Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro review: Camera control and larger screens, Apple Intelligence not ready yet

Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineups hit the market on Sept. 20, and they bring a handful of updates that, if you’re using an older iPhone, make them worth the upgrade. There’s a new camera button, improved camera performance, bigger screens on the Pro models, and better battery life all around.

I’ve spent some time using both the iPhone 16, starting at $799, and the iPhone 16 Pro, starting at $999. If you’re coming from an outdated iPhone, you’ll appreciate the new phones’ refinements. But the biggest upgrade to Apple’s newest iPhones is the company’s Apple Intelligence platform.

Available as a software update in October — no, it’s not launching alongside the phones — Apple Intelligence will bring a series of AI-powered features to the iPhone including a smarter Siri, AI-based writing tools for summarizing and rewriting your messages to fit a specific tone, and the option to summarize your notifications so you don’t have to read through 57 unrelated texts to find out what time you and your friends are getting dinner tonight.

To use Apple Intelligence, however, you’ll need to have either an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, or iPhone 16 Pro. If you’ve got an iPhone 15, you’re out of luck. Apple says the base 15 simply isn’t powerful enough to run the Apple Intelligence software.

Apple is positioning Apple Intelligence as its next revolutionary product. And while it’s too early to say whether that’s true or not, after using a beta version of the software, I can say its new capabilities are certainly welcome additions to the iPhone.

I can’t say Apple Intelligence is the kind of thing that’s worth upgrading your iPhone for just yet, but taken as a whole, the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro lines provide the right kind of improvements that make them solid updates.

Camera Control and new cameras

Let’s talk about what’s new to the iPhone 16 lineup. First is the new Camera Control button. A new way to launch and, well, control the camera, the Camera Control button is found on the lower right side of both iPhone 16s and iPhone 16 Pros.

Press the button and you’ll instantly launch the iPhone’s Camera app. Gently double-press the button and it’ll pull up the app’s camera exposure, depth, zoom, cameras, styles, and tone options. Lightly tap the button again to dive deeper into each setting. Sure, you can already launch the camera app by swiping right or tapping the camera button from the iPhone’s lock screen, but Camera Control makes it feel like you’re using an old-school point-and-shoot camera. Man, referring to it like that makes me feel old.

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Still, it’s true. Being able to take photos and shoot videos by pressing or pressing and holding the Camera Control button does make capturing your subjects as easy as using an old, dedicated camera. You don’t have to move your finger around the screen to change the zoom level or adjust the exposure, losing your framing and risking dropping your iPhone. Is it the sole reason to upgrade? No, but it’s a helpful addition to the iPhone.

On the camera front, Apple’s new styles feature allows you to adjust the look of your shot from stark black and white to luminous, adjusting various sections of the photo rather than simply blanketing it with a filter. The result is a camera option that genuinely makes your shots look far more interesting and lively than they otherwise would. It’s an excellent enhancement to the camera app, and one you’ll want to try out as soon as you get the chance.

Apple has also added a new Audio Mix editing mode for your videos that is meant to improve the voice of the person in your shot versus the ambient sound around you. There’s a standard mode that leaves all of the audio levels the same, an in-frame option that focuses more on the subject in the shot and reduces the background levels, as well as studio and cinematic modes.

It’s downright impressive how much of a difference the modes make to your video, and swapping between each while editing your piece lets you see which is better for your project. If you’re in a crowded place and want to get a video of your friends and family, the in-frame mode is the choice for you. And because you adjust the audio style while editing rather than while shooting your video, you don’t have to worry that you recorded it in the wrong mode and risk ruining your video when you take it.

All four iPhones also get new cameras. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus now feature 48-megapixel ultra-wide cameras that can capture macro photography images and provide better low-light shots. Apple also says the phones offer the equivalent of a 2x optical zoom thanks to their 48-megapixel Fusion cameras.

The iPhone 16 Pro now comes with a 5x telephoto camera to make the 5x camera on the Pro Max, and both Pro phones get new 48-megapixel Fusion cameras and 48-megapixel ultra-wide cameras. All of that works out to some incremental changes for the iPhones’ cameras. Overall, the ability to take macro photos using the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus and the addition of 5x telephoto zoom to the iPhone 16 Pro are the best upgrades of the lot.

In the future, Apple will also add a feature called visual intelligence to the iPhone that will allow users to point their phones’ cameras at real-world objects and get information on them. One example Apple has offered is snapping a shot of a restaurant and quickly getting its hours and user reviews. But that won’t land until later this year.

Displays and performance

In addition to updated cameras, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max get new larger displays. The iPhone 16 Pro’s screen goes from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches, while the Pro Max’s goes from 6.7 to 6.9 inches. Apple did this by slightly increasing the size of the phones and slimming down their bezels, making them look more like a single piece of glass up front.

It’s not an enormous increase in screen size, but when you’re streaming movies or scrolling Reddit, any extra space is an improvement. Apple’s always-on display also makes a comeback on the Pro and Pro Max, but it’s still not available on the 16 or 16 Plus, which is a bummer.

Apple did, however, bring the Action Button over to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. Previously only available on the Pros, the Action Button is a customizable button on the left side of the iPhone that you can set to do things like launch the voice recorder, magnifier, or, my favorite, the flashlight.

In terms of power, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus get Apple’s new A18 chip, while the Pro and Pro Max get the A18 Pro processor. You won’t run into any slowdown with either chip whether you’re playing games or just browsing TikTok or Instagram, and they’re both designed to run Apple Intelligence.

As for battery life, I got through my entire work day with the iPhone 16, then streamed the Mets game, and the battery still had a 19% charge at about 10:30 at night. As for the Pro, I used it for email and Slack, perusing social media apps, and ordering from Dunkin, and still had 71% battery life after about 7 hours of use.

Should you get it?

The latest iPhones bring speedier chips, larger displays on the Pros, improved cameras, and a new camera button. If, however, you just bought an iPhone 15 or 15 Pro or even have an iPhone 14, you can still hold off.

I can’t say whether Apple Intelligence is worth upgrading to a new phone because it’s not ready for prime time yet. And since it’s still in beta, Apple could change or add or remove features before it releases the software.

All other things considered, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are what you’d expect from Apple. Great phones that are incrementally better than their predecessors. We’ll have to wait until Apple Intelligence comes out to know if it pushes the phones beyond that.

Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.

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