of iPhone 16 Pro It comes with a ton of upgrades that everyday users will be happy with: Besides the powerful and efficient new A18 Pro processor, Apple has also fixed a few outstanding issues with the new Pro lineup (on paper, at least), making this iPhone one of the biggest Pro upgrades in years.
Plus: Everything Apple announced at its iPhone 16 event: AirPods, Apple Watch Series 10, AI, and more
Apple’s final two standout features on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro were Dynamic Island and Action Button. While Apple has introduced a headline feature every year, the iPhone 14 Pro ended up with an increased weight and flat edges that made it less ergonomic.
The iPhone 15 Pro addressed this to some extent with the use of Titanium, but there were two issues that have plagued the Pro iPhone for years and that were finally addressed with the 16 Pro.
Improved battery life and significant camera upgrades
The biggest issues with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro were subpar battery life and lens flare, but Apple seems to have focused on these issues with the iPhone 16 Pro series, which Apple claims will boast “the best battery life of any iPhone.” That’s a bold claim, considering my iPhone 15 Pro’s battery life was average at best.
I use my phone a lot and need to charge it twice a day. The last iPhone to deliver all-day (or more) battery life was the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which remains the benchmark for phone battery life for me. If the iPhone 16 Pro Max could come even a little closer to that, that would be great.
Plus: iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro: Is it worth the upgrade?
The new 3nm A18 Pro processor has the same two performance cores and four efficiency cores structure, but Apple claims it’s more efficient than the A17 Pro, with 15% better CPU performance and 20% better graphics performance. We’re still skeptical about how it will perform in everyday life, but we’re hopeful.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup also fix another iPhone-specific issue: lens flare. Apple didn’t say anything about it on stage at the event, but the new iPhones are equipped with an anti-reflective lens coating that aims to reduce the effect of this when the camera is pointed directly at a light source. This has been an issue for a long time and has affected the overall quality of my campfire and Diwali photos, so I’m going to give the anti-reflective lens coating a try.
Creator-centric features are a welcome addition
The iPhone 16 Pro series has the closest professional camera system of any phone available. It features an upgraded camera system with a new 48MP Fusion camera, an updated 48MP Ultra Wide camera, and a 12MP Telephoto camera with the same 5x optical zoom on both devices. You can also take 48MP macro shots and shoot 4K Dolby Vision video at up to 120fps (including slow-motion video).
Apple claims that the new Photo Styles feature offers real-time color grading. We’ve had a range of Photo Styles on the previous two iPhones, but this is an updated version that lets you locally adjust colors, highlights, and shadows in real time.
And while I’d love to be excited about the new camera button on the iPhone 16, right now I’m not.
The iPhone 16 Pro also adds a new camera control button that does more than just act as a shutter button. As a traveler, I already love this feature. You can launch the camera with a tap, take a photo or shoot a video, and adjust parameters like zoom, exposure, and depth of field in Portrait mode with a swipe. It unclutters the viewfinder, giving you more space to frame your shot.
The camera control button also includes a “visual intelligence” feature that can learn about the objects and places you see just by taking a photo. It’s like a combination of Google Lens and Circle to Search, and will be rolling out in the US in the Apple Intelligence beta in October.
Physical improvements to the iPhone 16 Pro
I’ve accidentally dropped my iPhone 15 Pro a few times, and it didn’t end well. I tested it for a year without a case, and while the back didn’t get any scratches, the titanium started to flake around the edges. The iPhone 16 Pro uses grade 5 titanium for added durability. Plus, the Ceramic Shield display is said to be twice as strong as before, making the new iPhones tougher and much more durable.
I’m also excited about the larger 6.3-inch display on the iPhone 16 Pro. I love big screens, but Apple’s Pro Max iPhones are wider and more unwieldy than the competition, so I settled for the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro. The 6.3-inch display is the perfect form factor.
Plus: iPhone 16 models compared: which new iPhone should you buy?
It’s even more appealing now because Apple isn’t limiting its best camera system to the Pro Max model: Unlike last year, both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro have the same camera system. The larger size also allowed Apple to increase battery capacity.
Apple Intelligence will be central to the iPhone 16 Pro’s feature set at launch, though it will also be available on the iPhone 15 Pro. But the 16 Pro’s hardware is much more advanced, making it a solid upgrade this year.
