Apple iPhone 16 & 16 Plus: the promise of power and endurance

Every year, if you look for innovation at Apple, you won't find it in the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. The Apple company reserves its real new features for its most expensive models, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. 2024 is no exception.

Consume less to enjoy more

In terms of design and size, the iPhone 16 does not benefit from any major changes. Because if for the Pro and Pro Max, the screen size goes from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches for one, then from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches for the other, it must be admitted that Apple is playing the card of status quo with the regular iPhone 16s. The regular iPhone 16 offers a 6.1-inch screen, while the iPhone 16 Plus has a 6.7-inch panel. If you're looking to get the largest possible screen for an iPhone, you'll have to go straight to the Pro Max for this range. As for brightness, the screen of the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus promises 2000 nits in bright light and 1 nit in a dark environment.

Aside from the screen size, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus have identical technical specifications. They both house the A18 chip created especially for the occasion. Engraved in 3 nm, it is announced (as every year) to be faster, while consuming less. The GPU has five cores and should consume 35% less energy for identical performance to the A16. On the other hand, the A18 chip is now compatible with Apple Intelligence (which is not the case for the processor present on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus). On the CPU side, the performance is announced to be 30% higher, while keeping the same structure, namely two performance cores and four low-power cores.

Apple also spent a little time explaining that the battery of these new models will be improved, without really going into details. The Cupertino company mentions “better autonomy than previous models thanks to better energy efficiency and a larger battery”but that's pretty much all the information the manufacturer provides. It's now a classic with the Californian: there's no question of quantifying by talking about mAh. Finally, Apple offers five colors: black, white, pink, teal and ultramarine.

And what about the camera?

For the rear camera sensors, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are moving away from the diagonal design introduced with the iPhone 13 in favor of a vertical style adopted by many competitors for many years. And as usual, we are entitled to two sensors here (48 Mpx and 12 Mpx) instead of the three present in the Pro range. In order to make accessing the camera faster, Apple has added a button located on the right edge of the device, simply called Camera Control, which allows you to directly access the function with one press, or to discover information about what you see on the screen.

Apple gives an example to illustrate the feature: if you see a bike on the street, press the Camera Control button while viewing the 2-wheeler on your screen via the camera, and you will then have access to a Google search indicating the model in question. Moreover, this is not the only button added to the iPhone 16. The Action button, already present on the Pro models of the iPhone 15 range, is now available on the left edge of the device.

Will the wallet hurt?

Rumors were predicting a price drop on these base models, but that won't be the case. Prices start at $799 for the iPhone 16, then $899 for the iPhone 16 Plus model. In other words, the prices are exactly the same as the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. No surprises there, then.

These new models will be available from September 20, 2024, with pre-orders opening on Friday, September 13.