IT’S hard to make a bad smartphone these days – and even harder if you’re Apple.
Most iPhone models aren’t exactly cheap, which has the upside of meaning they’re generally packed with the most high-end tech. Enter: the iPhone 16.
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Or rather, the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
I’ve been testing them since they were announced at Apple’s Glowtime event on September 9.
And I’ve got an easy favourite for two big reasons – but more on that later.
For now, let’s talk about the entry-level iPhone 16.
SWEET 16
It starts at £799 in the UK and $799 in the US and has a sensibly sized 6.1-inch screen.
Or you can pay an extra £100 / $100 and bag the Plus to get a more generous 6.7-inch panel.
It’s a bright and beautiful OLED display with Apple’s floating Dynamic Island at the top to show how far your Uber is away or album art for the song you’re listening to.
Immediately you’ll notice two big changes to the outside of the phone.
First up is a new Action Button that may be familiar if you watched last year’s Apple keynote.
It replaced the Mute Switch on the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023, and now it’s coming to the regular iPhone 16 too.
You can use it for muting the phone, sure.
But it’s reprogrammable so that you can have it do basically anything.
It can be as simple as turning your phone’s camera flash on or off, triggering Shazam to identify a song playing nearby, recording a voice memo, or even opening the Translate app – a great trick for when you’re on holiday.
SEAN’S IPHONE 16 REVIEW IN BRIEF
The full verdict is below, but here’s a quick look at how Sean Keach, The Sun’s Head of Technology and Science, got on with the new iPhone 16…
I’ve been trying out Apple’s new lot of iPhones.
There’s the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, and the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max.
All of them get a new Camera Control button for quick access to clever snapping feature. Taking photos has never been easier.
And the regular iPhone 16s are upgraded with the Pro’s Action Button, which I’m using to identify songs with Shazam – but you might want to set it up to translate foreign languages, or just turn the torch on.
There are loads of new colours for both models. My favourite is Teal on the iPhone 16, and Desert Titanium on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Powerful new A18 processors make photos look better, and battery life gets huge gains. Video playback hits a whopping 33 hours on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I can’t run it down.
That’s my favourite model, also in part thanks to its newly-giant 6.9-inch screen.
But I think the iPhone 16 is now so good that most people will get on just fine with it.
It’s probably not worth upgrading if you’ve bought a new iPhone in the last year or two – but consider buying this or a newly-discounted older or refurbished model if your current model is feeling a little long in the tooth. I can’t imagine you’ll regret it.
The second button is brand new this year, and lands on all four new iPhone models.
It’s called the Camera Control button, which gives away what it’s for.
Click it once to launch the camera, and then again to take a photo.
That’s not all: it’s pressure-sensitive, so a light press brings up a camera menu with features like zoom, focus, and photographic styles.
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You can then scroll along with the button to easily switch between them.
It’s a great way to get you thinking about using these special features more, and hopefully turn you into a pro snapper.
If you’re holding your iPhone vertically then your thumb will rest perfectly on the Camera Control button.
And for horizontal snaps, you’ll need to arch your finger over a little.
This might feel a little weird at first, but it gives your finger a nice range of motion to actually use the button.
It means you can launch the camera, set up the shot, and take the image all with a single button.
Eventually Apple is adding a Visual Intelligence feature that involves holding down the Camera Control to tell you info about what you’re looking at – like the breed of a dog. But that’s not out yet, so stay tuned.
The other thing you’ll probably notice from a quick glance at the iPhone 16 is that it’s a pretty beautiful device.
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Apple is shipping five colours: black, white, pink, ultramarine, and teal (which I’ve been using).
Honestly the colours are a big part of the fun, so I’d recommend avoiding just going for the black model.
But if you’re going to hide it in a case anyway then maybe it doesn’t matter.
To help you avoid having to use a case, there’s a new Ceramic Shield on the outside that’s supposed to be 50% tougher than the original version.
IPHONE 16 PRICES – HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAYING?
Here’s what you need to know…
iPhone 16:
- 128GB: £799 (UK) / $799 (US)
- 256GB: £899 (UK) / $899 (US)
- 512GB: £1,099 (UK) / $1,099 (US)
iPhone 16 Plus:
- 128GB: £899 (UK) / $899 (US)
- 256GB: £999 (UK) / $999 (US)
- 512GB: £1,199 (UK) / $1,199 (US)
iPhone 16 Pro:
- 128GB: £999 (UK) / $999 (US)
- 256GB: £1,099 (UK) / $1,099 (US)
- 512GB: £1,299 (UK) / $1,299 (US)
- 1TB: £1,499 (UK) / $1,499 (US)
iPhone 16 Pro Max:
- 256GB: £1,199 (UK) / $1,199 (US)
- 512GB: £1,399 (UK) / $1,399 (US)
- 1TB: £1,599 (UK) / $1,599 (US)
I haven’t thrown it at the ground yet – and probably won’t – but I trust that some wealthy maniac will do it and let us know how tough the iPhone really is.
What I will say is that I’ve been using iPhones for years and I’ve never broken a screen. I’ve probably jinxed it now. Whoops.
Anyway enough about the outside. What’s going on inside?
Well there’s a new A18 chip inside, which is designed in-house by Apple and is faster than the old one.
But the iPhone hasn’t really felt slow in a long while, so it’s hard to get a tangible feeling of how different it is.
Probably the most obvious improvement is the efficiency gain for battery life.
You’ll get 22 hours of video playback on the iPhone 16 versus 20 hours on the iPhone 15.
And the Plus is up an hour to 27 hours total.
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Honestly I’ve not been able to run the iPhone 16 down in a single day.
And you could probably get two days of use out of it if you were really careful.
The chip also powers new AI features as well as the bulk of the Apple Intelligence goodness coming in a future iOS 18 update.
That means transcribing your voice notes, rewriting your texts, summarising your emails, and prioritising notifications.
Siri will also eventually offer more natural conversation plus integration with ChatGPT for complicated queries – but that’s not out yet, so I couldn’t test it.
Similarly you’ll be able to create original Genmoji emoji based on what you’re talking about, and even generate entire images from scratch. All coming in the future. I’ll let you know how I get on, once I get a chance to try it out.
What I can talk about is the camera.
Apple’s iPhone 16 has a great snapper with a new Ultra Wide lens for very cool macro photography.
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And the cameras are now repositioned vertically so you can capture Spatial Videos in landscape mode.
They’re eerily lifelike 3D videos that you can rewatch inside Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
It’s not much use right now if you don’t have one. But it feels likely that Apple will eventually launch a cheaper headset that will allow you to step back into those memories without paying an arm and a leg.
Apple has also upgraded its Photographic Styles feature to better capture your skin undertones.
And you can use them to personalise how you look in photos.
It’s a neat trick, and means you should find yourself much happier with your selfies. Who doesn’t want that?
Finally, you’ll still be able to use Emergency SOS via Satellite to contact emergency services when you’re stuck without phone signal.
But you can also enjoy Messages via Satellite, for just texting your friends even when you can’t reach your regular network.
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It’ll only work outdoors, but it’s a fun little trick. If you’re ever at the top of a mountain, you’ll now properly be able to brag about it. Nice.
GOING PRO!
Now for the gadget connoisseur, there exists even better versions of the iPhone 16: the Pro and Pro Max.
Like the iPhone 16, you’ll enjoy the Action Button and new Camera Control button, and all the features I talked about above.
But there are a few key changes.
For a start, the screens are bigger. The Pro has a 6.3-inch display, and the Pro Max has a mammoth 6.9-inch panel that’s the biggest on any iPhone ever. It’s fantastically large and I love it.
If you have small hands then the Pro will likely be a better fit for you. But I’m obsessed with the newly gigantic screen and I will never use a tiny phone again.
The iPhone 16 Pro models are built from a lightweight titanium, so even the Pro Max feels relatively feathery.
And there are four colours this time around, black titanium, natural titanium, white titanium, and the new desert titanium.
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They all look really nice, albeit a little safe compared to the iPhone 16 line.
My favourite is probably the desert, followed by the black. But they all look very premium, which is the main thing when you’re forking out £999 / $999 for the Pro or £1,199 / $1,199 for the Pro Max.
To help motivate you to pay such lofty sums of money, you’ll get an upgraded A18 Pro chip.
This powers a whole host of behind-the-scenes AI bits, including improving the quality of the photos you take.
There’s a new 48-megapixel Fusion camera that’s capable of shooing 4K video in Dolby Vision at a staggeringly high 120 frames per second.
And you can also capture footage at 4K120fps in Slow-Mo for wildly high-quality movie-style cinematic. Hollywood in your hand, basically.
But honestly, the thing I’m most impressed by – aided by the A18 Pro chip – is the ludicrous battery life.
The iPhone 16 Pro promises 27 hours of video playback compared to last year’s 23 hours.
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And on the Pro Max, you’re looking at 33 hours up from 29 hours.
It’s frankly staggering how much stamina these phones have.
I’ve mostly been using the Pro Max and I just can’t run it down to zero in a day.
Battery life is usually a bit dodgy in the first few days while the iPhone is still setting up.
And I’ve been using it relentlessly too, testing out all the new features.
It just seems to keep going and going. It’s an absolute workhorse and you can really feel the gains.
I-UPGRADE?
So is it worth upgrading to either of these new phones?
If you’ve got last year’s model then it’s almost certainly a no – unless you’re a real gadget geek.
The changes aren’t big enough to warrant a yearly swap, especially as many of the new features are baked into iOS 18.
But if you’ve had an iPhone for three years, there are some great new tricks worth upgrading for.
Most people will get on just fine with the regular iPhone 16 or Plus.
Only spring for the Pro model if you need the absolute best camera, or you’re looking for supercharged battery life.
There are some general points I’d also make about the iPhone.
An iPhone tends to hold value very well, so you’re likely to get a fair chunk of money back for it when it’s time to sell it on.
And Apple has also been very good with providing software updates. The new iOS 18 works on the iPhone XS and XR, which came out all the way back in 2018.
Plus even if you feel like battery life has started to degrade, you can pay for a battery swap that breathes new life for a lot less than upgrading your model.
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So factor all of this in when you’re thinking about buying a new phone.
For what it’s worth, my favourite of the new devices is the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Firstly, the screen is enormous and honestly, delightful.
And secondly, the battery life is so generous that I think I’d now find it hard to switch to something else.
For me – a bona fide gadget-obsessive – the cost is worth it.
But I think most people will be happy with the £799 / $799 iPhone 16.
Alternatively, if budgets are tight, consider buying some of the now-cheaper older models benefitting from price drops.
I probably wouldn’t say it’s worth the hassle of switching from Android, so if you’re on that side of the fence, my top pick is the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.
But I still favour the iPhone 16 Pro Max overall – it just has that Apple magic (even if some of that magic is pending Apple’s big AI rollout…).
The Sun says: The iPhone 16 Pro Max is the best smartphone you can buy today. But all four new iPhone 16 devices are great if you can afford them. If not, there are plenty of cheaper Apple alternatives – so check out trade-ins, refurbished units, and discounted older models instead. Updates come for years, so you won’t be missing out on much. 5/5
The new iPhone 16 models are available from £799 / $799 on Friday, September 20.
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All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.