Apple iPhone 16 Review: Unexpectedly Irksome

Value When Reviewed

$799

Finest Costs At this time: Apple iPhone 16

$799

$829.99

One other 12 months, one other iPhone. In 2024, the main focus from Apple, like virtually each cellphone maker, is on AI. 

Apple Intelligence goals to do all kinds of issues so that you can make your life simpler, however it’s absent from the iPhone 16 vary for now (within the UK), regardless of the telephones being constructed for the AI system. 

Happily, there are additionally upgrades to the digital camera, battery life and two new bodily buttons however is it probably the greatest telephones you should purchase?

Design & Construct 

• New colors 
• Motion button 
• Digicam management 

It’s no shock that Apple hasn’t overhauled the design of the iPhone for 2024. So, the iPhone 16 is the standard mixture of familiarity together with small tweaks right here and there. 

The general look is identical as the previous couple of generations, that means the iPhone 16 has that old-friend feeling (assuming you’ve used an iPhone earlier than) whereas having sufficient to make it new. 

For starters, there are new colors accessible, together with the placing Ultramarine choice I’m testing right here. It’s a vibrant mixture of blue and purple with out being garish, although you’ll most likely cowl it up with a case anyway.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Different colourways comprise Teal, Pink, White and Black. Just like the iPhone 15, I just like the colour-infused glass on the again with its frosted end however it’s nonetheless extra slippy than I’d like. 

From the entrance, the cellphone seems to be primarily equivalent to its predecessor, however there are modifications on the perimeters and again. The digital camera module now has the lenses subsequent to one another, quite than in a diagonal association inside a sq. module.  

I choose the look of the cameras this 12 months, however it does make the cellphone extra wobbly when on a flat floor, even with the official case on.

Chris Martin / Foundry

There’s a sensible motive for this which I’ll cowl within the digital camera part, the place I’ll additionally go into extra depth on the brand new Digicam Management button/slider. This sits on the fitting facet so underneath your index finger when capturing in panorama orientation. 

On the left, you’ll discover the Motion button, which was a Professional-only function final 12 months. This customisable button can do numerous issues, however it replaces the long-lasting alert slider, which is a disgrace. I’d quite have that bodily change for muting and liberate the Motion button for one thing else like Shazam, translation or a shortcut to an app. 

The bodily dimension and form of the iPhone are virtually equivalent to earlier generations, making it a pleasant steadiness of compactness however with sufficient display screen. In case you are upgrading from an iPhone 14 or earlier mannequin, there are extra noticeable upgrades. 

The largest of those is the change from Lightning to USB-C for the bodily port and Dynamic Island as a show function. Haptic suggestions is premium however I discover it too aggressive at instances for my liking, significantly once you get a cellphone name.

Chris Martin / Foundry

As common, the cellphone is IP68 mud and waterproof, and Apple has probably the greatest eco-friendly processes within the business. The iPhone 16 makes use of extra recycled supplies than any mannequin earlier than it, together with 95% recycled lithium within the battery and 100% recycled copper foil within the MagSafe inductive charger. 

The packaging can also be 100% fibre‑primarily based for the primary time. 

Display & Audio system 

• Nearly the identical 
• 1 nit brightness 
• Nonetheless 60Hz 

The show on the iPhone 16 is sort of equivalent to final 12 months, solely it could actually drop to only 1 nit of brightness for darkish conditions once you don’t need to be blinded. 

In any other case, it’s nonetheless a 6.1-inch Tremendous Retina XDR, that means it’s an OLED panel with spectacular specs and options like True Tone, vast color, Haptic Contact and extra.

Chris Martin / Foundry

There’s no concern with picture high quality, as you’ll anticipate from Apple. The display screen is crisp and vibrant and may attain a peak out of doors brightness of 2000 nits in keeping with the agency. 

I’ve had no issues utilizing it and in the event you’re upgrading from an iPhone 14 or older then you definitely’ll be gaining Dynamic Island. It’s a intelligent approach to make use of the pill-shaped part of the display screen which homes issues just like the front-facing digital camera to provide you snippets of knowledge and a shortcut to the app displaying mentioned data. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Whereas the display screen is nice total and I like the scale as a candy spot of dimension and usefulness, there’s nonetheless one obvious concern – Apple has nonetheless caught with a 60Hz refresh fee. 

In 2024 that is very fundamental and whereas 120Hz is reserved for Professional fashions, which I can perceive to an extent, why not at the very least go for 90Hz? The bounce from 60- to 90Hz is noticeable in so many use circumstances and in comparison with the Android market, the place you may get 120Hz on even funds telephones (with caveats), that is simply merely old-fashioned.

The stereo audio system are excellent and make for a great expertise once you’re watching movies or listening to music with out headphones. 

Specs & Efficiency 

• Apple A18 chip 
• Begins at 128GB of storage

I’ll preserve this part quick as, aside from some software program glitches which I’ll handle later, the efficiency of the iPhone 16 is as you’d anticipate. 

Slightly than getting the chip from final 12 months’s Professional fashions because the 15 collection did, Apple now presents up the common A18 chipset and the Professional telephones get the A18 Professional. 

As a fast overview, it’s a 3nm chip with a hexa-core structure and a 5-core GPU.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Efficiency is easy, although as talked about beforehand I’d like a better refresh fee show to take advantage of the A18. It may play video games from Monopoly Go to PUBG with no hassle. 

By way of storage, it’s the acquainted story of 128GB on the entry-level and you’ll bounce to 256- or 512GB must you really feel the necessity. Solely the Professional fashions have 1TB although, if that’s what you’re after.  

Cameras 

• Comparable specs however now ‘Fusion’ 
• New spatial mode 
• New Macro pictures 
• Digicam Management button 

Though the cameras have moved bodily, the iPhone 16 comes with the acquainted mixture of a 48Mp major digital camera with a 12Mp ultrawide alongside it.  

Although the specs are primarily the identical because the iPhone 15, Apple is looking this an ‘all-new’ Fusion digital camera, that means the principle one can take full-resolution photographs in addition to the flexibility to take 2x optical‑high quality telephoto snaps.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Basically, the decision is excessive sufficient to crop it to create a 2x zoom picture, however this isn’t unusual within the wider cellphone market (and was on the iPhone 15 with out this advertising time period). A tweak to the ultrawide (which has a quicker f/2.2 aperture) means it’s higher in low mild than earlier than, at the very least in principle.

Keep in mind although that photographs from the Fusion digital camera will likely be 12- or 24Mp relying on numerous components, until you go into the settings and change on ‘Decision management’ to entry the total 48Mp. Simply watch out in the event you do choose this and have the 128GB storage capability as a result of it should refill quick.

That setting, together with many different helpful issues, as common, is a bugbear of mine. They’re not accessible within the digital camera app however in the principle settings of the cellphone, with no shortcut to get there both. 

Specs and settings apart, the standard of photographs from the iPhone 16 cameras is mostly excellent. Out and about in good lighting, you possibly can snap away to your coronary heart’s content material, realizing you’ll get a well-rounded mixture of element, color, publicity and the like.

I’ve discovered the digital camera to be much less spectacular in the case of indoor low-light conditions, however these are difficult even with out making an attempt to get an awesome shot of a two-year-old who’s virtually at all times transferring. 

A brand new (to the common fashions) Macro pictures mode can robotically change to the ultrawide digital camera for close-up pictures however as I discover with one of these function (Apple or in any other case) I virtually at all times choose to change it off and use the principle digital camera, largely for the pure bokeh (seen on the left).

Spatial is a brand new mode within the digital camera app and the principle motive why the cameras are actually in a vertical structure on the again. It may create 3D photographs and movies, however you’ll want a Imaginative and prescient Professional headset to view them making it extremely area of interest. As such, I can’t touch upon their high quality. 

Everybody can use the brand new Digicam Management button, which Apple hasn’t held again for the Professional fashions. It sits on the facet trying like an extra energy button of kinds. 

You should utilize it to launch the digital camera (or customise it to a different app) after which use it primarily as a mixed shutter button and zoom management. It’s an awesome concept and just like what we’ve seen, in a extra fundamental type, from the likes of Sony for a few years. 

Nevertheless, the execution of it isn’t nice, beginning with the place. It’s too far up the facet, so when holding the cellphone in panorama, it’s a little bit of a stretch to succeed in. It ought to be nearer to the nook. 

There’s a little bit of a studying curve to utilizing Digicam Management however you do get used to it. Apply a small quantity of stress and the zoom management comes up so you possibly can slide left and proper. Nevertheless, I need to swap the course of what zooms out and in to what feels pure to me – you possibly can’t.

Chris Martin / Foundry

You should utilize the Digicam Management slide gesture to regulate different components similar to publicity and types however this isn’t apparent. Different apps can use it too and lots of of those points might be doubtlessly fastened with software program updates, however the placement can’t. 

I’d nonetheless quite have it than not as having the ability to shortly launch and snap with one button has resulted in some good pictures I wouldn’t have achieved in any other case. Specifically when a fast-moving toddler or canine solely supplies a slender window of alternative to get the shot. 

To spherical off this part, the front-facing digital camera is 12Mp once more and presents good-quality photographs. The iPhone 16 additionally stays probably the greatest telephones available on the market for video, with glorious high quality and a spread of options. I significantly just like the Cinematic mode. 

Battery Life & Charging 

• Comparable efficiency 
• Sooner wi-fi charging 

On Apple’s web site, it says the iPhone 16 can final 22 hours of video playback, which is 2 hours greater than the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15. 

Nevertheless, I haven’t observed a distinction generally utilization in comparison with final 12 months’s flagship. Battery life is fairly good but in addition nothing to jot down residence about. 

I’m a lightweight person, working from residence and after I end for the day taking care of a toddler, and in my expertise I exploit round 50% battery per day. It’s a two-day cellphone, however solely with this lighter utilization.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Most individuals will discover themselves charging it in a single day or maybe even topping it up late on within the day. If I used to be nonetheless commuting to an workplace and utilizing my cellphone for extra hours of display screen time every day, I’d significantly be contemplating the iPhone 16 Plus with its bigger battery. 

On the subject of charging, Apple nonetheless simply provides a cable, however advertises 50% cost in half-hour in the event you use a 20W adapter. Wi-fi charging is now quicker at 25W quite than 15W, however once more, you want the fitting MagSafe charger and a speedy sufficient adapter. 

It additionally helps Qi and Qi2 wi-fi charging so that you don’t have to make use of MagSafe. There’s no reverse wi-fi charging although, which is a disgrace. 

Software program & Apps

• iOS 18
• No Apple Intelligence
• Surprising bugs

It’s no shock that the iPhone 16 ships with the most recent model of Apple’s working system for telephones, iOS 18. 

It’s largely as you’d anticipate – user-friendly and slick – however I’ve had extra issues than anticipated. Some bugs within the first variations of OSes are to be considerably anticipated, however I expertise them extra with Android than iOS.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Oddly, on the iPhone 16, I’ve seen quite a lot of annoying graphical glitches similar to black bars throughout the display screen, lacking keyboards and tiny thumbnails of photographs I’ve simply taken. I’ve additionally seen the cellphone randomly reboot quite a lot of instances and a fast internet search reveals I’m not the one one. 

Then there’s the entire Apple Intelligence concern. The iPhone 16 vary is constructed for Apple’s AI system however it’s not accessible at launch. On the time of writing it has rolled out within the US, however within the UK the place I’m, we’ve got to attend till December and different markets should wait even longer. 

It’s not the primary case of AI options on telephones being promised sooner or later however it’s extra shocking from an organization like Apple, which has full management over all its {hardware} and software program. 

One new function in iOS 18 that I really like is the flexibility to customize the management centre. It’s refreshing to reorder it and make it extra environment friendly for the stuff you want probably the most. 

Value & Availability

This 12 months Apple has stored the value of the iPhone 16 the identical as its predecessor. Which means you should purchase one from £799/$799, with that beginning worth getting you 128GB of storage. 

If you wish to bounce to 256- or 512GB then it should price you £899/$899 or £1,099/$1,099 respectively. See our the place to purchase the iPhone 16 information for all of the choices within the UK and US, or under for one of the best contract offers.

With Google introducing a worth bounce for 2024, it means the iPhone 16 prices the identical because the Pixel 9. The Samsung Galaxy S24 can also be the identical beginning worth however Apple is the one one of many three to supply 512GB storage on its entry-level flagship. 

You will get the iPhone 16 on contract, in fact, and you’ll see the highest choices under. 

Try our high 10 suggestions for one of the best telephones proper now.

Do you have to purchase the iPhone 16?

As common, the reply will rely in your scenario.

When you’re going to improve, I feel it makes probably the most sense for iPhone 14 or earlier generations, as you’ll see a a lot larger distinction than anybody utilizing an iPhone 15.

Even for these with a 15, it is likely to be tempting to leap as a way to acquire new options just like the Motion Button, Digicam Management and Apple Intelligence. On the time of writing, I can solely touch upon the primary two, and they’re a blended bag total.

There’s little doubt the iPhone 16 does all of the fundamentals proper, however is that sufficient in 2024? I’d say until your coronary heart is about on utilizing Apple Intelligence, you’re higher off ready for the subsequent technology or getting a now extra inexpensive iPhone 15.

When you’re open to Android then there are, in fact, loads of nice choices with extra spectacular {hardware} options like excessive refresh fee screens and far quicker charging.

Specs

• Working System: iOS 18
• Show: 6.1-inch Tremendous Retina XDR show
• Chipset: A18 chipset
• RAM: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 128/256/512GB
• Rear Cameras: 48Mp f/1.8 major digital camera, 12Mp f/2.2 ultrawide digital camera
• Entrance digital camera: 12Mp f/1.9
• Battery: 3561 mAh (reported)
• Charging: USB-C quick PD 2.0 charging, 25W wi-fi MagSafe charging, 15W wi-fi Qi 2 charging, 4.5W reverse wired
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G, NFC
• Water Resistance: IP68 water and mud resistance
• Dimensions: 147 x 71.6 x 7.8mm
• Weight: 170g
• Sturdiness: IP68
• Colors: Ultramarine, Pink, Teal, Black, White