the graphics output, bringing a sizeable enchancment in uncooked efficiency in addition to energy effectivity.
It delivers a 20% raise in system reminiscence bandwidth, a 2x enhance at hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and as much as 20% enchancment in sustained efficiency. The six-core structure contains two efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores, surpassing the A17 Professional’s uncooked efficiency by round a 15% margin at CPU efficiency whereas additionally delivering a graphics efficiency raise price 20% in comparison with its predecessor.
Essentially the most notable software-side improve is Visible Intelligence, which is tiled to the Digital camera Management button. Consider it as Google Lens, however supercharged with the brand new Siri AI chops in addition to seamless offloading to ChatGPT for extra complicated queries. Visible Intelligence works in the identical vein as GPT-4o imaginative and prescient capabilities however with the additional benefit of native integration with instruments such because the calendar app.
Apple has additionally enhanced the charging velocity, taking it to 25W with a MagSafe wi-fi adapter. Along with enhancing the thermal structure, Apple additionally claims that the brand new Professional fashions provide the “finest iPhone battery life ever.” iOS 18 runs out of the field, and its largest draw will likely be Apple Intelligence.
iPhone 16 Professional: cameras and options
Apple has stored the 48-megapixel main digicam however has upgraded the ultrawide digicam to a 48MP sensor whereas conserving the telephoto digicam at a 12MP decision. Notably, the 5x optical zoom functionality enabled by the tetra prism lens structure is now obtainable on the iPhone 16 Professional and the Max model.
When it comes to digicam capabilities, essentially the most notable one is the flexibility to shoot 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient movies at a 120fps body fee, full with the comfort of ProRes and LOG seize immediately onto exterior storage. Notably, it may be used for each regular seize in addition to slo-mo video recording.
Apple claims that customers can now carry out professional-grade coloration grading on particular person frames of 4K video recorded at 120 frames per second in Dolby Imaginative and prescient. The high-res, excessive body fee seize combo applies to common and slo-mo movies. Notably, customers could have the choice to vary the playback velocity post-capture to a film-like 24fps mode.
The upgraded ultrawide digicam will even seize 48MP ProRAW information. Due to Apple Intelligence, Siri will even assist with picture and video enhancing. There are additionally many new Photographic Types to play with, alongside a brand new management pad for extra granular management over tone and coloration depth whereas adjusting picture moods.
Apple is making the very best of the onboard studio-quality mics for vlogging professionals. Take, for instance, Audio Combine, which apparently does the identical factor with sound indicators as Cinematic Mode does with focal adjustment in movies throughout post-edits.
The brand new device lets customers modify audio tracks after filming, enabling them to isolate and improve a speaker’s voice, simulate an expert studio recording atmosphere, or separate vocal and ambient sounds for a encompass sound expertise. Apple is throwing wind noise discount into the combo.