The Morning After: Our verdict on the iPhone 16 Pro

With the iPhone 16 Pro, the big announcements were the cameras and Apple Intelligence. The problem is Apple Intelligence isn’t quite here yet. We can test some features in the developer beta, but that’s not necessarily what we’ll get when the update rolls out in October. So our focus is more on iOS 18 (deep dive on the beta here) and the hardware changes.

The big hardware change is the camera button. But it’s not just a button, really. Located on the right side of the device, it has touch and pressure sensors to give greater control with swipes and semi-presses. (That’s in addition to the Action Button, which is still on the left edge of the iPhone).

It was meant to (and eventually will) let you push lightly on the button to trigger focus, similar to half-pressing a DSLR shutter button. Sadly, that function isn’t available at launch. You can swipe the button to tweak exposure, zoom levels and tone, and with the half-press, you can still select options or leave menus in the new Camera Control interface.

Without Apple Intelligence features at launch, however, the iPhone 16 Pro seems like a more incremental update than most years. But if you’ve held out on upgrading for a year or two, the camera improvements (and eventual AI features) might tempt you.

— Mat Smith

The biggest headlines you might have missed

Magnetic JoyCons?

Recent rumors suggest a design pretty close to the original Switch. Spotted by VGC, photos of the console have appeared online, and they show an 8-inch screen and magnetic Joy-Con controllers. There looks to be SL/SR buttons and front-facing player LEDs on those controllers.

We’ve pulled it into our collection of rumors and leaks — read on for more.

Continue reading.

The lawsuit is seeking class-action status.

Five unnamed contestants who participated in YouTuber MrBeast’s Beast Games filed a lawsuit on September 16 against MrBeast and Amazon, which plans to distribute the show. It’s also seeking class-action status. This game show, almost Squid Game-style, had participants go through challenges for a shot at $5 million in cash, with one winner from 1,000 participants.

The five have cited poor conditions, mistreatment and harassment. Among the 14 complaints are failure to pay minimum wages, sexual harassment, false advertising and failure to provide uninterrupted meal and rest breaks. They also arrived on set to discover that instead of 1,000 total competitors, there were far more people playing for the prize, thus lowering everyone’s chances of coming out a winner. According to The New York Times, the total number of contestants was about 2,000, which MrBeast said was the plan all along.

Continue reading.

It’s simpler to replace batteries and far easier to swap out components.

Apple has released new updates on iPhone 16 repairability, and these appear to have addressed issues with battery replacement and “parts pairing.” The company says it focused particularly on the repairability aspect of its latest devices. There’s now an entirely new, supposedly easier way to remove the battery. By running a low-voltage electrical current through the new ionic liquid battery adhesive (using a 9V cell, for instance), the battery will release itself from the enclosure. Apple also made changes to the Face ID sensor hardware, starting with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. Now, the TrueDepth Camera can be swapped from one unit to another without compromising security or privacy. Before, only Apple was able to do that type of repair.

Continue reading.