iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max: By Focusing on Refining a Product, Apple Did the Same Thing It Always Does

Apple has a new candidate for the best smartphone of 2024—and a good part of 2025. The company has officially unveiled the new iPhone 16 Pro and its Max variant. These devices arrive in the company of the iPhone 16, the Apple Watch Series 10, the new AirPods 4, and the AirPods Max 2.

Among its main features are a new processor, improvements in the camera, Apple Intelligence as the main bet—although, as of today, it’s futuristic—and the promise of another year of being the best iPhone Pro in history.

Here’s everything you need to know about the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. These two smartphones continue to be some of Apple’s most iconic products, with significant new features in terms of camera, performance, and autonomy.

iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max Specs

Familiar Faces, Minor Changes

In terms of design, users will have to place the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max next to the newest models to find differences. The back of the device is almost identical to what Apple introduced last year, with a triple camera module characteristic since the iPhone 11 Pro. The use of titanium, now grade five, promises these devices will be more resistant than the previous generation.

The front of the phones has changed, and the reduced bezels are the protagonists. Apple has downsized them to a minimum to offer an all-screen front while maintaining one of the iPhone’s most distinctive features: complete symmetry.

They're also bigger devices. The screens have grown from 6.1 to 6.3 inches in the case of the iPhone 16 Pro and from 6.7 to 6.9 inches for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Both maintain the same resolution, OLED technology, and the Super Retina XDR designation as last year’s models. As such, these features remind us that the calibration of the most recent iPhones is still at the level of the best Macs.

Introducing Camera Control

The new Camera Control button does more than unlock the camera. It also lets you take pictures with a single click or record a video by pressing on the button for a while. You can also use this button with a light or double press to access functions like zoom, depth, etc. This isn’t just a touch button, it’s pressure-sensitive.

• One touch: open the camera.
• One touch with the camera unlocked: take a photo.
• Long press: record video.
• Soft press: access functions such as zoom
• Double soft press: select other Camera settings.

The button is made of stainless steel and surrounded by sapphire crystal. It has a pressure sensor on the inside with haptic feedback that attempts to mimic the touch of an SLR camera. Time will tell if the button will serve its purpose or not. However, it’s one of Apple’s big new features.

With future updates this year, the button will include a two-stage shutter for automatic focus and exposure lock. These are two options that are pretty necessary for fine-tuning video recording.

A New Processor to Dominate Them All

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone Pro Max feature the new Apple 18 Pro processor, significantly more powerful than the A18 chip found in their smaller siblings. Apple manufactured it at TSMC’s second-generation three-nanometer process. So, it debuts a new 16-core neural engine for Apple Intelligence. In addition, the six-core GPU promises to be 20% faster.

The CPU also has six cores, two high-performance and four efficiency cores, and is 15% faster than the processor. It also promises to use 20% less power.

One of the most critical aspects of performance is heat dissipation. For the first time, the iPhone 16 features a cooling system. It uses a 100% recycled aluminum thermal substructure along with an “optimized” back glass that dissipates heat better—20% more heat than the previous model.

Heat has been a historic problem with the iPhone for generations, and betting on a cooling system, as virtually all its competitors do, was more necessary than ever.

There are also changes in autonomy. Taking advantage of the fact that its devices are now larger, Apple also promises better battery life in its Pro line. The commitment is relevant because the CPU consumes significantly less power, and the battery capacity is greater.

A Sophisticated Camera System

The main camera has a 48 MP sensor with crop option for 2x zoom without quality loss. It also features sensor stabilization instead of a traditional OIS.

Despite what rumors suggested, there are no changes to the telephoto lens at the resolution level. Both models have 12 MP in a 5x tetraprism.

However, there are changes in the resolution of the ultra-wide-angle camera, the weakest camera on the iPhone. It now has a 48MP sensor with an f/2.2 lens. This leap in sensor should put the iPhone a step ahead of what we saw in the last generation.

The new processor makes it possible to record 4K video at 120 fps for the first time and enables new features such as slow-motion movie mode.

These smartphones also improve photographic styles. They’re no longer just minor corrections but practically custom LUTs. Users can add filters in real-time to get photos with different looks. Although the appearance changes completely, the rendering of the image analyzes the user’s face to realistically preserve the color of their skin.

Apple Intelligence

Apple’s AI will play a vital role in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Here are some of the key areas the company has highlighted:

• Private Cloud Compute. Apple assures users that Apple Intelligence will never store data and only use it to respond to your requests. Although it combines local features with others in the cloud, security is the common element the company promises.
• Users can create emoticons with just a description. The AI does the rest. Yes, the possibilities are endless.
• Bring back memories. Just write a photo description from the gallery, and it will appear. You can also add them to personalized collections.
• Summarized notifications. AI will prioritize notifications by importance and offer full summaries, so users don’t have to read them individually.
• A new Siri. Besides now being able to write to Siri, instead of just talking to her, the virtual assistant will be able to perform more functions than ever before.
• Visual intelligence. This is Apple’s alternative to Google Lens. All you need to do is open the camera with this feature to analyze the content you’re looking at.
• Integration with ChatGPT. As the company previewed in the Apple Intelligence presentation, ChatGPT-4o will be a free integration.

Apple Intelligence will be available next month.

iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max: Versions and Prices

The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be available in black titanium, natural titanium, white titanium, and desert titanium. When it comes to storage, you’ll be able to choose from 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1TB. The iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999 or $41.62 per month, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199 or $49.95 per month. Pre-orders open on Sep. 13, and the devices will be available for purchase starting on Sep. 20

If you can’t wait for the iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, these are the best deals today on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max:

Images | Apple

Related | Understanding Apple Intelligence, Apple’s Proprietary AI Model: Here's How It Compares to Other Models and How It Will Use ChatGPT