Which mannequin must you purchase?

Authentic launch date: September 20, 2024 | Storage capability: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Display screen measurement: 6.3 inches | Options: A18 Professional chip, At all times-on 120Hz ProMotion show, USB-C port (USB 3), Titanium body, Digicam Management button, Motion button, 25W MagSafe charging | Cameras: 48MP broad, 48MP ultrawide, 12MP 5x telephoto, 12MP entrance | Colour choices: Pure Titanium, Desert, White, Black | Dimensions: 5.89 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches | Weight: 7.03 ounces

Learn our full iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max review

The iPhone 16 Pro is the iPhone we’d advocate to most individuals. Sure, its beginning worth of $999 is likely to be steep, however a smartphone is a long-term funding. If the query is “which iPhone is most certainly to maintain you content for the following three to 5 years,” we expect the iPhone 16 Professional’s benefits over the usual iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are nonetheless significant sufficient to be price the additional $100-200 — even when the hole isn’t as broad because it’s been in years previous.

For one, the iPhone 16 Professional’s blasted titanium body feels higher-quality than the aluminum one on the bottom iPhone 16. It’s a bit heavier than the usual 16 and final 12 months’s iPhone 15 Professional, but it surely’s removed from an anchor, and its barely curved edges are pleasing to carry. It runs on the marginally sooner A18 Professional chip, which doesn’t make an enormous distinction with on a regular basis duties however is extra future-proof all the identical, significantly in case you have any curiosity in gaming or content material creation. And whereas each iPhone 16 has a USB-C charging port, the Professional fashions assist sooner knowledge switch speeds (offered you will have the proper cable).

Probably the most outstanding improve is the show. Whereas the OLED panels on the iPhone 16 Professional and normal iPhone 16 are equally sharp and brilliant, the previous’s is extra spacious at 6.3 inches (as an alternative of 6.1 inches), regardless of the telephone itself solely being 0.08 inches taller and 0.02 inches thicker. That is primarily as a result of Professional’s thinner bezels, which grant you extra room for streaming movies and studying net pages in a tool that isn’t considerably extra cumbersome to carry.  

On prime of that, the Professional’s display screen has an adaptive refresh price as much as 120Hz, which may make scrolling net pages, gaming and streaming video noticeably smoother. Some will let you know that the common individual doesn’t want this, and it’s true that not all the things performs at 120Hz. However utilizing a smartphone is nothing if not interacting with a small display screen, and when you’ve seen a sooner refresh price in motion, it’s tough to surrender.

It’s a irritating scenario: You will get a budget Android phone with a 120Hz show for round $300, but Apple continues to make use of “ProMotion” as a strategy to upsell individuals from gadgets that already value a whole lot extra. However, our job is to let you know what’s greatest — and the Professional’s show is just extra present. It’s additionally always-on, in contrast to the screens on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, so you possibly can view your notifications at a look with out having to bodily contact the machine.

One other step up is the digital camera system. The iPhone 16 Professional has a trio of rear cameras: a 48-megapixel important digital camera, a 48MP ultrawide shooter and a 12MP telephoto digital camera. That final one is the biggie, because the common iPhone 16 lacks a devoted telephoto lens solely. Past that, the Professional’s important digital camera has a bigger sensor, so it’s a bit higher in low-light environments, plus it helps portrait mode at evening. You’ll be able to take sharper macro shots for close-ups, and there are different fanatic options like the power to shoot ProRAW or file 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient and ProRes video as much as 120 frames per second. If none of this jargon means something to you, know the common iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are nonetheless nice point-and-shoot cameras. These gadgets can now take macro pictures as nicely; they’ve the identical upgraded Photographic Styles characteristic that may assist contact up photographs you could discover overprocessed; they usually share the brand new Camera Control button for rapidly (if generally awkwardly) accessing the digital camera app, adjusting settings and snapping pics. All that mentioned, the 16 Professional is healthier, particularly if you happen to take your pictures with slightly extra intent.

The Professional ought to get higher battery life as nicely, although it’s actually not the longest-lasting smartphone we’ve examined. Apple charges it at as much as 27 hours of video playback, up from 22 hours with the usual iPhone 16, however each gadgets will seemingly want a top-up earlier than you go to mattress. The bottom mannequin’s battery is easier to replace, too, which is aggravating for Professional house owners given the upper worth. 

Apple could be very bluntly promoting every iPhone 16 on how nicely they’ll work with its new “Apple Intelligence” AI features, however you shouldn’t base any buying choices on these proper now. As of this writing, the methods embody a barely extra sturdy Siri, , e-mail and notification summaries, writing assistance and instruments, a Clean Up characteristic that may take away undesirable objects from pictures (very like Google’s Magic Eraser) and a “” customized emoji maker, amongst others. Extra updates will arrive over time. 

A few of these AI options will be helpful at factors; different instances… not so much. Little about them will really change the best way you employ a smartphone at present, and whether or not anybody wants assist writing a paragraph-long e-mail or studying a short article is up for debate (to place it charitably). For now, it is likely to be greatest to view Apple Intelligence as an intriguing first step towards a future which will or will not be realized down the street.

Whereas we expect the iPhone 16 Professional is a good flagship, our subsequent choose ought to higher go well with those that don’t thoughts an even bigger machine and desire a telephone that may really final all day.