Apple iPhone 16 review: Pretty amazing mobile with meaningful upgrades

Last month, Apple hosted the annual hardware launch programme and as expected, announced the new iPhone 16 series.

Just a few weeks ago, the new devices hit stores in India. It comes in four variants-- iPhone 16, 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max with prices starting at Rs 79,900 in India.

I used the device for more than a week. Here are my thoughts on the latest iPhone from Apple.

Design, build quality and display

Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro mode, the regular iPhone 16/16 Plus is prettier and also comes with a lot of design changes over the predecessor.

The most notable is the vertically aligned pill-shaped camera module on the top left corner of the back panel. It houses two big new camera sensors with macro photography capability (more on it in the camera segment below).

The device looks very similar to the 10th-anniversary device—iPhone X (2017), but better. The new iPhone 16 has a flat metal casing made of sturdier aerospace-grade aluminium around the edges of the display. And, the rear-side panel features a frosted glass panel, which does a good job of repelling the sweaty fingerprint smudges.

Also, the company has incorporated the new generation Ceramic Shield with an advanced custom formulation on the front display panel. It is said to be 50 per cent tougher than the first generation and 2x stronger than glass on any other smartphone in the market.

Apple iPhone 16 (left) with iPhone 15 Plus (right).

Further, the new device comes with an IP68 water-and-dust resistant rating. It can survive accidental drop in to a waterbody for up to six metres for close to 30 minutes (IEC standard 60529).

The iPhone 16 (and 16 Plus) comes with an 'Action' button, which was first introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro series. Users to programme it to launch their favourite apps or trigger Siri Shortcuts to perform a variety of functions with just a press.

Apple iPhone 16 (top) with iPhone 15 Plus (bottom).

Users can quickly turn on the flashlight, and trigger the Shazam app to identify a song. For journalists like me, it can be used to instantly launch the voice memo to conduct interviews. Or, regular users can use this switch between Ring and Silent modes. There are almost unlimited options to make good use of the action button.

The latest iPhone 16 (all models) features a tactile 'Camera Control' button, a first for any iPhone to date. It is aptly placed close to the base on the the right side, which makes it easy for the right index finger to reach and take photos instantly.

Apple iPhone 16 (bottom) with iPhone 15 Plus (top).

At the start, users will find it tricky to operate the camera control. But, after a few days of usage, the muscle memory will kick in. The touch-sensitive button is easy to use for zooming in and out of the frame. With just a sliding gesture, users can also control the exposure as well as the depth of field — to compose a photo or a video.

Users can switch between photos and video by just long pressing the camera control.

Apple has offered customisation options to third-party app developers to make good use of the dedicated camera control button.

Apple iPhone 16 (right) with iPhone 15 Plus (left).

Our review unit is pink and as you can see in the cover photos, it is one of the prettiest colour variants in the lot. There are also all-new ultramarine blue and teal models, which also look amazing in the sunlight.

Apple also offers the device in two other colours-- black and white.

On the front, the iPhone 16 flaunts a gorgeous 6.1-inch XDR Super Retina OLED display with a dynamic island, which houses a 12MP FaceTime camera and FaceID sensors.

Apple iPhone 16.

The screen has a pixel density of 460 ppi (pixels per inch), a 60Hz refresh rate and support peak brightness of 2,000 nits. The display is super bright and I never faced any issues reading messages, watching video blogs or browsing the internet outdoors.

Apple iPhone 16.

Eco-friendly iPhone

With each new iteration, Apple is trying its best to reduce the negative impact on nature while sourcing raw materials.

It has set an ambitious target of turning the company into carbon neutral by 2030.

In that order, this year, the entire retail package is made of fibre-based materials and there are no Apple stickers as well. The box also comes with a high-quality braided Type-C-to-Type-C USB cable, which can serve for several years for data transfer between devices and to charge the iPhone.

Apple iPhone 16.

It should be noted that the new iPhone 16 (& 16 Plus) feature more than 30 per cent recycled content overall, including 85 per cent recycled aluminium in the enclosure.

More than 80 per cent recycled steel has been used across multiple components. The battery is made with 100 per cent recycled cobalt and — in a first for the iPhone — over 95 per cent recycled lithium

By next year, the company plans to completely rid of plastic from the packaging.

Performance

During the product presentation, Apple said that the entire line of the iPhone 16 series is developed from scratch to support its generative Aritificial Intelligence (gen AI) technology called 'Apple Intelligence'.

The all-new 3-nanometer class -- Apple A18 and A18 Pro-- silicons power the iPhone 16 ( including 16 Plus) and 16 Pro (& 16 Pro Max), respectively.

The A18 houses an upgraded 16-core Neural Engine that is optimised for large generative AI models and is capable of running Machine Language models up to 2x faster than the A16 Bionic chip seen in iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.

Apple iPhone 16 performance score on AnTuTu Benchmark score.

The 6-core CPU is 30 per cent faster than the A16 Bionic chip and is faster than all its competitors running on premium Android phones.

It is not just fast, but also power efficient too. It consumes 30 per cent less energy to perform a task compared to its predecessor.

Apple iPhone 16 performance score on Geekbench 6.0.

Also, The 5-core GPU is said to be up to 40 per cent faster and 35 per cent more efficient than A16 Bionic.

For the first time, Apple has introduced hardware-accelerated ray tracing on regular iPhones.

Additionally, with the new back panel design with graphene sheets for cooling, Apple has significantly improved the gaming (up to 30 per cent better) experience and thermal performance on the iPhone 16.

The device can now support 5x higher frame rates than with software-based ray tracing. Both models-- iPhone 16 and 16 Plus -- support the AAA games, which were previously only available on iPhone 15 Pro.

The devices will also support new titles like Honor of Kings: World coming next year.

Apple iPhone 16.

With iOS 18, Apple has introduced a dedicated Game Mode to deliver more consistent frame rates and ensure the device maintains stable connectivity with AirPods, game controllers, and other wireless accessories, and there is less lag-ness.

As noted aboive, all four iPhone 16 series models will support the Apple Intelligence feature. It will work systemwide seamlessly, including native apps such as Notes, Keynotes, iMessage, Mail, Photos app and even third-party apps installed across all Apple devices.

Also, Apple will offer the option to integrate Siri and other Apple Intelligence-supported apps to integrate with OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o, to offer an enhanced user experience.

But, we have to wait for a few more weeks to experience the Apple Intelligence features on the iPhone 16. The company is testing iOS 18.1 and is expected to roll out in late October.

Apple Intelligence will improve the user experience on the iPhones.

Among the first features coming to the iPhone 16 is a call recording and real-time transcription features. Users will be able to record phone calls and get the option to transcribe the entire conversation. If required, it can even offer a summary of the voice call.

Also, Apple Intelligence will be able to help device owners rewrite and proofread in messenger apps such as Mail, Notes, Pages and other supported apps. In emails with long unending threads, it will also be able to offer a summary to get the whole context instead of wasting time rereading all the old emails.

Apple Intelligence, which comes integrated with the Image Playground Large Language AI model, will be able to churn out synthetic photos on iPhones with just text prompts. Initially, it will offer three styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch.

Apple will be releasing new AI features in multiple updates and is expected to complete the whole exercise in spring 2025 (by the end of March or early April).

As far as battery life is concerned, the iPhone 16 can easily run through a whole normal usage, provided there is Wi-Fi support at the office and at home. If you are travelling and fully dependent on cellular data all day to use social media apps, and streaming multimedia content on OTT apps, you better be packing a power bank in your backpack.

The iPhone 16 Plus and Pro models come with a bigger battery. They can last a full day without the anxiety of running out of juice before you reach home for dinner.

It can charge up to 50 per cent in 30 minutes with 20W or faster charger. Also, it supports 25W wireless charging with MagSafe compatible charger.

Photography

Apple iPhone 16 (& 16 Plus) houses an all-new dual-camera module— main wide-angle 48MP Fusion camera (f/1.6, 2x Telephoto ) and a 12MP 120-degree Ultra Wide (f/2.2) autofocus secondary camera with macro photography and LED flash on the back.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

Though it takes some time to get familiarised with operating the all-new camera control on the side, it is very handy to take pictures single-handedly.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

For technology journalists like us, who take thousands of photos of numeros phones every month, the camera control makes it easy to take photos holding in one hand.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

Also, future updates will bring more Apple Intelligence capabilities to Camera Control. It will be able to launch the visual intelligence feature, which can help people know about the subject or the place just by pointing the camera at it.

For instance, if you point the iPhone 16's camera to a restaurant, and long press the Camera Control, it will be able to tell you about the place's timing, menu and also public reviews shared online.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

Most importantly, the iPhone 16 takes brilliant photos in all light conditions. The subjects such as flower, humans and pets look lovely and vibrant in the sunlight.

At night, the iPhone 16 balances the artificial lights from the street lamps and neon lights pretty well to capture the mood of the scene.

Unlike Google Pixel phones, which offer numerous gen AI-powered tools Best Take, Add Me, and Magic Eraser to alter photos, Apple, for now, is focused on delivering photo-realistic pictures with a wide enough room for people to use their creativity to get the best pictures on the iPhone 16.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

It supports multiple 'Photography styles such as-- Neutral, Cool Rose, Rose Gold, Gold, Amber, Standard, Vibrant, Natural, Luminous, Dramatic, Quiet, Cosy, Etherel, Muted B&W, and Stark B&W. They can help users add more dramatic effects to the photo. Or, tone it down a notch, to make it look black/white like the old days of yore. Users can opt for a natural style and make it appear as seen through the eyes.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

The wide-angle mode manages to get vast areas of agricultural land with the massive Nandi Hills range in a single frame.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample with  ultrawide angle mode.

It also supports 2X optical zoom with less loss of photo quality. It can digitally zoom up to 10X.

For the first time, the regular iPhone model is now capable of taking close-up macro shots. As you can see in the sample photos, they are amazing. The minute details are well captured.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

It houses a 12MP TrueDepth (ƒ/1.9) front camera, Autofocus with Focus Pixels. It takes amazing selfies. It offers several portrait light effects--Natural light, Studio light, Contour light, Stage light, Stage light mono and High-key light mono.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

The rear-side camera has a couple more in its sleeves in portrait mode. It offers focus and depth controls for users to add a more dramatic bokeh effect.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample with portrait mode.

Like the previous models, the new iPhone 16 continues to raise the bar for video recording. The video quality is top-class.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

It can record 4K Dolby Vision videos at 24 frames per second (fps), 25 fps, 30 fps, and 60 fps. With Action mode, it can record up to 2.8K videos at 30 fps.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

Also, the regular iPhone 16 can now record spatial videos, which can be viewed and experienced on Vision Pro AR headgear.

Apple iPhone 16 camera sample.

It also supports Slo‑mo video up to full 1080p at 120 fps and 240 fps. It can even record Macro videos with slo‑mo and time‑lapse options as well.

Final thoughts

The iPhone 16 may not have Apple Intelligence yet, but it has excelled in other important aspects such as design, build quality, performance and in particular, photography.

The camera captures amazing photos in all lighting conditions. Also, the macro-mode takes pretty brilliant close-up shots.

The latest iPhone performs super smoothly and can last a full day under normal usage. Thanks to the internal design changes, there is marked improvement in terms of thermal and gaming performance.

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

And, the action button and the dedicated camera control bring more value addition to the user experience. Further, the beautiful vibrant colour scheme enhances the iPhone's exterior outlook, making it a more compelling buy than the expensive Pro models, which come in dull colourways.

Who should buy the iPhone 16?

Those with iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 will find the iPhone 16, a big upgrade. Those with the iPhone 14 and 15 series can hold on to their devices at least for a year and go for the iPhone 17 in 2025.

And, for those who are thinking of entering Apple's high-walled garden, the iPhone 16 is the perfect gateway.

If you travel a lot and spend more time on social media platforms and OTT apps, I recommend the iPhone 16 Plus, as it can deliver longer battery life.

The new iPhone 16 comes in three storages— 128GB, 256GB and 512GB— for Rs 79,900,  Rs 89,999, and Rs 1,09,900, respectively. 

The new iPhone 16 Plus comes in three storages— 128GB, 256GB and 512GB— for Rs 89,900,  Rs 99,999, and Rs 1,19,900, respectively.  Both the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will be available in five colours— black, white, pink, teal, and ultramarine.

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