Apple iPhone 16 Pro review: Do you need the Pro Max?

Between the iPhone 16 Professional and iPhone 16 Professional Max, the latter looks as if an even bigger deal due to its ginormous 6.9-inch display. However I’m telling you the iPhone 16 Professional shouldn’t be missed.

I’ve been utilizing each of those new iPhone Professionals facet by facet, and I feel the common iPhone 16 Professional is a greater worth. For $999, you get an even bigger show than final 12 months (6.3 vs 6.1 inches), the extra highly effective 5x zoom that was a Professional Max unique and a formidable battery life increase, based mostly on our testing.

In any other case, the iPhone 16 Professional has all the identical goodies because the Professional Max, together with the highly effective A18 Professional chip, upgraded 48MP extremely extensive digital camera and spectacular video options like 4K 120 fps sluggish mo movies and Audio Combine for zapping background noise. Apple Intelligence options like Writing Instruments and the brand new Siri are promising based mostly on early testing of the iOS 18.1 developer beta, however that will not formally arrive till October.

As you’ll see in my iPhone 16 Professional evaluate, that is ounce-for-ounce one of many best phones you should buy and the best iPhone for energy customers on a finances — even when there’s not a really “wow” characteristic but for Apple Intelligence but.

iPhone 16 Professional Assessment: BIGGEST Questions Answered! – YouTube

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iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Specs

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Worth and launch date

The iPhone 16 Professional goes on sale September 20 and begins at $999 / £999 / AU$1,799 for 128GB of storage. It’s price noting that the iPhone 16 Professional Max options 256GB of capability in its base mannequin.

The excellent news is which you could get 256GB of storage for $100 lower than the iPhone 16 Professional Max, and also you get the identical max storage possibility of 1TB for these prepared to actually splurge.

To get the very best iPhone 16 Professional value, take a look at our roundup of the best iPhone 16 Pro deals.

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Design

The iPhone 16 Professional remains to be a compact telephone, however there’s a trade-off with getting a bigger show. It’s now extra of a mid-size telephone now versus a small telephone, as the dimensions and weight have grown.

This handset measures 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches and weighs 7.03 ounces, in comparison with 5.77 x 2.78 x 0.32 inches and 6.6 ounces for the iPhone 15 Professional, so the brand new iPhone is taller and wider and simply as skinny, however there’s extra heft to it.

The excellent news is that the iPhone 16 Professional remains to be straightforward to make use of with one hand, as Apple made the bezels thinner. The design ought to be extra sturdy, too, as Apple claims that the Ceramic Protect show is 50% harder. Plus, the band remains to be fabricated from titanium, which is extra sturdy than aluminum.

The iPhone 16 Professional colours aren’t very flashy in comparison with the common iPhone 16. There’s White Titanium, Black Titanium, Pure Titanium and the brand new Desert Titanium, which is sort of a delicate rose gold. I favor the Desert hue as a result of it seems to be “new.” 

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Show

Don’t count on a lot new from the iPhone 16 show. The one actual information past the dimensions enhance to six.3 inches for this OLED display is that it might get dimmer. The minimal is now simply 1 nit (down from 2 nits on the iPhone 15 Pro). I put the 2 telephones facet by facet in a darkish room, and I observed the distinction instantly.

What’s the profit? You should utilize your telephone in mattress with out disturbing your companion, and for those who’re utilizing StandBy mode, the iPhone 16 Professional gained’t be as shiny while you’re utilizing it in a single day as an alarm clock.

In any other case, you get the identical 120Hz refresh price on this ProMotion show, and the identical max brightness. Apple claims a peak brightness of two,000 nits outside and 1,600 nits for HDR content material.

We simulate out of doors situations with a flashlight, and the iPhone 16 Professional reached 1,553 nits. That’s larger than the Galaxy S24 Ultra however manner behind the Google Pixel 9 Pro.

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Digital camera Management

Apple has added a brand new button to the iPhone 16 Professional, but it surely’s not technically a button. The Digital camera Management is a recessed capacitive change that gives haptic suggestions. Press as soon as to launch proper into the digital camera and press once more to snap a photograph. It’s easy and works properly in panorama and portrait mode.

I discovered it straightforward to launch straight into the digital camera, and I like which you could press and maintain the Digital camera Management to report a video, although for those who take your finger off the button the video stops. I want you could possibly customise that.

The Digital camera Management has plenty of methods, together with the power to zoom out and in by sliding your finger left and proper on the button. And a delicate double press launches a mini menu you’ll be able to scroll by way of to tweak issues like publicity, depth and select Photographic Types.

There’s a studying curve to Digital camera Management, however I’m glad that it’s an possibility. Plus, this frees up the Motion Button on the left facet of the iPhone 16 Professional for programming different shortcuts.

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Cameras

The iPhone 16 Professional has a couple of key upgrades that I appreciated throughout my testing: there’s a sharper 48MP extremely extensive digital camera, a quicker 48MP principal Fusion Digital camera with “zero shutter lag” and the 5x tetraprism zoom borrowed from the Professional Max collection.

As well as, Photographic Types are built-in instantly into the Digital camera and Photographs app, so you’ll be able to change Pores and skin Undertones and the Temper impact of your photograph on the fly. Plus, you’ll be able to tweak it after the actual fact. 

To check the iPhone 16 Professional’s quicker efficiency I had my son take a photograph of me capturing a soar shot facet by facet with the iPhone 15 Professional, and the result’s a brighter and extra detailed picture.

How does the iPhone 16 Professional examine to the best camera phones? I shot a variety of photos utilizing the iPhone 16 Professional alongside the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL to search out out.

I put the ultrawide digital camera to the take a look at on the iPhone 16 Professional with this shot of a seaside, and Apple comes out on high. The colours are extra pure by way of the iPhone versus the Galaxy S24 Extremely, and Samsung’s pic seems to be distorted on the correct facet by the flowers.

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The iPhone 16 Professional takes a crisp vivid photograph of this Halloween signal with a wealthy orange within the foreground. However I give the Pixel 9 Pro XL credit score for capturing extra particulars within the shadows of the opposite decorations. Samsung does, too, however the S24 Extremely blows out different components of the shot.

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On this photograph of peppers, the iPhone 16 Professional’s picture is much less saturated however I like how the ivory peppers have extra depth. The S24 Extremely’s shot is a bit overexposed, though it’s extra inviting at first look.

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So how good are the macro pictures? I took this photograph of a pink zinnia flower, purposely specializing in the petals on the left facet of the body. The Samsung shot is extra on the purple facet and fewer sharp within the petals.

I’m torn in regards to the look of this portrait shot from the iPhone 16 Professional. I look brighter by way of the iPhone but additionally a bit washed out. There’s a inexperienced tinge to the picture from the S24 Extremely, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional XL has probably the most properly balanced shot.

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In low mild I feel the iPhone 16 Professional wins on this shot of a constructing. The foreground and the constructing itself are properly uncovered, although I want the lettering on the highest of the constructing appeared sharper.

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I attempted one thing a bit trickier with this comparability of a string of lights exterior a restaurant. The iPhone 16 Professional is my favourite right here due to the extent of element while you zoom in, although the Pixel 9 Professional XL does a greater job with the definition within the bricks. Samsung’s pic is nice however a bit fuzzier.

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To check the iPhone 16 Professional’s 12MP selfie digital camera I put it up towards the Pixel 9 Professional XL and I barely favor Google’s shot. My black shirt seems to be crisper and the inexperienced bushes behind me look brighter.

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Video

The video on the iPhone 16 Professional will get a lift as now you can report at 4K and 120fps (up from 60fps). So video is not going to solely look smoother on the 120Hz show, you’ll be able to modify the playback pace on the fly to get dramatic-looking slo-mo movies.

iPhone 16 Professional: Gradual movement pattern – YouTube

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I attempted this out by recording a ping pong match in Bryant Park, and it’s outstanding how sharp the footage remained as I dropped the playback pace all the way in which down to twenty%. You may have plenty of enjoyable with this characteristic.

iPhone 16 Professional: 4K HDR – YouTube

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Galaxy S24 Extremely: 4K HDR – YouTube

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So what in regards to the video high quality? I filmed a fountain on a sunny day with the iPhone 16 Professional, Galaxy S24 Extremely and Pixel 9 Professional XL, and the outcomes had been blended. When zoomed out I most well-liked the pure colours of the iPhone on the flowers on the left facet of the body and the bushes within the background, and the water appeared tremendous sharp. Nonetheless, each the Samsung and Google telephones delivered higher element within the stone and extra distinction after I zoomed in at 5x. It took a second for the iPhone to focus.

In low mild the iPhone 16 Professional captured footage that appeared a bit dimmer than the Galaxy S24 Extremely of a fountain as I panned round as much as a big clock. However as soon as I zoomed in, the S24 Extremely’s footage turned darkish and misplaced element; the iPhone 16 Professional’s clip was extra constant at 5x zoom.

iPhone 16 Professional: Low mild video – YouTube

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Galaxy S24 Extremely: Low mild video – YouTube

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iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Apple Intelligence

“Hey, Siri. Are you good but?” Apple Intelligence isn’t formally coming to the iPhone 16 collection till October, however I used to be capable of check out a number of the options forward of its official launch as a part of the iOS 18.1 developer preview.

Writing Instruments will be pretty useful. I used it to summarize an extended be aware within the Apple Notes app and it got here up with a helpful abstract. I additionally had enjoyable with Writing Instruments attempting to rewrite an e mail I purposely wrote in a impolite tone, selecting the skilled possibility. And the outcome was certainly nearer to what I might normally ship.

I additionally used Apple Intelligence to search for tips on how to do numerous issues on the iPhone and bought again step-by-step directions for tips on how to display report in your iPhone. So that you’ll undoubtedly spend much less time trying up how-tos on-line.

On the Photographs entrance, my favourite Apple Intelligence characteristic is Reminiscence Film. You may give the Photographs app a immediate like “Seashore recollections by way of the years with an upbeat soundtrack” and also you’ll see the AI go to work sifting by way of all of your photographs and movies. And the top outcome was fairly satisfying, fittingly ending with a sundown pic.

Whereas it is overdue, I admire that the iPhone 16 Professional has a Clear Up button, which is mainly Google’s Magic Eraser on iOS. Apple’s model of the characteristic is wise sufficient to determine objects or topics you may wish to take away and it really works shortly. However the characteristic struggled in some instances to utterly erase what I didn’t need within the body. 

Siri is unquestionably the most important improve with Apple Intelligence. It’s much more conversational and forgiving of errors as you converse. For instance, I used to be capable of appropriate a timer from 10 minutes to five minutes on the fly and Siri bought it proper.

The brand new Siri in Apple Intelligence can also be higher with follow-up questions. For instance, I might ask in regards to the climate at present after which say “How about the remainder of the week” and I bought an prolonged forecast. Siri was additionally good sufficient to reply “Who do the Yankees play subsequent?” and “What are the percentages?” in succession, although it couldn’t inform me who the beginning pitcher was. I bought Safari hyperlinks as an alternative.

One other plus is which you could discuss to Siri simply by typing. You faucet the underside of the iPhone 16 Professional to enter your question, which turns out to be useful when you’ll be able to’t discuss. 

Siri is unquestionably getting higher, but it surely doesn’t have that “wow” issue that you will expertise with Gemini Live voice or GPT-40 voice, the place it feels such as you’re having an actual dialog with a chatbot.

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Efficiency

The iPhone 16 Professional packs Apple’s new A18 Professional chip constructed on second-generation 3-namoeter tech, in addition to 8GB of RAM. Primarily based on our testing, it’s certainly the quickest chip round, however not on each take a look at.

Once I performed Resident Evil Village, I used to be scared (in a great way) as I made my manner down a snowy path and stumbled upon some useless birds. The graphics are console-grade. I additionally bought to play the Infinity Nikki sport, which was in beta, and the lighting and water results had been very spectacular. 

On Geekbench, which measures total efficiency, the iPhone 16 Professional is 50% quicker than the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip on single core and 15% larger on multi-core efficiency. The Pixel 9 Professional collection is properly behind.

To check video enhancing efficiency we use Adobe Premiere Rush and time how lengthy it takes to transcode a 4K clip to 1080p. The brand new iPhone 16 Professional wanted simply 21 seconds, which is twice as quick because the S24 Extremely.

On the graphics entrance, the iPhone 16 Professional incorporates a 6-core GPU, in comparison with 5 cores for the common iPhone 16 fashions. Apple says you must get 20% quicker efficiency than the iPhone 15 Professional.

On the 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay graphics take a look at, which has help for ray tracing, the iPhone 16 Professional was 22% quicker than the iPhone 15 Professional. Nonetheless, that’s nonetheless 18% behind the Galaxy S24 Extremely, which additionally delivered larger body charges on the take a look at. 

The iPhone 16 Professional Max incorporates a new inside design with a graphite-clad aluminum substructure that’s imagined to lead to 20% higher sustained efficiency. To check this declare we ran the 3DMark Wilfe Life Stress Take a look at for 20 minutes.

The iPhone 16 Professional turned in a stability rating of 66%. It hit the next total loop rating than iPhone 16 Professional max however had an even bigger drop-off. The Galaxy S24 Extremely’s rating was worse at 60.4%. Curiously, the iPhone 16 Professional Max turned in a stronger stability rating of 84%, which is healthier than the 75% from the iPhone 15 Professional Max.

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Battery life and charging

The iPhone 16 Professional will get an enormous battery life increase, because of a bigger battery and different efficiencies. On the Tom’s Information battery life take a look at, which includes steady internet browsing at 150 nits of display brightness, the brand new iPhone 16 Professional lasted 14 hours and seven minutes, which is an enormous soar from the ten:53 from the iPhone 15 Professional, and sufficient to simply crack our record of the best phone battery life.

The Google Pixel 9 Professional lasted 13:37, so it was a bit behind. The bigger Galaxy S24 Extremely endured for 16:45.

The unhealthy information is that the iPhone 16 Professional has the identical 20W charging speeds as earlier than, so it wasn’t a shock to see it get to 56% capability in half-hour. The Google Pixel 9 Professional’s 45W charger was worse at 49% however the S24 Extremely reached 71% in the identical time.

Regardless of experiences that the iPhone 16 Professional helps 45W charging, we didn’t see a distinction in our testing. The excellent news is that MagSafe wi-fi charging sees a soar from 15W to 25W, for those who’re utilizing a 30W adapter.

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: iOS 18

Apple intelligence isn’t the one main improve in iOS 18. As you’ll see in our iOS 18 review, it makes the iPhone much more customizable. You may organize icons nonetheless you want on the house display, and also you now get three screens of shortcuts in Management Middle which you could tweak the way you see match.

With the Photographs app, iOS 18 makes it simpler to search out pictures in your library by matter and you may also change the feel and appear of the app to your liking. Different iOS 18 upgrades embody a devoted Passwords app for safety, a number of Messages enhancements (like scheduling messages and RCS help) and the power to share cash with Faucet to Money. 

iPhone 16 Professional evaluate: Verdict

General, the iPhone 16 Professional is arguably the very best flagship telephone beneath $1,000. You get the identical wonderful cameras because the iPhone 16 Professional Max for $200 much less and I feel the display is large enough at 6.3 inches whereas being straightforward to make use of with one hand.

I additionally just like the improved battery life, helpful Digital camera Management and compelling Audio Combine characteristic for movies. The Apple Intelligence capabilities — akin to Writing Instruments, the brand new Siri and Cleanup — present promise, however a number of the extra thrilling options like ChatGPT integration, Picture Playground and the Google Lens-like Visible Intelligence are coming later.

By way of the competitors, I feel the Galaxy S24 Plus and Google Pixel 9 Professional have extra compelling AI options proper now. However I favor the digital camera system from the iPhone in lots of instances and the additional efficiency from its A18 Professional chip. 

Must you improve to the iPhone 16 Professional? You probably have an iPhone 13 Professional or older telephone I’d say sure, and in case you have an iPhone 14 Professional, I’d say wait to see how properly Apple Intelligence works as soon as it totally rolls out before you purchase.